Kuenssberg: I asked Earl Spencer who we should believe - him or the King?

Laura Kuenssberg travelled to Althorp on Thursday to interview Charles, Earl Spencer, the brother of Princess Diana. Only a handful of people were present in the grounds of the sprawling estate where Diana had once tap‑danced in the hallway and roller‑skated in the cavernous library. The interview took place just hours after Buckingham Palace issued a blistering statement in response to explosive claims made in a recent publication by Earl Spencer. The Palace’s reply challenged his recollection of the days following his sister’s death, a stark departure from its usual “never explain, never complain” approach. As they sat beneath portraits of Spencer’s aristocratic ancestors, the conversation turned not only to his memories of Diana but to a broader question of credibility: which version of events—his or the King’s—should the public accept? Kuenssberg put the query directly to Spencer: “Which Charles are we meant to believe?” Spencer described a “lightness in his tone” when recalling Charles’s reaction to Diana’s death. He asserted that the then‑Prince Charles had sounded “giddy” after learning of his former wife’s demise on that tragic night in 1997. He also said Charles had “hissed” at him, warning that the world would “forget her soon enough.” A historian and former writer, Spencer recounted his exchanges with the King in meticulous detail, noting that the Palace had not issued an explicit denial of his allegations but had instead questioned his judgement. Buckingham Palace expressed deep unhappiness and vexation at Spencer’s public disclosures. Its statement read: “While we do not comment on books as a matter of principle, His Majesty is mindful that the pain of sibling grief can distort reason, impact judgement and colour representation in ways others do not recognise, even many years after such a loss.” The relationship between the two Charleses has been strained for decades. Long before either was born, the Spencer and Windsor families endured periods of rivalry and discord. In the last 48 hours, supporters of each side have lined up behind their respective narratives—royal allies insisting the King would never have uttered such remarks, while others have rallied to Spencer’s defence. No definitive account of what transpired exists. Although the Palace has not offered a categorical denial, it has objected in strong terms to Spencer’s portrayal of events. After speaking with Spencer for roughly half an hour, Kuenssberg observed that he appeared wholly convinced of his own version. His forthcoming book, she noted, is carefully constructed to present his account while honouring his sister’s life as the 30th anniversary of her death approaches. Following the interview, Kuenssberg and Spencer walked to the water on the Althorp property where a wooded island holds Diana’s final resting place. Spencer described the site as a sanctuary from intrusion, marked by a large white urn. They passed the small green rowing boat he uses to reach the island and continued to what he calls The Temple—an 18th‑century structure now bearing Diana’s name, inscribed with a quotation from her and a line from his celebrated eulogy: “Diana will never be extinguished from our minds.” Spencer insisted he was not acting out of vengeance nor seeking to damage the monarchy, adding that he possessed further information about the King he had chosen not to reveal. Nevertheless, by publishing his book, serialising it in the press and speaking openly, he said he was doing more than paying tribute; he was reigniting the long‑running struggle over who controls Diana’s legacy. In the closing moments of the interview, Spencer set aside any notion of settling old scores. When asked how much he missed his sister, he welled up, noting that nearly three decades later the tears still came. “The thing with sibling loss? You never get over it,” he said. Charles Spencer was a young man when his sister died at 36 under horrific circumstances. He later joked about crying as a 62‑year‑old during a television interview in which he discussed the monarchy and made claims about the King that he knew would provoke global debate. In the usually secluded world of Althorp, a brother’s grief remains plainly evident—a reminder that what happened to Princess Diana is far from settled history.