King Charles allegedly did not have the expected reaction to the news of Princess Diana‘s tragic death.
The late Princess of Wales’s brother, Charles Spencer, opened up about the fateful day that changed history when his sister died in a fatal car crash. He recalls His Majesty’s reaction in the first excerpt of his book “Swan Song: Diana, My Sister.”
The union of King Charles and Princess Diana was rocky from the start, laced with a lack of love and infidelity, which ultimately led to a divorce a year before her tragic demise.
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Spencer, who over the years has kept his peace about details surrounding his sister’s life and death, opened up in his new book. He put pen to paper, detailing his conversation with then-Prince Charles about the tragedy and burial plans.
He recounted that he got the news while he was at home in Cape Town, South Africa, from his sister, Jane, who called to tell him Diana had been involved in an accident. After it became public knowledge that Diana had died, “the phone rang constantly,” with each caller in shock and pain at the Princess’s death.
“Unlike my other callers, who were stunned, barely able to articulate their condolences and offers of help, King Charles sounded giddily elated — like a lottery winner, I remember thinking at the time,” Spencer wrote.
The first excerpt of “Swan Song: Diana, My Sister,” published by The Daily Mail, also detailed how the King told Prince William and Prince Harry about their mother’s death.
“He let me know he had informed William and Harry of their mother’s death, first thing that morning, in their bedrooms at Balmoral,” Spencer recalled, adding that it did not sit right with him. “It all sounded strangely matter-of-fact, given the enormity of the disaster.”
Charles Spencer Claims People Were ‘Pleased’ His Sister Died
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Reminiscing on King Charles’ reaction, Spencer explained that he suspects His Majesty’s mind was clouded by the freedom “to marry the woman he loved, rather than appreciating the loss of the one he did not,” seemingly referring to his relationship with Queen Camilla.
King Charles and Camilla’s relationship was a thorn in Princess Diana’s side. The late Princess previously described her marriage as “crowded,” saying there were three in the union, not two.
“There were others in the Palace, I already knew, who were relieved – indeed, pleased – that she had gone,” the 9th Earl wrote in his memoir after being “inundated” with several requests for interviews.
Spencer also recalls a heated exchange with his sister’s ex about the funeral arrangements. Then-Prince Charles had decided that Diana’s sons would walk behind the coffin in the funeral procession, and Spencer was against the idea.
Charles allegedly unleashed his “pent-up contempt for Diana” after her brother expressed his views about the burial plans. “‘Rest assured,’ he hissed, ‘we’ll forget her soon enough!’” Spencer wrote. Words that left him too stunned to speak; after snapping out of the shock of what he had just heard, he said flatly, “I can’t believe you just said that.”
Inside Princess Diana’s Tragic Death
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Princes Diana and Charles’s divorce was finalized on August 28, 1996, after a few years of separation. Diana began a relationship with Egyptian film producer Dodi Al-Fayed after her divorce, and their relationship was the talk of town. Headlines carried their story, and they were often harassed by the paparazzi wherever they went.
On the evening of August 30, 1996, Diana and Al-Fayed had planned to enjoy a quiet, romantic evening dining at the Imperial Suite of the Ritz Hotel. But because they were disturbed by the press, they had to leave early. At around midnight on August 31, the lovebirds left to return to the film producer’s apartment using a decoy vehicle to avoid the cameras.
They hopped in a Mercedes S-280 limousine along with French driver Henri Paul and one of Diana’s bodyguards, Trevor Ress-Jones. A few minutes later, following a high-speed chase by the press, the vehicle crashed into the 13th pillar of the Pont d’Alma Bridge, which traverses the River Seine.
History detailed that Al-Fayed and Paul died at the scene. Diana was initially conscious and taken to Paris’ La Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital. Several hours later, at around 4 a.m., she was pronounced dead from injuries sustained in the crash. Only Ress-Jones survived the crash, although he sustained multiple injuries.
King Charles’ Wife Played A Part In The End Of Princess Diana’s Marriage
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Even though Charles married Diana, Camilla reportedly had his heart the whole time. The pair had met back in 1970 through a mutual friend and dated briefly before marrying other spouses. Camilla was not considered a suitable match for the Prince at the time due to her lack of an aristocratic background.
While Camila was married to her then-husband, Andrew Parker Bowles, she reconnected with Charles, and they had an extramarital affair. She previously said that she felt like a “prisoner” during their affair that kicked off around 1986.
The infidelity was not hidden from Diana, who said in recordings made for Andrew Morton’s book “Diana: Her True Story” that she confronted Camilla about the affair.
“I was terrified of her … I said, ‘I know what’s going on between you and Charles and I just want you to know that,’” the late princess said. “She said to me, ‘You’ve got everything you ever wanted. All the men in the world fall in love with you, and you’ve got two beautiful children, what more would you want?’… So I said, ‘I want my husband.’”
Princess Diana’s Memoir Already Facing Hurdles Before Hitting Shelves
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According to Spencer, the book will correct untruths about his late sister while revisiting the collapse of her marriage to King Charles. Revealing the “devastating” reaction of His Majesty to his ex-wife’s death is just one part of the 384 pages.
Publishing this project has taken a lot from the late Princess of Wales’ brother and will open Buckingham Palace to renewed scrutiny as the 30th anniversary of her death draws nearer. Copies of the book, which is to be translated into 12 languages and published next week, were stolen in the Netherlands.
As reported by The Blast, only four copies were taken from a truck transporting thousands to a warehouse. Dutch police are already investigating the “suspicious” incident, which raises more questions about who would want access to the memoir before anyone else.
Will King Charles respond to the new update of Princess Diana’s brother’s claims?
