Buckingham Palace hits back at claims in a book by Princess Diana’s brother

Buckingham Palace strongly refuted allegations made in a new book by Princess Diana's brother, Charles Spencer. The book claims that King Charles III once stated that Princess Diana would soon be forgotten, following her tragic death in a car crash in Paris in 1997. Spencer alleges that he and the then-Prince Charles, Diana's estranged husband, had a heated disagreement over plans for their sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, to walk behind her coffin during her funeral procession.

Spencer claims he told Charles that Diana would not have wanted her sons to endure such a painful ordeal. He further accuses Charles of having contempt for his ex-wife.

In response to the book's claims, Buckingham Palace released a measured statement, expressing that His Majesty is sensitive to the pain of fraternal grief and its potential to cloud judgment and distort memories. The palace emphasized that they do not comment on books as a matter of principle. Tensions between the palace and Diana's aristocratic Spencer relatives were already well-documented, and were depicted in the film "The Queen" and the TV series "The Crown."

The royal family's slow acknowledgment of the global outpouring of grief following Diana's death is believed to have shaped Prince William and Prince Harry's more emotionally literate approach. The new book, "Swan Song: Diana, My Sister," is set to be published next week.