Princess Diana’s brother says King Charles ‘gaslit’ him over memoir

Charles Spencer, the brother of Princess Diana, has accused King Charles III of "gaslighting" him over his explosive claims in an upcoming memoir about events surrounding her death. In the memoir, Spencer alleges that then-Prince Charles told him on the phone shortly after Diana's death in 1997, "Rest assured, we'll forget her soon enough," during a conversation that Spencer described as sounding "dizzily elated" like a "lottery winner."

The 62-year-old aristocrat's memoir, "Swan Song," is set to release on Tuesday, sparking a war of words following Buckingham Palace's rare statement on Thursday. A Palace spokesperson responded to the memoir's claims, stating that the 77-year-old king "is mindful that the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgement and colour memory in ways others do not recognise, even many years after such a loss."

Spencer dismissed the Palace's statement as "astonishingly provocative and below the belt," claiming it essentially accused him of lying without the King being able to deny his statements. He also criticized the response as a "rather poor imitation" of the Palace's reaction to Prince Harry and his wife Meghan's claims of royal racism in an interview with Oprah Winfrey five years ago, which the Palace responded to by saying "recollections may vary."

Spencer, a former US television journalist, has written books on history and his school days. He inherited the family estate where Diana is buried and has spoken out against the media, saying they have "blood on their hands." At her funeral, Spencer vowed to always look out for Princess Diana's two sons, Prince William and Prince Harry.