{
  "id": 8683446,
  "title": "‘Gaslit by the King’: Diana’s brother escalates feud with Palace over memoir",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/20/gaslit-by-the-king-dianas-brother-escalates-feud-with-palace-over",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-20T12:17:22.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Malay Mail",
    "slug": "malay-mail-malaymail",
    "url": "https://www.malaymail.com/news/life/2026/09/20/gaslit-by-the-king-dianas-brother-escalates-feud-with-palace-over-memoir/235909"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "London, September 20 — Charles Spencer, brother of Princess Diana, unleashed a scathing attack on King Charles III, accusing him of \"gaslighting\" him over his memoir claims about events surrounding her death. In a scathing piece for the Mail on Sunday, Spencer asserted: \"It is not every day you wake up to find you’ve been gaslit by the King\". The memoir, \"Swan Song\", is set for release Tuesday.\n\nResponding to the memoir's revelations, Buckingham Palace issued a rare statement on Thursday. A spokesperson commented: \"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\". This reaction came after Spencer's allegations, including a claim that then-Prince Charles had told him during a phone call shortly after Diana's 1997 death: \"Rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough\". Spencer alleged Charles sounded \"dizzily elated — like a lottery winner\".\n\nThe 62-year-old aristocrat dismissed the Palace's statement, calling it \"astonishingly provocative and below the belt\". He likened it to the Palace's response to Prince Harry and his wife Meghan's claims of royal racism in an interview with Oprah Winfrey five years ago — where the Palace stated \"recollections may vary\". Spencer, a former US television journalist, has penned books on history and his school days. He inherited the estate where Diana is buried. Following her death, he accused the media of having \"blood on their hands\". At Diana's funeral, he vowed to always look out for her two sons, Prince William and Prince Harry.",
  "summary": "LONDON, Sept 20 — The brother of princess Diana, Charles Spencer, on Sunday accused King Charles III of “gas...",
  "key_points": [
    "Charles Spencer accuses King Charles III of gaslighting over memoir claims.",
    "Palace responds with statement acknowledging grief's impact on memory.",
    "Spencer calls Palace's response \"astonishingly provocative and below the belt.\""
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Ynetnews Culture",
        "title": "King Charles, after Diana's death, said: 'We’ll forget her soon enough'",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/17/king-charles-after-dianas-death-said-well-forget-her-soon-enough",
        "published": "2026-09-17T17:21:16.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}