Spencer says his inference about Charles’s motive is not certain
Charles SpencerDiana’s brother and author of Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, speaking in a BBC interview
In a BBC interview, Charles Spencer said he inferred a possible explanation for the tone he says he heard in Charles’s voice after Diana’s death, but could not be sure what Charles was thinking.
“I cannot be sure, I'm saying that's what I assume from the tone is a possibility.”
Interview
Where this statement fits
Earl Spencer's memoir claims about King Charles's reaction to Diana's death
In his memoir "Swan Song: Diana, My Sister," serialised from September 2026, Charles Spencer makes a series of claims about how the then Prince Charles behaved towards him after Diana's death in 1997. He writes that Charles told him by phone, "Rest assured, we'll forget her soon enough," and, in later excerpts, that Charles sounded "giddily elated – like a lottery winner" during the call and that he now suspects Charles was weighing how the death might free him to marry Camilla. Buckingham Palace, in a rare on-record statement, did not directly confirm or deny the quotation, saying instead that "the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and colour memory," and declined to respond again to the later claims. The dispute is whether Spencer's account of Charles's words and demeanour is accurate.
Source and context
Interview
About this source
BBC’s published summary of its interview with Charles Spencer reports that he described a “giddy tone” and “lightness” in Charles’s voice after Diana’s death. When asked whether he could be sure what Charles was thinking, Spencer said his explanation was an inference from the tone, not certainty about Charles’s internal motivation.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
In his memoir and prior public accounts, Spencer said that then-Prince Charles sounded “giddily elated” or unusually light after Diana’s death and suggested Charles might have seen the death as freeing him to marry Camilla. Buckingham Palace questioned the reliability of Spencer’s recollection without directly denying the underlying quotation.
After the quotation
Spencer did not retract his perception of the tone. His BBC qualification narrows only the claim about what Charles was thinking: he presents that explanation as an inference rather than as certainty. The statement does not independently establish what was said or felt in the 1997 call.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Spencer maintains his personal perception of the tone while expressly limiting his claim about Charles’s internal motivation. “Mixed or conditional” records that qualification without judging the accuracy of either the 1997 account or his inference.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- King Charles III
More from this case
Read the full caseSpencer denies trying to discredit Charles
“At no point am I looking to discredit anyone.”Read statement
Spencer tells CBS he is “absolutely not bitter” and that his book “would be more bitter” if he were
“No, I'm absolutely not bitter. I can tell you, if I was bitter, this book would be more bitter.”Read statement
Spencer tells CBS he is “reporting that’s the fact,” not “justifying or criticizing”
“He sounded excited in a sort of upbeat way. … Yes, and obviously I'm not justifying or criticizing. I'm reporting that's the fact. … I said in the book that that might have been it, yeah, but that's obviously … I can't say what he was thinking”Read statement
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The Dispute Index. "Spencer says his inference about Charles’s motive is not certain". First published: 2026-09-21. Last updated: 2026-09-21. https://disputeindex.com/events/1319-in-a-bbc-interview-charles-spencer-said-he