Robert Jobson says Charles was “devastated” after Diana’s death, yet it “shouldn’t be dismissed” that he could have said it in the heat of the moment
Robert JobsonRoyal commentator and author of Our King: Charles III, writing a column in The Sun
In a column in The Sun, royal commentator and author Robert Jobson wrote that only Charles and Earl Spencer know what was said on the phone call and that Charles was “devastated after Diana’s death.” He also wrote that Charles “can have a filthy temper,” that he “can say things in the heat of the moment,” and that “it shouldn’t be dismissed that this could have been said.” He concluded that “The King is not a cruel man” and that the comment Spencer says he heard “wasn’t kind.”
“In reality, Charles was devastated after Diana’s death. Now, anyone who knows King Charles knows he can have a filthy temper. It was more explosive when he was younger. He is not a vindictive man, but cross him and he can lose it. It flares up, it doesn’t last long, and he doesn’t hold grudges. He apologises soon afterwards. But he can say things in the heat of the moment, and it shouldn’t be dismissed that this could have been said. Funerals are one of the most emotional times for any family, royal or not.”
Original text
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
Original text
About this source
Robert Jobson's column in The Sun, published at 22:01 BST on September 17, 2026. It identifies him as author of the Sunday Times bestseller Our King: Charles III, says he reported on the royals for more than 35 years and attended Diana's funeral from the press seats, and responds to Earl Spencer's claim that Charles told him “we’ll forget her soon enough.”
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
The column follows Spencer’s claim that Charles told him “we’ll forget her soon enough” days after Diana died and Buckingham Palace’s statement of September 16 suggesting that grief can affect memory. Jobson writes that he was in Westminster Abbey for Diana’s funeral, in the press seats.
After the quotation
Jobson writes that at the funeral Charles “looked very emotional throughout” and “looked close to tears,” and that “towards the end of her life, he and Diana were getting on much better.” He also recounts that Charles confided in the Queen Mother’s long-time servant William “Billy” Tallon, saying, “You know, we were very much in love in the early days”; the column does not say how Jobson knows this.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
On whether Spencer’s account of Charles’s words and demeanour after Diana’s death is accurate, Jobson does not deny that Charles may have said it: he writes that Charles “can say things in the heat of the moment” and that it “shouldn’t be dismissed that this could have been said.” He also rejects the portrait of a callous Charles, saying Charles was “devastated” and “not a cruel man.” Because he neither confirms nor refutes the account and takes different positions on the remark’s plausibility and on Charles’s state of mind, the statement is “Mixed or conditional”. The closest competing label is “Challenged the characterization”, which loses because he concedes the remark is plausible rather than only disputing its portrayal.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- Charles Spencer
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
Share or embed this statement
The embed keeps its attribution link to The Dispute Index. Credit the image to The Dispute Index and link to the statement page.
Cite this record
- Publisher
- The Dispute Index
- Title
- Robert Jobson says Charles was “devastated” after Diana’s death, yet it “shouldn’t be dismissed” that he could have said it in the heat of the moment
- First published
- Last updated
- Permalink
- https://disputeindex.com/events/1353-in-a-column-in-the-sun-royal-commentator
Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.
The Dispute Index. "Robert Jobson says Charles was “devastated” after Diana’s death, yet it “shouldn’t be dismissed” that he could have said it in the heat of the moment". First published: 2026-09-21. Last updated: 2026-09-22. https://disputeindex.com/events/1353-in-a-column-in-the-sun-royal-commentator