Ken Wharfe
Role at the time: Former Metropolitan Police royal protection officer who was Diana, Princess of Wales’s personal protection officer from 1987 to late 1993, interviewed on Times Radio
Statement summary
Interviewed on Times Radio’s The Times at One, former royal protection officer Ken Wharfe said it was “not for me to say that it's true what the King is alleged to have said,” but that Charles is “quite capable of it” and that he could imagine him “grimacing” over the line without having “actually said it or actually meant it.” He said he does not see Spencer “making things up here to sell his book” and that “Personally, I think Spencer is right,” while adding that he “wasn't privy to the conversation.” Asked about criticism that Spencer is cashing in on his sister’s legacy, he said he does not take that line.
“Well, I mean, it's not for me to say that it's true what the King is alleged to have said. I can see why Spencer has written this book. Do I think that the King said something like this? Well, he's quite capable of it. And maybe in this line here, when discussing with Spencer about Diana's death and so forth, you know, when he was meant to be saying, well, you know, she'd be soon forgotten. I can see him grimacing over that statement. But that's not to say that he actually said it or actually meant it. But I do believe that Spencer, from the times that I've met him and known him, I don't see him actually making things up here to sell his book. Personally, I think Spencer is right.”
Why we used this label
On whether Spencer’s account of Charles’s words and demeanour after Diana’s death is accurate, Wharfe declines to say the remark was made (“not for me to say”) and allows that Charles is “quite capable of it” but may not have “actually said it or actually meant it.” Separately he says Spencer is credible, “right,” and has no reason to lie. Because he supports Spencer’s good faith while leaving the accuracy of the specific words unresolved, the statement is “Mixed or conditional”. The closest competing label is condemns, which this case uses for accounts that corroborate Spencer; it loses here because Wharfe expressly declines to confirm the words and suggests Charles may not have meant them.