---
title: "Buckingham Palace Reacts to Diana's Brother's Memoirs: \"The Pain of Grief Can Cloud Memory\""
description: "Buckingham Palace reacted to Charles Spencer's memoirs, in which Diana's brother attributes to King Charles III the words that the family would \"soon be forgotten.\" The palace did not refute the quote but noted that the pain of grief can distort memory."
date: 2026-09-18T07:04:01.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/buckingham-palace-responds-to-dianas-brothers-memoirs
tags: [princess-diana, king-charles-iii, charles-spencer, buckingham-palace, memoirs]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---
# Buckingham Palace Reacts to Diana's Brother's Memoirs: "The Pain of Grief Can Cloud Memory"
## 🎯 Key Points
- In his memoirs, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister (release date 22 September 2026), Charles Spencer claims that after Diana's death Charles III said: "we will forget her soon."
- Buckingham Palace did not refute the quote but stated that the pain of grief can cloud the mind and distort memory.
- The disputed episode is linked to a disagreement over whether Diana's sons should walk behind the coffin at the funeral.
- Spencer's assessment of Charles's "elevated" state (the comparison to winning the lottery) is his personal opinion, not an established fact.
Buckingham Palace issued a public statement in response to the claims made by Charles Spencer — the brother of the late Princess Diana. In his forthcoming memoir, *Swan Song: Diana, My Sister*, which, according to the publisher, is set to be released on 22 September 2026, Spencer claims that shortly after his sister's death, the then-Prince of Wales, now King Charles III, allegedly said: "Rest assured, we will forget her soon." The royal palace's statement was unusually sharp for a case of this kind and immediately drew the attention of international media.
### The Palace's Statement: Grief "Clouds the Mind"
A Buckingham Palace spokesperson did not directly comment on the book's contents nor offer an alternative account of that conversation. Instead, he noted that the King is aware of how "the pain of a brother's grief can cloud the mind, affect judgment and memory," emphasizing that the effects of such an experience can persist even many years after the loss. The wording contains no direct rebuttal of Spencer's quote and is not accompanied by evidence; however, it clearly casts doubt on the reliability of his recollections of events that took place nearly three decades ago.
### The Funeral Dispute: The Children Behind the Coffin
According to Charles Spencer, the conflict with the then-Prince of Wales arose over the organization of Diana's funeral. The princess's brother had objected to her sons — 15-year-old William and 12-year-old Harry — walking behind their mother's coffin during the ceremony, considering it too heavy a burden for the children. It was during an emotional phone call on this very matter, in Spencer's account, that Charles uttered the controversial phrase. The publisher describes this episode as one of the most resonant passages in the forthcoming memoir.
### Contradictory Accounts
There is a significant discrepancy in the versions offered by the sources and by the parties involved. On the one hand, Charles Spencer claims in his memoir that Charles III said "we will forget her soon," and he describes the King's reaction to Diana's death as "elevated," comparing his brother's state to that of a person who has just won the lottery. On the other hand, Buckingham Palace neither confirms nor refutes this quote, pointing only to the possible distortion of memory under the influence of grief. It is important to note that both the "lottery" remark and the "forgetting" quote are Spencer's personal recollections and assessments, not established facts; no independent corroboration of these episodes has been presented as of the time of the palace's statement.
### Context: A Book on the Eve of the 30th Anniversary
The memoirs cover Diana's life, her relationship with her brother, and the events of the final week of her life. The publisher positions the book as Spencer's personal account of his sister, written nearly three decades after her death. A reminder: Princess Diana died in a car crash in Paris on 31 August 1997, at the age of 36, and her funeral took place on 6 September of the same year. The new book is released on the eve of the 30th anniversary of Diana's death, which will be marked in 2027, and has already attracted considerable public and press attention.
## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification
- [Princess Diana's brother reveals Charles III's words after her death: "We will forget her soon"](https://wave.rbc.ua/ukr/stars/brat-printsesi-diani-prigadav-slova-charlza-1789714479.html) - Основной источник: цитата Спенсера, заявление дворца, дата выхода книги 22.09.2026, детали спора о похоронах.
- [Princess Diana's brother's memoirs enrage Buckingham Palace: these details had been kept hidden for nearly 30 years](https://www.kp.ru/daily/277817.5/5304823/) - Подтверждает резкую реакцию дворца и контекст мемуаров.
- [The wedding of Diana and the future King Charles III](https://spletnik.ru/my-skoro-zabudem-yeyo-v-set-slili-skandalnyye-memuary-o-brake-printsessy-diany-s-buduschim-korolyom-karlom-iii-344284) - Подтверждено по источнику spletnik.ru
- [Elated Charles III on the death of Princess Diana: "We will forget her fairly soon!"](https://www.eg.ru/showbusiness/5688551-reakciya-karla-iii-na-smert-princessy-diany-096-18/) - Передает оценку Спенсера о «приподнятом» состоянии Карла; это мнение автора, а не факт.
## ❓ FAQ
### Q: What exactly does Charles Spencer claim about Charles III's words?
**A:** In his memoirs, he claims that shortly after Diana's death the then-Prince of Wales said: "Rest assured, we will forget her soon." This is his personal recollection, not confirmed by the palace.
### Q: Did Buckingham Palace refute this quote?
**A:** No, the palace did not offer its own version of the conversation nor present direct evidence of a rebuttal. It merely stated that the pain of grief can cloud the mind and distort memory, which casts doubt on the reliability of Spencer's recollections.
### Q: When will the book Swan Song: Diana, My Sister be released?
**A:** According to the publisher, Charles Spencer's memoirs are set to be released on 22 September 2026, on the eve of the 30th anniversary of Diana's death.
### Q: What caused the dispute between Spencer and Charles?
**A:** In Spencer's account, the conflict was tied to the organization of Diana's funeral: the princess's brother had objected to 15-year-old William and 12-year-old Harry walking behind their mother's coffin.