Charles Spencer Claims Queen Elizabeth Reacted ‘Tetchily’ to News of Diana’s Crash in New Memoir

According to Spencer, the late Queen initially responded with irritation rather than concern to the news to Diana's crash.

The events surrounding Princess Diana’s death have been discussed for decades, but Charles Spencer’s new memoir is bringing some deeply personal claims back into the spotlight. In his upcoming book, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, set to be released on September 22, the Earl reveals an alleged reaction by the late Queen Elizabeth to what happened in the hours and days that followed Diana's fatal car crash. The details have now painted a very different picture of the royal family’s response to the tragedy.

Spencer has made several explosive claims in his upcoming book, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister. While the book is yet to be released, the Daily Mail has shared a few excerpts from the memoir. One of the most striking revelations concerns the Queen and the moment she was first told that Diana had been involved in a car crash in Paris. According to Spencer, the late Queen initially responded with irritation rather than concern.

He claims that when informed about the accident, she asked, tetchily, “What is she up to now?” However, the Earl added that the comment allegedly came before the full seriousness of the situation became clear to the Queen. Spencer also shared that after Diana’s death, the Queen considered restoring his sister’s Her Royal Highness title posthumously. 

He detailed that Robert Fellowes, the Queen’s private secretary, came bearing the offer, since Diana had lost the HRH style following her 1996 divorce from then-Prince Charles. However, Spencer says he immediately felt that the gesture came too late. In his book, she wrote, “I felt that I knew in my bones how she would view this posthumous award,” before imagining Diana responding: “That's very kind of the Queen, of course. But what's the point, Robert? Now? I mean Diana's dead.”

The Earl also claims that Diana’s loss of the HRH title was deliberately humiliating, stating, “The loss was designed to emphasize to her, and the world, that her royal days were over.” 

Apart from these, the Earl has made several shocking claims in his book, and in reaction to it, the Palace noted, “While we do not comment on books as a matter of principle, His Majesty is mindful that the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and color memory in ways others do not recognize, even many years after such a loss.”