Royal experts have claimed that Earl Spencer’s new memoir about Princess Diana contains historical inaccuracies.
The memoir, titled Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, discusses Princess Diana’s life, marriage, and death.
Royal expert claims Earl Spencer’s Diana memoir contains ‘Historical Inaccuracies’
Royal expert Victoria Arbiter told NewsNation that Earl Spencer’s memoir contains flaws and is not factually substantiated. Some of the book’s more damaging claims about the royal family during Princess Diana’s time have also prompted a response from Buckingham Palace.
“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,” the Palace noted.
Meanwhile, Arbiter warned readers against treating the memoir as a verifiable historical source. She explained that Spencer’s relationship with Diana and his professional background could lead readers to regard his account as authoritative.
“I think what has become so problematic with all Spencer’s book is that as Diana’s brother, as a historian, as a journalist, his account is going to be taken as an authority on his sister,” she said.
Arbiter also noted that “many of his claims do not stand up to further scrutiny.”
One of Spencer’s claims concerns Princess Diana’s funeral procession in 1997. In the memoir, he recalled having an argument with King Charles III during the procession. The two reportedly disagreed over whether Prince William and Prince Harry should walk behind their mother’s coffin, with Spencer believing that Diana would not have wanted them to do so.
He claimed that the then-prince told him, “Rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough!”
“Feelings, valid as they may be, they do not equate to substantiated fact,” Arbiter said.
Spencer, however, has maintained that the book is a “loving tribute” to his sister. Arbiter disagreed with that characterization, saying, “There are historical inaccuracies already for a noted historian.”
Apart from King Charles, Spencer has also suggested that Queen Elizabeth II expressed nonchalance about Diana’s death. The former monarch’s reported first reaction to Diana’s death has also become part of the discussion surrounding Spencer’s account.
