The Aporia · King sounded ‘giddily elated’ after Diana’s death, Earl Spencer claims

King sounded ‘giddily elated’ after Diana’s death, Earl Spencer claims

Read the original at Evening Standard ↗

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APA MLA Chicago

Payne, J. (2026, September 17). King sounded ‘giddily elated’ after Diana’s death, Earl Spencer claims. Evening Standard. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/earl-spencer-king-daily-mail-wales-b1297394.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Quick Summary

Earl Spencer’s upcoming memoir, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, includes claims that King Charles sounded unusually elated when calling him shortly after Princess Diana’s fatal car crash in 1997. The excerpts suggest that Charles informed his sons William and Harry of the death before contacting Spencer. Buckingham Palace responded to these assertions by emphasizing how grief can distort memory and judgment over time.

Written by AI on 2026-09-17, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

In September 2026, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan moved their children, Prince Archie (aged seven) and Princess Lilibet (five), to a new school in Britain after just two days due to security concerns. The couple's spokesperson cited heavy traffic between their home and the original school as the reason for the move. This decision came shortly after Harry and Meghan returned to Britain from California, where they had lived for six years. Additionally, the family's publicly-funded security is currently being reviewed by a government committee known as Ravec (the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures).

Written for “Charles Spencer's Memoir Controversy” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 141 other(s) covering the same event.

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Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

29%

2 of 7 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

not political

takes no side on a contested political question

Publisher signals

64/100

Evening Standard's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

Outlets on this story

142

Entertainment

Same framing elsewhere

articles that frame the event the way this one does

Who wrote this

Josh Payne

13 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

🔮 The woman was informed Brand was “unhappy” and the situation would not improve unless she gave him a massage, the court heard.

2026-10-14 · mixed framing · Russell Brand trial: What are the allegations made against him?

🔮 PA understands the funds made available by the King will cover the £1.5 million payment.

2026-10-09 · assertive framing · King privately funded Andrew’s Royal Lodge repair and restoration costs

🔮 PA understands the funds made available by the King will cover the £1.5 million payment.

2026-10-09 · assertive framing · King privately funded Andrew’s Royal Lodge repair and restoration costs

🔮 In December last year, the Crown Estate told MPs it was not believed Andrew would receive compensation for the early surrender of the lease once repair and restoration costs were taken into account.

2026-10-09 · assertive framing · Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor granted £302,000 compensation after Royal Lodge lease surrendered

2026-10-09 · assertive framing · Andrew granted £302,000 compensation after Royal Lodge lease surrendered

🔮 Following its reopening, CTP London identified a line of inquiry which it said “may have been relevant” but had not been “identified and pursued by them at the time”.

2026-10-02 · assertive framing · Widdecombe murder suspect charged with planning terror act against Farage

🔮 Following its reopening, CTP London identified a line of inquiry which it said “may have been relevant” but had not been “identified and pursued by them at the time”.

2026-10-02 · assertive framing · Widdecombe murder suspect charged with preparing terrorism against Nigel Farage

🔮 “He let me know he had informed William and Harry of their mother’s death, first thing that morning, in their bedrooms at Balmoral.

2026-09-17 · mixed framing · Charles sounded ‘giddily elated’ in phone call after Diana’s death, Earl Spencer claims

🔮 “He let me know he had informed William and Harry of their mother’s death, first thing that morning, in their bedrooms at Balmoral.

2026-09-17 · mixed framing · King sounded ‘giddily elated’ after Diana’s death, Earl Spencer claims

🔮 The book – Swan Song: Diana, My Sister – alleges the King told Diana’s brother “we’ll forget her soon enough” after her death in 1997, and that Charles subjected the Earl to a “stream of anger” after he insisted Diana would not have wanted Princes William and Harry, then aged 15 and 12, to walk in her funeral procession.

2026-09-17 · mixed framing · Business as usual for King and senior royals after pushback to Spencer claims

Also by Josh Payne

Russell Brand trial: What are the allegations made against him?

2026-10-14 · Evening Standard

King privately funded Andrew’s Royal Lodge repair and restoration costs

2026-10-09 · Evening Standard

King privately funded Andrew’s Royal Lodge repair and restoration costs

2026-10-09 · Evening Standard

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor granted £302,000 compensation after Royal Lodge lease surrendered

2026-10-09 · Evening Standard

Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 13 articles by Josh Payne →

Claims (7 extracted, 2 hedged)

In excerpts published by the Daily Mail on Thursday, the book – Swan Song: Diana, My Sister – the Earl spoke of how Charles’s phone call following the car crash in 1997 “all sounded strangely matter-of-fact”. asserted

call → publish → 1997

One passage read: “Unlike my other callers, who were stunned, barely able to articulate their condolences and offers of help, he sounded giddily elated – like a lottery winner, I remember thinking at the time. asserted

I → read → time

“He let me know he had informed William and Harry of their mother’s death, first thing that morning, in their bedrooms at Balmoral. asserted

he → let → Balmoral

“It all sounded strangely matter-of-fact, given the enormity of the disaster. asserted

It → sound → disaster

“Looking back now, I suspect the prince’s first reaction must have been to think more of how this event might free him to marry the woman he loved, rather than appreciating the loss of one he did not.” uncertain

he → look → one

The palace hit back at claims in the memoir with a short statement, saying “the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason”. uncertain

pain → hit → reason

Commenting after the excerpts were published on Wednesday, a palace spokesman said: “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 colour memory in ways others do not recognise, even many years after such a loss.” asserted

others → comment → loss

King sounded ‘giddily elated’ after Diana’s death, Earl Spencer claims

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Claims (7 extracted, 2 hedged)