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‘Elated’ King Charles sounded like ‘a lottery winner’ when Princess Diana died, her brother claims

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Cite

Piñeiro, S. M. C. (2026, September 17). ‘Elated’ King Charles sounded like ‘a lottery winner’ when Princess Diana died, her brother claims. New York Post. https://pagesix.com/2026/09/17/royal-family/elated-king-charles-sounded-like-a-lottery-winner-when-princess-diana-died-her-brother-claims/

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

New York Post · collected 2026-09-17 · by Sophia Melissa Caraballo Piñeiro

Quick Summary

In his upcoming book, Charles Spencer, Diana’s brother, claims that Prince Charles sounded elated and matter-of-fact when he called to inform him about Princess Diana’s death in 1997. Spencer alleges that Charles was more concerned with marrying his then-lover Camilla than mourning Diana, whom he had divorced four years prior. Buckingham Palace disputes these claims, stating that grief can distort memory and judgment.
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 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 141 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Charles Spencer's Memoir Controversy
Entertainment · 142 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 31% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Charles ‘giddily elated’ after Diana’s death, her brother claims: ‘Like a lottery winner’; Buckingham Palace responds Same event
Times of India
Hedges 5 of 19 claims Outlet record 59/100
Princess Diana's brother claims Charles sounded "elated" after she died Same event
CBS News
Hedges 7 of 19 claims Outlet record 66/100
King Charles sounded like 'lottery winner' after Diana's death, her brother writes Same event
The Straits Times
Hedges 2 of 11 claims Outlet record 66/100
King sounded ‘giddily elated’ after Diana’s death, Earl Spencer claims Same event
Evening Standard
Hedges 2 of 7 claims Outlet record 65/100
‘Like a lottery winner’: Charles ‘elated’ after Diana’s death, her brother’s new book claims Same event
The Sydney Morning Herald
Hedges 8 of 33 claims Outlet record 61/100
Princess Diana’s brother says King Charles sounded ‘giddily elated’ after her death Same event
NBC News
Hedges 2 of 31 claims Outlet record 60/100
Charles sounded ‘giddily elated’ in phone call after Diana’s death, Earl Spencer claims Same event
Evening Standard
Hedges 5 of 20 claims Outlet record 65/100
King Charles was ‘giddily elated’ after Diana’s death, her brother says Same event
South China Morning Post
Hedges 2 of 3 claims Outlet record 64/100
Charles 'giddily elated' on night Diana was killed, her brother claims Same event
ABC News (AU)
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 6 of 23 claims Outlet record 68/100
Charles 'sounded giddily elated' after Diana died, Earl Spencer claims Same event
BBC News
Hedges 3 of 17 claims Outlet record 69/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
13
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
31%
4 of 13 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
142
Entertainment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-17 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 15411 article(s) · 35 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 35 correction(s)
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Who wrote this

Sophia Melissa Caraballo Piñeiro
6 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 She describes herself as “patient zero,” meaning that she was the first to experience the emotional damage caused by his love and manipulation. “If you wanna party with somebody who might know / About the devil on his shoulder under his halo / When the toxins take their hold, you’d rather die than let it go /
2026-09-25 · assertive framing · All the Easter eggs from Taylor Swift’s 4 new songs off ‘The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore’ explained
🔮 While our sources acknowledged that the two were recently having a “challenging time” and decided to take a few days apart to get back on track, one of the sources insisted there was a “clear” understanding that they were “still a couple” and would “not date other people” during that time.
2026-09-18 · assertive framing · Bronwyn Newport’s mystery man revealed as married NYC restaurateur
🔮 Per Spencer, Charles informed him that he had told Prince William and Prince Harry about their mother’s death, “first thing that morning, in their bedrooms at Balmoral.”
2026-09-17 · mixed framing · ‘Elated’ King Charles sounded like ‘a lottery winner’ when Princess Diana died, her brother claims
Also by Sophia Melissa Caraballo Piñeiro
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2026-10-19 · New York Post
Gypsy Rose Blanchard’s fiancé, Ken Urker, found with drug paraphernalia and gun at time of death: police
2026-10-02 · New York Post
All the Easter eggs from Taylor Swift’s 4 new songs off ‘The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore’ explained
2026-09-25 · New York Post
Presley Gerber went to rehab just days before tragic death at 27
2026-09-21 · New York Post
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 6 articles by Sophia Melissa Caraballo Piñeiro →

Topics

Buckingham Palace Page Six Page Six Daily the Daily Mail

Subjects

Charles PERSON · 6× Diana PERSON · 5× Spencer PERSON · 4× Camilla PERSON · 1× Charles Spencer PERSON · 1× Harry PERSON · 1× Page Six ORG · 1× Page Six Daily ORG · 1× William PERSON · 1× the Daily Mail ORG · 1×

Narrative

In his forthcoming book, “Swan Song: Diana, My Sister,” Charles Spencer, the Earl of Spencer, recalled the moment a then-Prince Charles called him following the news of Diana’s fatal 1997 car accident. “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,” Diana’s sibling writes in an excerpt published by the Daily Mail on Thursday.
framing: mixed · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-17
🔮 Per Spencer, Charles informed him that he had told Prince William and Prince Harry about their mother’s death, “first thing that morning, in their bedrooms at Balmoral.”
2026-09-17 · New York Post
‘Elated’ King Charles sounded like ‘a lottery winner’ when Princess Diana died, her brother claims · mixed framing

Claims (13 extracted, 4 hedged)

King Charles allegedly “sounded giddily elated — like a lottery winner” after his ex-wife, Princess Diana, died. uncertain
wife → sound → winner
In his forthcoming book, “Swan Song: Diana, My Sister,” Charles Spencer, the Earl of Spencer, recalled the moment a then-Prince Charles called him following the news of Diana’s fatal 1997 car accident. “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,” Diana’s sibling writes in an excerpt published by the Daily Mail on Thursday. asserted
sibling → recall → Thursday
Per Spencer, Charles informed him that he had told Prince William and Prince Harry about their mother’s death, “first thing that morning, in their bedrooms at Balmoral.” asserted
he → inform → Balmoral
He writes, “It all sounded strangely matter-of-fact, given the enormity of the disaster. asserted
It → write → 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,” Spencer continues, referring to now-Queen Camilla, whom Charles wed in 2005. uncertain
Charles → look → 2005
He adds, “It can be hard to feel too much sympathy for an ex-spouse, or those who care for them profoundly, after bitter divorce.” asserted
who → add → divorce
Charles, notably, married to Diana in 1981, with the couple separating in 1992 and divorcing four years later. asserted
couple → marry → 1992
The king allegedly vowed that his ex would be forgotten “soon enough” after her passing, per Spencer’s book. uncertain
ex → vow → book
He claims in the tell-all that the royal felt “pent-up contempt for Diana and … horror that the world was so bowled over by her death.” uncertain
world → claim → death
Charles, however, disputed this characterization on Wednesday in a blistering statement to Page Six. asserted
Charles → dispute → Page
“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,” a Buckingham Palace spokesperson told us. asserted
spokesperson → cloud → us
Story developing … Conversation Your voice matters. asserted
voice → develop → ?
Discussions are moderated for civility. asserted
Discussions → moderate → civility
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