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Charles sounded ‘giddily elated’ in phone call after Diana’s death, Earl Spencer claims

Read the original at Evening Standard ↗
Cite

Payne, J. (2026, September 17). Charles sounded ‘giddily elated’ in phone call after Diana’s death, Earl Spencer claims. Evening Standard. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/king-charles-princess-diana-death-earl-spencer-memoir-b1297394.html

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

Evening Standard · collected 2026-09-17 · by Josh Payne

Quick Summary

Earl Spencer’s book excerpts published by the Daily Mail claim Prince Charles sounded unusually elated and matter-of-fact during a phone call to Spencer shortly after Princess Diana’s death in 1997. Buckingham Palace responded defensively, stating that grief can distort judgment without addressing specific claims. The article also includes Spencer’s recollections of Diana contemplating suicide at Beachy Head and her revelation about Charles's affair with his valet.
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 25% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Evening Standard
Hedges 2 of 7 claims Outlet record 65/100
Evening Standard
Hedges 10 of 35 claims Outlet record 65/100
BBC News
Hedges 3 of 17 claims Outlet record 69/100
Evening Standard
Hedges 10 of 35 claims Outlet record 65/100
BBC News
Hedges 1 of 8 claims Outlet record 69/100
NBC News
Hedges 2 of 31 claims Outlet record 60/100
CBS News
Hedges 7 of 19 claims Outlet record 66/100
Fox News
Hedges 4 of 23 claims Outlet record 70/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
20
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
25%
5 of 20 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
65/100
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
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

Evening Standard · 7849 article(s) · 64 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 64 correction(s)

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.
🔮 PA understands the funds made available by the King will cover the £1.5 million payment.
🔮 PA understands the funds made available by the King will cover the £1.5 million payment.
🔮 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.
🔮 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.
🔮 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”.
🔮 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”.
🔮 “He let me know he had informed William and Harry of their mother’s death, first thing that morning, in their bedrooms at Balmoral.
🔮 “He let me know he had informed William and Harry of their mother’s death, first thing that morning, in their bedrooms at Balmoral.
🔮 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.
Also by Josh Payne
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 13 articles by Josh Payne →

Topics

Buckingham Palace East Sussex England San Lorenzo the Daily Mail

Subjects

Diana PERSON · 3× Carlos PERSON · 2× the Daily Mail ORG · 2× Buckingham Palace ORG · 1× Charles PERSON · 1× East Sussex GPE · 1× England GPE · 1× Harry PERSON · 1× Spencer PERSON · 1× William PERSON · 1×

Narrative

In other passages of the book, Earl Spencer spoke of how his sister drove “more than once” to the cliffs at Beachy Head in East Sussex and was “contemplating ending it all”, adding that “her love for her sons stopped her from going further”.
framing: mixed · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-17
🔮 “He let me know he had informed William and Harry of their mother’s death, first thing that morning, in their bedrooms at Balmoral.

Claims (20 extracted, 5 hedged)

Allegations published in the Daily Mail sparked an “unprecedented” response from Buckingham Palace, who said “the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason” after the earl’s book made explosive claims. uncertain
book → publish → claims
In excerpts from Swan Song: Diana, My Sister – Earl Spencer spoke of how Charles’s phone call following the car crash in 1997 “all sounded strangely matter-of-fact”. asserted
call → speak → 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 are yet to respond to the latest claims serialised by the Daily Mail, but a spokesman said on Wednesday: “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. uncertain
others → respond → loss
In other passages of the book, Earl Spencer spoke of how his sister drove “more than once” to the cliffs at Beachy Head in East Sussex and was “contemplating ending it all”, adding that “her love for her sons stopped her from going further”. asserted
love → speak → her
The excerpt later goes on to claim that Diana told her brother “my husband is in love with his valet” after telling him she was going to get divorced. uncertain
she → go → him
The book reads: “It is a sad fact that, in her later years, Diana drove herself more than once to Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in England, while contemplating ending it all. “ asserted
Diana → read → it
Her love for her sons stopped her from going further. asserted
love → stop → her
“One day Diana asked me at very short notice to join her for lunch at San Lorenzo, her favourite London restaurant. asserted
Diana → ask → Lorenzo
Read More “She looked down at the table and said, ‘Carlos, I’m going to get divorced.’ asserted
I → read → table
I had known things were bad, but not this bad. asserted
things → know → ?
“‘Well, Duch,’ I carefully replied, ‘you of course have my full support… asserted
you → reply → support
I know you’ll have thought this through. asserted
you → know → this
I fear they won’t forgive you. asserted
they → fear → you
They’ve bought into a fairytale, and I reckon they may well – wrongly – blame you for destroying their fantasy.’ uncertain
they → buy → fantasy
“She looked up at me, nodded, and said quietly: ‘But, Carlos, my husband is in love with his valet.’ “I gulped. asserted
I → look → valet
‘Well, I guess, in that case, you really don’t have a choice’.” asserted
you → guess → choice
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