- Published
The legacy of the shocking death of Diana, Princess of Wales, is still the rawest of wounds for the royals, as demonstrated by the no-holds-barred memoir from her brother Earl Spencer.
asserted
legacy → publish → brother
It might be almost 30 years ago, but Buckingham Palace's unusually angry rebuttal to the book's allegations of a callous response to his ex-wife's death from the then Prince Charles shows how much this still matters.
uncertain
this → show → Charles
That late summer in 1997 was a moment when the Royal Family looked out of touch, lacking in empathy for Diana's loss, and at peril of losing public support, as people laid siege to the palaces with flowers.
asserted
people → look → flowers
While the royals dealt with their own private grief, they were also facing a reputational disaster, at risk of becoming the focus of public dismay at the sudden death of the "People's Princess" in a car crash in Paris.
"It was a very febrile mood.
asserted
It → deal → Paris
Everyone was taken by surprise by the strength of feeling, and the strength to which the Royal Family was unpopular.
asserted
Family → take → which
The palaces were deemed to have treated Diana badly," recalls royal author Valentine Low.
asserted
Low → deem → Diana
Low was inside Westminster Abbey for Diana's funeral and vividly remembers the public response to the electrifying speech made by Earl Spencer.
asserted
Low → remember → Spencer
"I heard this noise.
asserted
I → hear → noise
I couldn't quite make out what it was, and then I worked out it was the crowd outside the abbey, who'd been listening on the speakers," he says.
asserted
he → make → speakers
"That noise appeared to come through the stone walls of the abbey and it was the most extraordinary thing - as people then started to applaud inside the abbey.
asserted
people → appear → abbey
A volatile public mood followed Diana's death, with the late Queen Elizabeth eventually having to respond with a live televised address paying tribute to the princess and acknowledging how difficult it can be to articulate grief.
"
asserted
it → follow → grief
We have all been trying in our different ways to cope.
asserted
We → try → ways
It is not easy to express a sense of loss, since the initial shock is often succeeded by a mixture of other feelings: disbelief, incomprehension, anger - and concern for those who remain," said the late Queen.
asserted
Queen → express → those
A fresh-faced new prime minister, Tony Blair, was said to have been a modernising influence on sending such a direct message - an intervention later depicted in the movie, The Queen, starring Helen Mirren.
asserted
minister → say → Mirren
So many of the current tensions in the royal world can be traced back to the trauma of those events.
asserted
many → trace → events
The death of a mother at such a young age was inevitably a huge shaping influence on her sons - and it can feel as though those unresolved tensions are still playing out.
asserted
tensions → feel → sons
There is still a graphic sense of his distress at walking behind her coffin, with Prince Harry mentioning Earl Spencer's opposition.
asserted
Harry → be → opposition
"Mummy's brother, Uncle Charles, raised hell.
asserted
brother → raise → hell
'You can't make these boys walk behind their mother's coffin!
asserted
boys → make → coffin
It's barbaric'," wrote Harry.
asserted
Harry → write → ?
Harry's accusation that the interests of the institution of the monarchy had been put above the happiness of individuals has been part of the narrative that saw him stepping down as a working royal and remaining at loggerheads with his brother, Prince William.
asserted
him → put → brother
The disputes that followed Diana's death, within the family and between in-laws, are still being aired loudly in Earl Spencer's book - Swan Song: Diana, My Sister - and in the global news coverage it has triggered.
asserted
it → follow → coverage
It opens up old questions about King Charles's character, his treatment of the young princess and his relationship with the now Queen Camilla.
asserted
It → open → Camilla
On social media, Diana's fans are believing Earl Spencer's version of events, says Prof Pauline Maclaran.
asserted
Maclaran → believe → events
She says the royals remain "highly vulnerable" to anything that evokes the story of a "beautiful princess whose life was cut short in such tragic and ambiguous circumstances".
asserted
life → say → circumstances
Royal commentator Jenny Bond described it as a "fantastically hostile, absolutely rude book...
asserted
Bond → describe → book
it's a very unpleasant portrayal of a man - but it's his memory of it, and who knows who's right?"
asserted
who → know → it
At issue is Earl Spencer's account of a conversation with the then Prince Charles after the death of Diana, with the prince accused of telling Earl Spencer: "We'll forget her soon enough."
asserted
We → accuse → her
He is accused of sounding "giddily elated" and like a "lottery winner" after the news of her death.
asserted
He → accuse → death
Buckingham Palace hit back with a response, which although dressed in courtier-like politeness, was essentially saying the conversation had never happened like that.
asserted
conversation → hit → that
The King was said to be "mindful that the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and colour memory in ways that others do not recognise".
asserted
others → say → that
Anyone who has lost someone knows how feelings can run high, people can hear different things about the same conversations - and families can fall out, or come together, in the wake of a death.
asserted
families → lose → death
Psychotherapist Nick Hatter says he doesn't have a view on which version of events is correct, but he says that during traumatic events memories can be "distorted".
asserted
memories → say → events
A phone call doesn't have any of the visual clues or body language to give a fuller picture, he adds.
asserted
he → have → picture
Hatter says there can be very different and unpredictable responses to grief, including a condition known as "bereavement mania" where someone can seem inappropriately hyper or even euphoric after the loss of a loved one.
asserted
someone → say → one
The first opinion poll on who to believe has been published by YouGov - and it suggests a very split view, with 31% believing Earl Spencer's allegations, 36% suspecting it's not true and 33% saying they don't know.
uncertain
they → believe → allegations
Low thinks the book is unlikely to change many opinions, as "people have settled into their camps about how they regard Charles, how they look back on the Diana years".
asserted
they → think → years
There could also be a feeling that it's "tawdry" to rake up these claims so many years later, he says.
uncertain
he → rake → claims
That's echoed by historian and author Sir Anthony Seldon who says Earl Spencer showed great courage at the time of Diana's funeral, but says his memoir is a "sad and unnecessary publication".
asserted
memoir → echo → funeral
Royal commentator Richard Palmer says the book threatens to take the royals back to the difficult days of 1997.
asserted
book → say → 1997
…and 11 more, not listed.
The Aporia
