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'This will not be a surprise to them': Earl Spencer suggests William and Harry already knew about his claim Charles said 'we'll forget about Diana soon enough' after her death

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Hardy, J. (2026, September 20). 'This will not be a surprise to them': Earl Spencer suggests William and Harry already knew about his claim Charles said 'we'll forget about Diana soon enough' after her death. Daily Mail. https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16146291/My-claims-Charles-no-surprise-William-Harry-Earl-Spencer-says.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490

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

Daily Mail · collected 2026-09-20 · by Jack Hardy

Quick Summary

Earl Spencer claims he has previously informed Prince William and Prince Harry about a reported comment made by their father, then-Prince Charles, shortly after Princess Diana’s death in 1997. According to Spencer’s forthcoming memoir, Charles allegedly said they would “forget her soon enough” during an argument over the funeral arrangements. The Palace has contested the veracity of these claims, suggesting that grief could have distorted memory. In a recent BBC interview, Earl Spencer stated that William and Harry will not be surprised by this revelation, though specifics about his conversations with them were not detailed further.
Written by AI on 2026-09-20, 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 leans left and hedges 29% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Evening Standard
Hedges 6 of 15 claims Outlet record 65/100
Daily Mail
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 2 of 24 claims Outlet record 68/100
“The articles discuss related claims and reactions but describe different specific events: Article A reports on a phone call between Prince Charles and Earl Spencer regarding Princess Diana's death, while Article B discusses Earl Spencer's claim that he told William and Harry about the incident previously.”
The Sydney Morning Herald
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 9 of 29 claims Outlet record 61/100
“Article A focuses on Earl Spencer's claims and Buckingham Palace's response regarding King Charles's alleged remark, while Article B discusses Earl Spencer suggesting that William and Harry were previously informed about the claim but did not know the details of his memoir until recently.”
Evening Standard
Hedges 3 of 13 claims Outlet record 65/100
“Article A reports on the palace's response to claims made in Earl Spencer's memoir, while Article B focuses on Earl Spencer's claim that William and Harry were previously informed about the allegations against Charles.”
New York Post
Hedges 3 of 26 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A discusses Prince Harry knowing about contents of Charles Spencer's book before publication, while Article B mentions Earl Spencer claiming his allegations will not surprise William and Harry but they were unaware of the specific claims in his memoir.”
Daily Mail
Hedges 7 of 38 claims Outlet record 68/100
“The articles discuss related topics and people but describe different incidents: one focuses on David Dimbleby's comment about Diana's resentment in Buckingham Palace, while the other is about Earl Spencer's claims regarding King Charles' remarks to William and Harry.”
The Guardian
Hedges 4 of 15 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of Earl Spencer's interviews and memoirs but do not describe the same specific incident or occurrence.”
Evening Standard
Hedges 6 of 22 claims Outlet record 65/100
“The articles discuss Earl Spencer's claims about Prince Charles but describe different aspects of his actions and statements. Article A focuses on Spencer suggesting William and Harry were already aware of his claim, while Article B discusses his motivations for writing the memoir.”
Evening Standard
Hedges 2 of 13 claims Outlet record 65/100
“Article A reports on Buckingham Palace's response to Earl Spencer's claims in his book, while Article B discusses Earl Spencer's claim that William and Harry were previously informed about those remarks.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
24
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
29%
7 of 24 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
68/100
Daily Mail'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 2026-09-20 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Daily Mail · 8478 article(s) · 20 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 20 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Jack Hardy
13 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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🔮 He threw a mobile phone into the stream and although it was recovered the water damage meant police could not analyse it.
🔮 - See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Earl Spencer has claimed his incendiary allegations about the King following the death of Princess Diana will 'not be a surprise' to Prince William and Prince Harry.
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🔮 Mrs Ball successfully argued that her continued access amounted to prescriptive rights to access the route, which will now be added to the deed for the land.
🔮 'We might have even flirted but it was just the way mates do, you know.
Also by Jack Hardy
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 13 articles by Jack Hardy →

Topics

BBC Daily Mail Mail Palace The Royal Family

Subjects

Charles PERSON · 6× Diana PERSON · 5× Earl Spencer PERSON · 4× Harry PERSON · 4× William PERSON · 4× BBC ORG · 3× Earl Spencer's PERSON · 3× Laura Kuenssberg PERSON · 2× Palace ORG · 2× Daily Mail ORG · 1×

Narrative

As well as his notorious remarks that Diana's 'bloody family' would ensure her sons were protected, his eulogy also included the line: 'Above all, we give thanks for the life of a woman I'm so proud to be able to call my sister: the unique, the complex, the extraordinary and irreplaceable Diana, whose beauty, both internal and external, will never be extinguished from our minds.'
framing: mixed · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-20
🔮 - See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Earl Spencer has claimed his incendiary allegations about the King following the death of Princess Diana will 'not be a surprise' to Prince William and Prince Harry.

Claims (24 extracted, 7 hedged)

- See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Earl Spencer has claimed his incendiary allegations about the King following the death of Princess Diana will 'not be a surprise' to Prince William and Prince Harry. asserted
allegations → see → William
The earl today suggested that he had informed the two brothers in the past that Charles remarked during a row over her funeral that their mother would soon be forgotten. uncertain
mother → suggest → funeral
The brothers are understood not to have been aware of the contents of Earl Spencer's forthcoming memoir about his sister, which include the King's reported comments. asserted
which → understand → comments
In an interview with the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg, he said: 'I don't like to talk about what I've been speaking about to William and Harry, but this will not be a surprise to them. ' asserted
this → say → them
I will tell you that these words will not be a surprise to them.' asserted
words → tell → them
The Royal Family is reeling from a string of explosive claims in the memoir – entitled Swan Song: Diana, My Sister – after extracts were exclusively published by the Mail last week. uncertain
extracts → reel → Mail
Earl Spencer's incendiary claim that – days after Diana's 1997 death – the then Prince Charles told him: 'Rest assured, we'll forget her soon enough' provoked a highly unusual response from the Palace. uncertain
we → tell → Palace
The Prince of Wales's alleged comment was made during a blistering row with the earl over whether Princes William and Harry, then aged 15 and 12, should walk in their mother's funeral procession. asserted
William → make → procession
But in a statement, a Palace spokesman last week questioned the veracity of Earl Spencer's explosive account and said that fraternal grief can 'cloud reason, affect judgment and colour memory'. asserted
grief → question → memory
Earl Spencer has claimed he had an explosive row with Charles after suggesting that he was uncomfortable with Harry and William, then both children, walking behind their mother's coffin in the funeral procession, which led to Charles attacking his family's sense of duty. asserted
Charles → claim → duty
He told the BBC today that evidence of his argument with Charles - and his reaction to his alleged comments - was actually contained within his famous eulogy at Diana's funeral. asserted
evidence → tell → funeral
The earl today suggested that he had informed the two brothers in the past that Charles remarked during a row over her funeral that their mother would soon be forgotten In an interview with the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg, Earl Spencer said: 'I don't like to talk about what I've been speaking about to William and Harry, but this will not be a surprise to them.' uncertain
this → suggest → them
As well as his notorious remarks that Diana's 'bloody family' would ensure her sons were protected, his eulogy also included the line: 'Above all, we give thanks for the life of a woman I'm so proud to be able to call my sister: the unique, the complex, the extraordinary and irreplaceable Diana, whose beauty, both internal and external, will never be extinguished from our minds.' asserted
beauty → ensure → minds
Earl Spencer said today of his explosive row with the future king on the eve of the funeral: 'You can see evidence of that conversation in the final eulogy. ' asserted
You → say → eulogy
I really stress Diana's sense of duty - duty comes across very clearly in the eulogy, and then it culminates in something which I think really underlines the truth of my assertion here. asserted
I → stress → assertion
If you get to the final bit of my eulogy, it is that her fantastic qualities "will never be extinguished from our minds". asserted
qualities → get → minds
It was a direct rebuttal of "we'll forget her soon enough".' asserted
we → forget → her
The early also had to deny that he was making a threat against the King when he suggested that he had more unflattering material which he chose not to use in his book. uncertain
he → have → book
He said: ‘This is not a threat, it's a fact, I know lots of things about the King which I chose not to include in the book because they were not relevant.’ asserted
they → say → book
Challenged that his remarks did, in fact, sound a bit like a threat, he continued: 'No, it's not at all a threat. asserted
it → challenge → threat
I want to give the context of what I said and what I didn't say, I'm not threatening. ' asserted
I → want → what
I'm not a salacious writer on any level, but if I was a salacious writer and wanted to write that sort of thing, I have plenty of other things I could have said, and really have no interest in doing so. uncertain
I → want → interest
Earl Spencer later claimed he had no intention of making any further claims about the Royal Family, saying: 'That's it. uncertain
That → claim → Family
That's me done.' asserted
me → do → ?
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