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Earl Spencer reveals he regrets not naming Dodi Fayed in his celebrated eulogy at Princess Diana's funeral

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Hookham, M. (2026, September 21). Earl Spencer reveals he regrets not naming Dodi Fayed in his celebrated eulogy at Princess Diana's funeral. Daily Mail. https://www.dailymail.com/news/royals/article-16145087/Earl-Spencer-regrets-not-naming-Dodi-Fayed-eulogy.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490

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Daily Mail · collected 2026-09-21 · by Mark Hookham

Quick Summary

Earl Spencer admits regret over omitting Dodi Fayed's name from his eulogy at Princess Diana’s funeral in 1997. In his upcoming memoir, Spencer reveals he originally included a mention of Fayed but removed it before delivering the speech. He describes their romance as likely motivated by Diana wanting to provoke jealousy in another suitor, presumably heart surgeon Hasnat Khan. Additionally, Spencer writes about Diana expressing revulsion over her father-in-law-to-be Mohamed Fayed's inappropriate behavior towards her early in her relationship with Dodi.
Written by AI on 2026-09-21, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

In his memoir "Swan Song: Diana, My Sister," Earl Spencer reveals regret for not mentioning Dodi Fayed by name during Princess Diana's funeral eulogy. The earl describes Dodi as kind to Diana and reflects on their last images together in Saint-Tropez days before the tragic car crash that killed them both in Paris. Although Earl Spencer had never met Dodi, he praises him for being good to Diana and notes their final moments showed "gentle playfulness." Despite this sentiment, Spencer suggests that Diana's relationship with Dodi may have been motivated by a desire to make another suitor jealous. The eulogy, later acclaimed as one of the greatest speeches of the 20th century, omitted any reference to Dodi, focusing instead on Diana's compassionate and selfless nature.

Written for “Diana Funeral Regrets” on 2026-11-03, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Diana Funeral Regrets
Entertainment · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 7% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
The Sydney Morning Herald
Hedges 7 of 23 claims Outlet record 61/100
“The articles discuss different claims made by Earl Spencer in his book, one about King Charles's alleged comments and another about regretting not mentioning Dodi Fayed at Princess Diana's funeral.”
South China Morning Post
Hedges 2 of 6 claims Outlet record 62/100
“The articles describe different incidents related to Earl Spencer's interactions with King Charles regarding Princess Diana, but they do not refer to the exact same occurrence.”
New York Post
Hedges 3 of 17 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different aspects related to Princess Diana's funeral, but they do not report on the same specific incident or moment.”
Daily Mail
Hedges 2 of 15 claims Outlet record 69/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of Earl Spencer's memoir, not a single specific incident at the same time.”
Evening Standard
Hedges 6 of 15 claims Outlet record 64/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of Earl Spencer's memoir, with one focusing on his comments about Prince Charles' reaction to Diana's death and the other on his regret for not mentioning Dodi Fayed in his eulogy.”
Fox News
Hedges 7 of 52 claims Outlet record 69/100
“Article A discusses Earl Spencer's regret over not naming Dodi Fayed in his eulogy for Princess Diana, while Article B covers Spencer's response to Buckingham Palace regarding allegations made in his memoir.”
ABC News (AU)
Hedges 9 of 84 claims Outlet record 68/100
“While both articles discuss Earl Spencer's reflections on his eulogy for Princess Diana and a new memoir, they are not reporting on a single specific incident happening at the same time.”
CBS News
Hedges 5 of 16 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different aspects of Earl Spencer's new book, with one focusing on his claims about Charles mistreating Princess Diana and the other on his regret for not mentioning Dodi Fayed in her funeral eulogy.”
Toronto Star
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 2 of 26 claims Outlet record 64/100
“The articles discuss different parts of Earl Spencer's memoir and focus on distinct aspects: one on regretting not naming Dodi Fayed in his eulogy, and the other on criticism towards King Charles III regarding funeral arrangements.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
15
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
7%
1 of 15 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
69/100
Daily Mail's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Entertainment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-21 · 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 · 8973 article(s) · 22 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 22 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Mark Hookham
15 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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🔮 Earl Spencer said he regrets not naming Dodi Fayed in his eulogy at Princess Diana's funeral Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed pictured in Saint-Tropez, France, just days before they were killed in a car crash in Paris Earl Spencer, William, Harry and Charles stand alongside the hearse containing the coffin of Diana during her funeral 'I had never met him but had heard that he was a nice man who was good to Diana.
🔮 Writing in Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, the earl, 62, said Diana was 'dreadfully hurt' by the 'petty and vindictive' removal of her HRH title a year earlier and that despite the Queen's 'well-meaning' gesture, he decided to reject the 'consolation prize'. 'I felt that I knew in my bones how she would view this posthumous award,' he writes.
Also by Mark Hookham
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 15 articles by Mark Hookham →

Topics

Daily Mail France Harrods Paris Saint-Tropez

Subjects

Diana PERSON · 15× Dodi PERSON · 7× Earl Spencer PERSON · 6× Dodi Fayed PERSON · 3× Harrods ORG · 2× Paris GPE · 2× Charles Spencer's PERSON · 1× Daily Mail ORG · 1× Dodi Fayed's PERSON · 1× Prince Harry PERSON · 1×

Narrative

Earl Spencer said he regrets not naming Dodi Fayed in his eulogy at Princess Diana's funeral Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed pictured in Saint-Tropez, France, just days before they were killed in a car crash in Paris Earl Spencer, William, Harry and Charles stand alongside the hearse containing the coffin of Diana during her funeral 'I had never met him but had heard that he was a nice man who was good to Diana.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-21
🔮 Earl Spencer said he regrets not naming Dodi Fayed in his eulogy at Princess Diana's funeral Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed pictured in Saint-Tropez, France, just days before they were killed in a car crash in Paris Earl Spencer, William, Harry and Charles stand alongside the hearse containing the coffin of Diana during her funeral 'I had never met him but had heard that he was a nice man who was good to Diana.

Claims (15 extracted, 1 hedged)

- Read part one of our exclusive serialisation of Swan Song: Diana, My Sister - the searing memoir that has started a war of words with the King - here - Read part two: asserted
that → read → part
Earl Spencer criticises the royals' 'lack of obvious care' for Prince Harry on the day of his mother Diana's funeral - See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Earl Spencer has spoken of his regret at removing Dodi Fayed's name from his famous eulogy at Princess Diana's funeral. asserted
Spencer → criticise → funeral
Writing in his bombshell memoir, the earl praised Dodi for being 'kind to Diana' and said the final images of the pair before the car crash in Paris that killed them showed a 'gentle playfulness'. asserted
that → write → playfulness
He, however, believes his sister's 'fling' with Dodi in the summer of 1997 was motivated by Diana wanting to make another suitor jealous. asserted
suitor → believe → 1997
Charles Spencer's defiant eulogy at his older sister's funeral was later named one of the greatest speeches of the 20th century. asserted
eulogy → name → century
In it, he described Diana as 'the very essence of compassion, of duty, of style, of beauty', adding: 'All over the world she was a symbol of selfless humanity.' There was, however, no mention in his speech of Dodi who had enjoyed a romance with Diana before their deaths. asserted
who → describe → deaths
In his book, Spencer discloses that he did name Dodi in an early draft – but removed the reference before delivering it. asserted
he → disclose → it
'In my original eulogy draft I gave a small nod to Dodi Fayed, thanking him by name for making Diana happy in her last few weeks alive,' he said. asserted
he → give → weeks
Earl Spencer said he regrets not naming Dodi Fayed in his eulogy at Princess Diana's funeral Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed pictured in Saint-Tropez, France, just days before they were killed in a car crash in Paris Earl Spencer, William, Harry and Charles stand alongside the hearse containing the coffin of Diana during her funeral 'I had never met him but had heard that he was a nice man who was good to Diana. asserted
who → say → Diana
Now I believe I was wrong to remove his name from my speech. asserted
I → believe → speech
'I should have left him in, even though I reckon they most likely would not have married. asserted
they → leave → him
I have always felt the fling with Dodi stemmed from Diana wanting to make another suitor – whom she loved deeply – jealous.' asserted
she → feel → whom
Although Earl Spencer does not name the suitor, it is likely to be a reference to heart surgeon Hasnat Khan, whom Diana is said to have described to friends as 'Mr Wonderful'. asserted
Diana → name → Wonderful
Earl Spencer also discloses that Diana 'disliked' Dodi's father, the Harrods and Fulham FC owner Mohamed Fayed, who, since his death aged 94 in 2023, has been accused by hundreds of women of sexual misconduct. asserted
who → disclose → misconduct
Harrods has set aside more than £50million to settle compensation claims The earl writes: 'She [Diana] told me with revulsion how, early in her romance with Dodi, Mohamed had come up to her, dropped a hand onto her buttocks and squeezed them while saying in a leery, suggestive tone, "And in Egypt, father-in-law gets first go…" uncertain
father → set → go
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