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Earl Spencer apologises over Diana book error but Piers Morgan still vows to sue

Read the original at Evening Standard ↗
Cite

Elston, L. (2026, September 22). Earl Spencer apologises over Diana book error but Piers Morgan still vows to sue. Evening Standard. https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/celebrity-news/earl-spencer-diana-princess-daily-mirror-wales-b1297954.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 2026-09-22 · by Laura Elston

Quick Summary

Earl Spencer issued an apology after publishing incorrect information in his new book about Princess Diana’s funeral, specifically regarding Piers Morgan's involvement and reaction to being uninvited from the ceremony. Morgan plans to sue Earl Spencer and Penguin Books for defamation, stating that Spencer falsely portrayed him as surly during a phone call about the funeral two years after Morgan had actually started working at the Daily Mirror. The incident highlights tensions between media figures and royal associates over the coverage of Diana’s life and death.
Written by AI on 2026-09-22, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Earl Spencer, Diana's brother, has apologized to Piers Morgan for incorrectly stating that Morgan was behind the publication of intrusive photos of Princess Diana taken at a gym when he wasn't the editor of the Daily Mirror. This comes after Morgan threatened legal action over "fabricated inaccuracies" in Spencer’s book "Swan Song: Diana, My Sister," which also claims Morgan sounded surly and annoyed when told he was not invited to Diana's funeral. The factual error regarding Morgan’s role at the time of photo publication has raised questions about other recollections in the memoir. Despite this apology, Morgan is still pursuing legal action against Spencer and his publisher Penguin for alleged defamation.

Written for “Piers Morgan Earl Spencer Lawsuit” on 2026-11-01, grounded in this article and the 7 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Piers Morgan Earl Spencer Lawsuit
Entertainment · 8 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 15% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
The Guardian
Hedges 5 of 37 claims Outlet record 66/100
Evening Standard
Hedges 3 of 37 claims Outlet record 65/100
BBC News
Hedges 0 of 7 claims Outlet record 68/100
BBC News
Hedges 5 of 51 claims Outlet record 68/100
“The articles describe different aspects of Earl Spencer's book release and aftermath, not the same specific incident.”
Daily Mail
Hedges 1 of 8 claims Outlet record 68/100
“The articles discuss different aspects and time periods related to Earl Spencer's claims about Princess Diana's funeral arrangements, rather than describing the exact same incident.”
Daily Mail
Hedges 2 of 30 claims Outlet record 68/100
The Sydney Morning Herald
Hedges 4 of 27 claims Outlet record 61/100
“The articles describe different aspects of Earl Spencer's interactions and claims regarding Princess Diana, her death, and his relationship with the royal family. While related, they do not cover the same specific incident.”
Evening Standard
Hedges 10 of 35 claims Outlet record 65/100
“The articles discuss different aspects related to Earl Spencer's memoir, with Article A focusing on claims made about Prince Charles' reaction after Princess Diana's death and Article B on an apology for a mistake in the book and Piers Morgan's reaction.”
Daily Mail
Hedges 7 of 38 claims Outlet record 68/100
“Article A discusses David Dimbleby's comments about Princess Diana being resented in Buckingham Palace and Earl Spencer's memoir, while Article B focuses on Earl Spencer apologizing for an error in his book and Piers Morgan's reaction to it.”
The Sydney Morning Herald
Hedges 2 of 17 claims Outlet record 61/100
“While both articles discuss Earl Spencer's apology and Piers Morgan's reaction regarding a book error, they describe different stages of this ongoing dispute. Article A covers the initial publication and apology, while Article B discusses Morgan's subsequent decision to pursue legal action.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
27
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
15%
4 of 27 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
8
Entertainment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-22 · 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 · 8032 article(s) · 68 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 68 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Laura Elston
19 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 From Coronations to Keepsakes will bring together more than 300 spectacular pieces – two-thirds of which will be on show for the the first time – worn by monarchs from Henry VIII to Charles II, and Queen Victoria to Queen Elizabeth II.
🔮 Charles, the Queen and the Prince and Princess of Wales will entertain Sultan Haitham bin Tarik Al Said at a glittering banquet in the historic royal fortress.
🔮 Harry could be seen putting his hand on Meghan’s back and at one point the couple put their arms around each other.
🔮 They will visit the city’s Community Recording Studio (CRS), food poverty community action group Himmah Hub, and Epic Partners, which supports young people through sports programmes and mentoring.
🔮 Mr Zelensky has travelled to the UK for talks with Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who is set to welcome him to Downing Street in a show of support after US President Donald Trump’s diesel deal with Russia.
🔮 Lord Archer had a successful career as a novelist alongside politics and was made a life peer in 1992 as Lord Archer of Weston-super-Mare, becoming the Conservatives’ choice to fight for the party in the first London mayoral election.
🔮 The judicial spokesperson said the hearing will concern a bid by Thames Valley Police to restrict access to court documents, with the hearing to begin in private.
🔮 William made a surprise appearance in a pre-recorded video message at the gala, recalling: “What struck me was Deborah’s positivity and humour in the face of adversity – what she liked to call ‘rebellious hope'”.
🔮 When Harry and Meghan’s move to the US became permanent in 2021, the late Queen stripped a devastated Harry of his military titles and royal patronages, and the Sussexes declared they would always live “a life of service”. The Sussexes returned to live in the UK in August six years after they left to pursue a new life of personal and financial freedom in the US.
🔮 The limited edition product has been created in collaboration with Los Angeles chocolatier Compartes and is set to appear on As Ever’s website for pre-order later on Thursday.
Also by Laura Elston
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 19 articles by Laura Elston →

Topics

Mirror Queen the Daily Mirror the Mirror Group the Sunday Mirror

Subjects

Morgan PERSON · 9× Earl Spencer PERSON · 6× Diana PERSON · 3× Piers Morgan PERSON · 3× Spencer PERSON · 3× the Daily Mirror ORG · 3× the Sunday Mirror ORG · 3× BBC ORG · 2× Earl Spencer’s PERSON · 2× Queen ORG · 1×

Narrative

Speaking about an alleged row over Diana’s funeral arrangements involving her sons, the earl said: “(The King) went ballistic, would be the right term, and started really going for my family as a whole, about their sense of duty, not being adequate enough, and ranted for a while, I have no idea how long, but it was a significant period, and I just listened. “
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-22
🔮 Speaking about an alleged row over Diana’s funeral arrangements involving her sons, the earl said: “(The King) went ballistic, would be the right term, and started really going for my family as a whole, about their sense of duty, not being adequate enough, and ranted for a while, I have no idea how long, but it was a significant period, and I just listened. “
2026-09-22 · Evening Standard
Earl Spencer apologises over Diana book error but Piers Morgan still vows to sue · assertive framing

Claims (27 extracted, 4 hedged)

The earl says he told the Queen's senior private secretary, Robert Fellowes, that they were not welcome as that had, in his opinion, "killed her". asserted
that → say → her
Spencer writes that he personally called tabloid editors to uninvite them from the ceremony. asserted
he → write → ceremony
"The only one who sounded surly, as opposed to merely confused or embarrassed, was Piers Morgan of the Mirror, who snarled with annoyance before he hung up," Spencer writes. asserted
Spencer → sound → annoyance
The earl also claims that he assumed Morgan must be feeling "guilt" over the Sunday Mirror publishing photographs of Diana wearing a leotard in a gym four years earlier. uncertain
Diana → claim → gym
Morgan reacted to the claims on his Piers Morgan Uncensored show on Monday night. uncertain
Morgan → react → night
I come across in the most despicable manner imaginable. asserted
I → come → manner
It's all bullshit and very, very easy bullshit for me to prove it,” he said. asserted
he → prove → it
Morgan said the Sunday Mirror published the pictures of Diana in November 1993 - two years before he started working at the Daily Mirror. asserted
he → say → Mirror
He added: "My question though is this, if Earl Spencer can be so incredibly, defamatorially wrong about such basic facts involving me, well, why should we believe anything else he puts in this book?" asserted
he → add → book
Morgan wrote on X: "I am taking legal action against Earl Spencer and his publishers over demonstrable lies he has written about me in his new book, which call into question his credibility as a supposed ‘historian'." asserted
which → write → historian
A statement on behalf of Charles Spencer read: “Earl Spencer’s account of his conversation with Piers Morgan is accurate. “ asserted
account → read → Morgan
Mr Morgan was surly and annoyed when Earl Spencer called personally to tell him that he was not welcome at his sister’s funeral. asserted
he → annoy → funeral
The book then records Earl Spencer’s assumption that Mr Morgan’s response was because he was editor of the Daily Mirror when the Mirror Group had published highly intrusive photographs of Princess Diana at the gym. asserted
Group → record → gym
“The photographs were published by the Sunday Mirror on November 7 1993. asserted
photographs → publish → November
Mr Morgan has pointed out that he did not join the Daily Mirror until October 1995. asserted
he → point → October
He therefore wishes to clarify that his assumption was incorrect. asserted
assumption → wish → ?
Earl Spencer apologises to Mr Morgan for this error.” asserted
Spencer → apologise → error
But in a message on X on Tuesday afternoon, Morgan said he still planned to take legal action against the earl. asserted
he → say → earl
He wrote: “Earl Spencer has apologised to me for his defamatory lies published in his new book, Swan Song, published today. asserted
Spencer → write → book
But I am pursuing legal action against him and his publisher Penguin to have the lies removed, and damages paid to the King’s Trust.” asserted
damages → pursue → Trust
Spencer said he felt it was his “duty… as an eyewitness to history” to write a new memoir chronicling the life of his sister. asserted
it → say → sister
In response to the claims made in the memoir, a Buckingham Palace 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 → make → loss
Speaking about an alleged row over Diana’s funeral arrangements involving her sons, the earl said: “(The King) went ballistic, would be the right term, and started really going for my family as a whole, about their sense of duty, not being adequate enough, and ranted for a while, I have no idea how long, but it was a significant period, and I just listened. “ asserted
I → speak → idea
And then he stopped, and I thought, ‘Oh now he’s going to pull himself together and say something more appropriate’. asserted
he → stop → something
“And then he said, ‘We’ll forget her soon enough’.” asserted
We → say → her
On what William and Harry might think of the comments being brought up, the earl added the words “will not be a surprise”, the BBC reported. uncertain
BBC → think → comments
In another extract from the interview with the BBC, the earl said the relationship between the press and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex “echoes” the way the media treated his sister. asserted
media → say → sister
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