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Earl Spencer apologises to Piers Morgan over 'incorrect' statements in his new book

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Cite

Rossiter, J. (2026, September 23). Earl Spencer apologises to Piers Morgan over 'incorrect' statements in his new book. Daily Mail. https://www.dailymail.com/news/royals/article-16152033/Earl-Spencer-apologises-Piers-Morgan-incorrect-new-book.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 2026-09-23 · by Joe Rossiter

Quick Summary

Earl Spencer has apologized to Piers Morgan for incorrect statements about a phone call regarding Diana’s funeral in Spencer's new book, "Swan Song: Diana, My Sister." Morgan threatened legal action against Spencer over alleged fabrications and inaccuracies in the book, which claims Morgan was surly when told he wasn’t invited to Diana’s funeral. The article highlights the dispute over photographs of Princess Diana taken by the Sunday Mirror in 1993, with Morgan noting that he joined the Mirror as editor only in 1995.
Written by AI on 2026-09-23, 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 2026-10-31, 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 7% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
The Sydney Morning Herald
Hedges 2 of 17 claims Outlet record 61/100
BBC News
Hedges 0 of 7 claims Outlet record 68/100
The Guardian
Hedges 9 of 24 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A reports on Earl Spencer's claims about a call with King Charles, while Article B discusses an apology from Earl Spencer to Piers Morgan over statements in his book.”
BBC News
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 6 of 38 claims Outlet record 68/100
“The articles describe different events: Article A discusses a conversation with Earl Spencer about claims in his book, while Article B covers an apology from Earl Spencer to Piers Morgan over alleged incorrect statements.”
Toronto Star
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 2 of 26 claims Outlet record 64/100
“The articles describe different events: one is about allegations made in a book, and the other is about an apology for incorrect statements in that book.”
Evening Standard
Hedges 4 of 27 claims Outlet record 65/100
The Guardian
Hedges 5 of 37 claims Outlet record 66/100
ABC News (AU)
Hedges 3 of 47 claims Outlet record 68/100
Daily Mail
Hedges 2 of 15 claims Outlet record 68/100
“Article A discusses Earl Spencer's insistence on telling the truth about a phone call with Prince Charles, while Article B reports on Spencer apologizing to Piers Morgan over statements in his book. These are different events despite being related.”
CBC News
Hedges 8 of 35 claims Outlet record 74/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of Earl Spencer's book and its implications for Piers Morgan, not the same specific incident.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
30
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
7%
2 of 30 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
68/100
Daily Mail'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 2026-09-23 · 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 · 8501 article(s) · 20 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 20 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Joe Rossiter
53 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Also by Joe Rossiter
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 53 articles by Joe Rossiter →

Topics

Daily Mail Mail Mirror Sunday Mirror the Sunday Mirror

Subjects

Morgan PERSON · 15× Earl Spencer PERSON · 7× Diana PERSON · 5× Spencer PERSON · 5× Piers Morgan PERSON · 4× Earl Spencer's PERSON · 3× Mirror ORG · 3× Mail ORG · 2× the King's Trust ORG · 2× the Sunday Mirror ORG · 2×

Narrative

Speaking on his YouTube show Piers Morgan Uncensored, Morgan read an extract from the book, which said: '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.'
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-23
🔮 He then told viewers the book 'contains fabricated inaccuracies which will strike to the heart of his credibility'.

Claims (30 extracted, 2 hedged)

- See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Earl Spencer has apologised to Piers Morgan over 'incorrect' statements in his new book. Morgan has threatened to sue Earl Spencer over 'fabricated inaccuracies' and 'examples of brazen falsity' in Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, which has been serialised by the Mail. Spencer claims Morgan 'snarled with annoyance' when told he was not invited to Diana's funeral. uncertain
he → see → funeral
The allegation is part of an anecdote told by Spencer about his decision to uninvite all national newspaper editors from the funeral. asserted
allegation → tell → funeral
Spencer also wrote that he 'assumed Morgan must be feeling particular guilt because, four years earlier, he and his Sunday Mirror counterpart' published photos of Diana 'taken with hidden cameras'. asserted
he → write → cameras
But the pictures, which showed Diana in a leotard working out at the gym, were published in the Sunday Mirror in 1993 while Morgan was still working at The Sun. asserted
Morgan → show → Sun
He joined the Mirror as editor in 1995. asserted
He → join → 1995
Speaking on his YouTube show Piers Morgan Uncensored, Morgan read an extract from the book, which said: '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.' asserted
he → speak → annoyance
He then told viewers the book 'contains fabricated inaccuracies which will strike to the heart of his credibility'. asserted
which → tell → credibility
Piers Morgan threatened to sue Earl Spencer over 'fabricated inaccuracies' in his new book Charles Spencer's book Swan Song: Diana, My Sister has been serialised by the Mail ' asserted
book → threaten → Mail
And very damning, particularly about me,' he said. asserted
he → say → me
'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 addressed the earl directly and said 'you'll be hearing, and your publishers, from my lawyers'. asserted
you → prove → lawyers
'Because I would like the complete lie that you've published about me, and those photographs, to be removed from your book,' Mr Morgan said. asserted
Morgan → like → book
'And I would like a donation to be made to the King's Trust for the damage that you've caused with your lie, after all.' Mr Morgan has since doubled down and and said the book should be 'pulped'. asserted
book → like → lie
Spencer had apologised for the error on Tuesday but stood by his account that Mr Morgan was 'surly and annoyed' when he called the journalist to tell him he was not welcome at Diana's funeral. asserted
he → apologise → funeral
A statement said: 'Earl Spencer's account of his conversation with Piers Morgan is accurate. ' asserted
account → say → 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
Earl Spencer's book, pictured being sold for half price in a London bookshop, was releasedon Tuesday asserted
book → picture → bookshop
Morgan later repeated his threat of legal action, writing on social media: 'Earl Spencer has apologised to me for his defamatory lies published in his new book, Swan Song. asserted
Spencer → repeat → 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
Morgan had also accused the earl of 'using the Harry and Meghan playbook' of 'putting their truth before the truth', continuing: 'I expect there will be many more examples of brazen falsity after what I've uncovered.' asserted
I → accuse → what
He referred to other claims in the book, including that the King told Spencer 'we'll forget [Diana] soon enough' and sounded 'giddily elated' in the wake of the crash which killed her. uncertain
which → refer → her
He said: 'Many allies of His Majesty have called into question these facts, ever since the most salacious accusations were serialised by the Daily Mail. ' asserted
accusations → say → Mail
Many royal commentators and experts have lined up to say that they simply don't ring true. asserted
they → line → ?
The King himself issued a furious rebuke that is almost without precedent.' asserted
that → issue → precedent
The earl has stood by his account of the King's alleged comments. asserted
earl → stand → comments
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