Photo via Daily Mail

William and Kate will never be publicly drawn into row over Earl Spencer's book and will not take any part in a documentary to mark 30th anniversary of Diana's death, royal sources say

Read the original at Daily Mail ↗
Cite

Robinson, M. (2026, September 29). William and Kate will never be publicly drawn into row over Earl Spencer's book and will not take any part in a documentary to mark 30th anniversary of Diana's death, royal sources say. Daily Mail. https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16169469/William-Kate-never-publicly-drawn-row-Earl-Spencers-book-not-documentary-mark-30th-anniversary-Dianas-death-royal-sources-say.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 2026-09-29 · by Martin Robinson

Quick Summary

Prince William and Princess Kate will not publicly address Earl Spencer’s controversial book about Princess Diana or participate in any documentary marking the 30th anniversary of her death, according to royal sources. The couple is reportedly upset by Spencer’s claims but are focused on their official duties. Harry had sought input from family members for a potential commemorative film, but William has declined involvement, maintaining a neutral stance as he did during Diana's 20th anniversary in 2017.
Written by AI on 2026-10-02, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Prince William and Kate Middleton have decided not to publicly comment on Earl Spencer's book about Princess Diana, which has caused friction with King Charles. They also refuse to participate in a documentary marking the 30th anniversary of Diana's death, unlike their previous involvement in similar events in 2017. This decision underscores their focus on royal duties and charitable work rather than engaging in disputes over Diana’s legacy or Earl Spencer’s book. The royal couple remains neutral despite William reportedly being upset by Earl Spencer's memoir, which has been serialised in the Daily Mail.

Written for “Diana Death Anniversary Controversy” on 2026-10-30, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Diana Death Anniversary Controversy
Entertainment · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 15% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
ABC News (AU)
Hedges 9 of 84 claims Outlet record 68/100
“Article A discusses Earl Spencer's analysis of his eulogy for Princess Diana, while Article B covers Prince William and Kate's decision to remain silent on Earl Spencer's book about Diana.”
New York Post
Hedges 4 of 36 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A discusses a book about Princess Diana, while Article B reports on Prince William and Kate's decision not to publicly comment on Earl Spencer's book.”
Fox News
Hedges 5 of 69 claims Outlet record 70/100
“The articles discuss related reactions to Earl Spencer's book but describe distinct incidents: one about King Charles, Prince William's reaction, and royal experts' comments; the other focuses on William and Kate's decision not to publicly comment on or participate in a documentary regarding the book.”
CBC News
Hedges 5 of 65 claims Outlet record 74/100
“The articles describe different reactions to the same book, with Article A featuring an interview with Earl Spencer and Article B reporting on Prince William's stance towards the book.”
CBC News
Hedges 0 of 3 claims Outlet record 60/100
“Article A discusses William and Kate's stance on Earl Spencer's book and a potential documentary, while Article B focuses on Charles Spencer's new book about Princess Diana and his conversation with CBC Radio.”
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 22 claims Outlet record 66/100
“While both articles discuss Prince William's reaction to Earl Spencer's book, Article A focuses on the emotional impact and a royal family feud, whereas Article B reports that William and Kate will not comment publicly about the row over the book.”
New York Post
Hedges 5 of 15 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different aspects related to Prince William, Prince Harry, and King Charles regarding the upcoming 30th anniversary of Princess Diana's death, but they do not report on the same specific incident or occurrence.”
Fox News
Hedges 3 of 7 claims Outlet record 70/100
“While both articles discuss anger from Charles and William over Earl Spencer's book, they cover different aspects of the situation and are reported at different times.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
40
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
15%
6 of 40 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
1
Entertainment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-29 · 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 · 8386 article(s) · 20 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 20 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Martin Robinson
54 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 A perfect storm, you might say, and for this New York painter, the inspiration was in fact one of culture’s most famous storm-based behemoth.
🔮 In the play, her character Danni is broke and lured into joining a new streaming platform with the promise that, “if she can get 100,000 new followers and be this messy, unignorable voice for young women, they will offer her a life-changing deal.
🔮 Prince Harry's friend Whoopi Goldberg has predicted that he will 'peacefully reconcile' with his estranged brother Prince William.
🔮 Lipa will personally be interviewing Smith and another Smith, Zadie, on stage, along with the Canadian-Sudanese poet and musician Mustafa.
2026-10-22 · assertive framing · All hail Dua Lipa, the pop lit queen
🔮 Where would you recommend for a first date?
2026-10-16 · assertive framing · My London: George MacKay
🔮 Meghan allegedly told him the blunder had humiliated her and declared she could never wear his designs again.
🔮 In contrast to that, I have what may be considered a sophisticated way of handling painting.
2026-10-15 · assertive framing · The new generation of London artists to know
🔮 Meghan and Harry will make their first joint public appearance since moving back to the UK today, but the Duchess intends to keep such events 'rare'.
🔮 Meghan and Harry will this week make their first joint public appearance since moving back to the UK as 'private citizens', embarking on a series of unofficial quasi-royal engagements in the East Midlands.
🔮 Basically, the paint on the discs will respond to shifts in in heat and light, so when the bells chime and the light shifts in the room, the painting change before your eyes.
Also by Martin Robinson
All hail Dua Lipa, the pop lit queen
2026-10-22 · Evening Standard
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 54 articles by Martin Robinson →

Topics

CBS Mornings Daily Mail ITV New York City the Daily Mail

Subjects

Harry PERSON · 8× William PERSON · 8× Diana PERSON · 7× Charles PERSON · 5× Earl Spencer's PERSON · 4× Earl Spencer PERSON · 3× Daily Mail ORG · 1× Prince William PERSON · 1× the Daily Mail ORG · 1× the Princess of Wales PERSON · 1×

Narrative

Speaking more widely about Harry and Meghan's return to the UK last month after six years in America, he added: 'Regardless of whether you care about Harry and Meghan or the Royal Family, the reality is that the world can't stop watching.' Since Harry and Meghan flew back to England, they have been involved in a public spat with Buckingham Palace about their status, and their children have moved schools after issues were raised by their security team about the school run.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-29
🔮 - See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Prince William and the Princess of Wales will never be publicly drawn into the row over Earl Spencer's book about Diana - or Harry's apparent wish to make a new documentary about her.

Claims (40 extracted, 6 hedged)

- See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Prince William and the Princess of Wales will never be publicly drawn into the row over Earl Spencer's book about Diana - or Harry's apparent wish to make a new documentary about her. asserted
William → see → her
The royal couple will keep their thoughts to themselves, especially about the bombshell memoir, serialised in the Daily Mail, and the damage it has inflicted on King Charles. asserted
it → keep → Charles
William is said to be 'furious' about the book after his uncle claimed on US television that he has spoken to his nephew since it was released. asserted
it → say → nephew
William, Kate and their team will not engage with anything connected to Earl Spencer's book about the late Princess of Wales. asserted
William → engage → Wales
And that position will not change, according to a source close to the couple, after the memoir divided opinion and Earl Spencer continues to promote it around the world. uncertain
Spencer → change → world
William and Harry appeared together on the 20th anniversary of Diana's death in 2017 in the ITV documentary Diana, Our Mother: Her Life And Legacy - but this will not be repeated after William decided not to do the same in 2027. asserted
William → appear → 2027
Harry, meanwhile, is understood to have asked a number of Diana's friends and family - including his uncle Charles - whether they would take part in a commemorative film ahead of the milestone next summer. asserted
they → understand → milestone
The Prince and Princess of Wales, pictured at the world premiere of Tom Cruise's Digger, will not be drawn into any row over Earl Spencer's book or marking Princess Diana's death Charles Spencer is seen at CBS Mornings in New York City on Monday while promoting his new book "Swan Song: Diana, My Sister Earl Spencer, meanwhile, is continuing to promote the book with a series of television interviews in the US. asserted
Spencer → picture → US
Last night, he doubled down on his claim that Charles told him Diana would soon be forgotten after her death. uncertain
Diana → double → death
He said: 'He genuinely said that. asserted
He → say → that
I call it "those five words". asserted
I → call → it
And I told people close to me about it at the time. asserted
I → tell → time
'And it stemmed from our severe disagreement about whether William and Harry should, at the ages of 15 and 12, have to walk behind their mother's coffin in front of the world. asserted
William → stem → world
I thought it was an absurd idea and completely wrong. asserted
it → think → ?
He saw things very differently. asserted
He → see → things
'We had a difference of opinion. asserted
We → have → opinion
I kept very calm. asserted
I → keep → ?
And we all know he has a temper. asserted
he → know → temper
You may remember the scene where he loses his temper with a fountain pen when he's signing a document after becoming King. uncertain
he → remember → document
But for me, as a grieving brother, it was very shocking.' asserted
it → grieve → brother
Asked about his relationship with the future King and his estranged brother Harry, Earl Spencer told CNN: 'I've always just been an uncle. asserted
I → ask → CNN
I'm there if needed. asserted
I → need → ?
It's public record that Harry came to stay with me with his family in July. asserted
Harry → come → July
So if I'm needed, I'm there, but I'm not in anyone's way.' asserted
I → need → way
Kensington Palace has declined to comment on the book. asserted
Palace → decline → book
Buckingham Palace issued an unprecedented statement suggesting that grief may have coloured Earl Spencer's recollection of events. uncertain
grief → issue → events
Charles is said to be personally apoplectic. asserted
Charles → say → ?
Meanwhile, Prince William, who was 15 when his mother died in a car crash in Paris in August 1997, has been carefully considering whether to take part in any programmes marking the anniversary. asserted
mother → die → anniversary
He received several approaches to make or appear in a documentary and even held private talks at Kensington Palace last week with BBC director-general Tim Davie. However, the heir to the throne is understood to have decided against appearing on screen, partly to avoid any further conflict with his estranged brother. asserted
heir → receive → brother
Harry and William at the unveiling of a statue of Princess Diana at Kensington Palace in 2021 Charles and Diana on their last official trip together to South Korea in November 1992 William does not want himself and Harry to be 'pitted against each other', one source claimed in the Sunday Times. asserted
source → want → Times
Harry wants to reconcile with his estranged brother - but the 30th anniversary of their late mother will make no difference to his hope, a royal author close to the Sussexes has claimed. asserted
author → want → Sussexes
Omid Scobie said the duke had 'made it no secret that his wish for things moving forward, not just with his father, but with his brother as well, is to reconcile'. asserted
things → say → brother
Royal observers have been hoping that next year's milestone after Diana died in a car crash in Paris in August 1997 could help bring the brothers back together again. uncertain
Diana → hop → brothers
But Mr Scobie, once dubbed Harry and Meghan's 'cheerleader', told an ABC News Studios documentary: 'I can't see it making any difference, but one can always hope.' asserted
one → dub → difference
Speaking more widely about Harry and Meghan's return to the UK last month after six years in America, he added: 'Regardless of whether you care about Harry and Meghan or the Royal Family, the reality is that the world can't stop watching.' Since Harry and Meghan flew back to England, they have been involved in a public spat with Buckingham Palace about their status, and their children have moved schools after issues were raised by their security team about the school run. asserted
issues → speak → run
Also in the programme, Mr Scobie claimed King Charles now has a 'warmth' towards the Sussexes – but insisted the duke's relationship with William will never improve. asserted
relationship → claim → William
He said: 'I think we've seen with Charles things have moved forward and that iciness has thawed out. asserted
iciness → say → Charles
With William, I don't see it will ever change. asserted
it → see → William
There's always this talk of Kate potentially being the peacekeeper, the one that could bring the two brothers together. uncertain
that → be → brothers
If I've learned anything over the years from covering them, it's that Kate has very little to do with that relationship between the brothers.' asserted
Kate → learn → brothers
💬Give feedback
🕘History 🎫Support