Awkward moment Harry ignores question on uncle’s Diana book – & makes cheeky swipe at ‘eventful’ fortnight back in UK

THIS is the awkward moment Prince Harry blanked a question about his uncle Earl Spencer’s book which featured bombshell claims about King Charles. Incendiary allegations about comments made days after Diana’s death has left Earl Spencer locked in a sensational war of words with Buckingham Palace. Harry ignored a question about Earl Spencer’s new book as he arrived in Greenwich for an Invictus event last night Harry kept walking with other veterans after blanking the question Credit: Reuters The bombshell allegations emerged as another excerpt from the Earl’s tell-all book, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, were released yesterday. Harry, now back in the UK, was attending the inaugural Invictus Spirit Awards at the historic Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich last night Sign up for the Royals newsletter Thank you! One reporter was heard shouting to the Duke on the red carpet: “Harry, Harry, how are you feeling about your uncle’s book?” And Harry appeared to completely blank the question, staring straight ahead. The allegations have threatened to reopen the wounds of the ‘War of the Waleses’ and Prince Charles’s bitter split King Charles was ‘giddily elated like a lottery winner’ when he called about Diana’s death, Earl Spencer has sensationally alleged Credit: PA:Press Association The Duke of Sussex walked away as he chatted to veterans and placed his hands on their shoulders. However, Harry did say that his return to the UK has been “eventful” at his first public engagement since coming home. He told Hello!: “The last two weeks have been… it’s been eventful. But, you know, we’re getting stuck into the work. Kids are in school. We’re happy. “And as I said, it’s great to be back on British soil, and looking forward to Birmingham next year for the Invictus Games that’s coming up.” Most read in Royals Harry was reportedly aware of Earl Spencer’s bombshell memoir as the King enters a war of words over the book. Despite Diana’s youngest son, Harry, knowing the book was to be published he had not seen a copy of the memoir beforehand, a source claimed to MailOnline. Charles, 77, has since been accused by Earl Spencer of behaving like an “elated lottery winner” when delivering news of Diana’s death to her brother. The Earl, who said the phone was ringing constantly at the time after Diana’s death, claimed in his book: “Unlike my other callers, who were stunned, barely able to articulate their condolences and offers of help, he sounded giddily elated – like a lottery winner, I remember thinking at the time.” Earl Spencer, left, is also said to have been opposed to Prince William and Prince Harry taking part in the funeral procession Credit: PA The shocking claims related to the late Princess Diana Credit: Getty King Charles was also alleged to have sounded “strangely matter-of-fact, given the enormity of the disaster,” the Earl alleged. The excerpt continued: “Looking back now, I suspect the prince’s first reaction must have been to think more of how this event might free him to marry the woman he loved, rather than appreciating the loss of one he did not.” Other bombshell claims about Charles that emerged earlier this week had prompted an urgent response from the Palace. The alleged comments were made during an explosive row over whether William and Harry, then 15 and 12, should walk behind Diana’s coffin. Di’s brother says they clashed over whether the young princes should follow the procession during the funeral in September 1997. The Earl claims he was told by a senior Palace aide that the princes would walk behind her coffin, to which he replied: “That’s not going to happen”. He says Charles phoned minutes later, before allegedly questioning the Spencer family’s sense of duty. The then-Prince of Wales is said to have referenced his own role at his great-uncle Lord Mountbatten’s funeral in 1979. On Tuesday night, a spokesperson for Buckingham Palace said: “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 judgement and colour memory in ways others do not recognise, even many years after such a loss.” Earl Spencer says he was stunned and took a few seconds before replying flatly: “I can’t believe you just said that” and hanging up. Earl Spencer delivered a raw and defiant eulogy at Diana’s funeral at Westminster Abbey Credit: PA:Press Association The book will be officially released next week Credit: Getty His description of the shocking outburst threatens to reopen the wounds of the “War of the Waleses” and Prince Charles’s bitter split and eventual divorce from Diana. She was 36 when she died in a Paris car crash with her partner Dodi Fayed and chauffeur Henri Paul. Swan Song, the Earl’s tell-all memoir about her life and death is being released 30 years after he delivered a defiant eulogy at her funeral. The book is described as a “historic” and “extraordinarily moving” account of his older sister. It is expected to cover her childhood, her unhappy 15-year marriage to Charles, and the torturous days after the August 1997 crash. The Earl, 62, said he wants to show his sister as a “one-off, dynamic character, full of love, charisma and self-doubt, who gave life a hell of a go, and left the world a far better place, despite exiting the stage while so young”. The memoir will be published in the UK next Tuesday and translated into 12 languages.