Palace fury as insiders blast Spencer’s ‘motive’ for bombshell memoir & slam: ‘King was in deep grief’ after Diana death

ROYAL insiders tonight questioned the motives of Earl Spencer’s vicious attack on the King. Diana’s brother claimed in a memoir that Charles was “giddily elated like a lottery winner” when the news broke of her death in a Paris car crash in 1997. More bombshell claims from Earl Spencer’s Diana memoir have been revealed Credit: Getty Earl Spencer has claimed King Charles was ‘giddily elated’ when he heard of Diana’s death in the 1997 Paris car crash Credit: EPA But a source said grief-stricken Charles fought for his ex-wife to have a royal funeral. They added: “One has to question why these allegations are surfacing now and whether they are being aired for money.” Sign up for the Royals newsletter Thank you! Princess Di’s brother, 62, also writes that Charles’s first reaction “must have been to think more of how this event might free him to marry the woman he loved (Camilla)”. He alleges Diana tried to call off their engagement, suffered from ADHD, and drove to Beachy Head considering suicide several times. Buckingham Palace did not respond to the attacks made in new excerpts from Swan Song: Diana, My Sister. On Wednesday it strongly rejected claims that Charles had said Diana would be forgotten “soon enough”. But a royal insider said: “Anyone who remembers seeing Charles at the time and watched back the footage and pictures knows he was a man in deep grief. “They will remember he insisted that, against protocols, a royal plane should travel to carry her coffin and even went to Paris himself to return with her. Most read in Royals Charles appears deep in grief as he leaves the Paris hospital where he collected Diana’s body after her death Credit: PA:Press Association Scene of the tragic accident where Diana lost her life Credit: Rex Features “He fought for Diana to have a ceremonial funeral against all protocols because she was the mother of the future King and in response to the overwhelming public grief. “The footage and actions speak for themselves and one has to question why these allegations are surfacing now and whether they are being aired for money.” In his memoir, out next Tuesday, the Earl says he was in Cape Town when Diana died aged 36 in a Paris car crash on August 31, 1997. He says: “The phone next to my bed rang in the middle of the night. It was my sister Jane, calling to let me know Diana (whom we called by her childhood nickname Duch, short for Duchess) had been involved in a car crash in Paris.” Earl Spencer says at first he thought Diana had been injured. But as he spoke to his sister Lady Jane Fellowes, then married to the Queen’s Private Secretary Robert Fellowes, the “situation became more worrying” and he learned Di’s boyfriend Dodi Fayed and driver Henri Paul had died. The Earl writes: “On perhaps our fifth or sixth call that night, I heard my brother-in-law, Robert, talking in the background ‘Oh, no!’ he half-bellowed, half-sighed in disbelief. “And Jane, witnessing the completeness of his shock, relayed to me, in a soft voice: ‘That’s it. It’s curtains. Duch is dead’.” In his book the Earl says: “The phone rang constantly. Prince Charles caught me as I crossed the landing upstairs. “Unlike my other callers, who were stunned, barely able to articulate their condolences, he sounded giddily elated — like a lottery winner, I remember thinking at the time. The Earl also alleges Diana tried to call off the engagement to Charles, suffered from ADHD, and drove to Beachy Head, East Sussex, considering suicide several times Credit: Tim Graham – Getty Earl Spencer’s incendiary new memoir, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister Credit: Reuters “He let me know he had informed William and Harry of their mother’s death in their bedrooms at Balmoral. It all sounded strangely matter-of-fact, given the enormity of the disaster. “Looking back, 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.” In previous interviews about that night, the Earl has not mentioned the call from Charles. We told yesterday how claims made by the Earl in earlier book excerpts had sparked a war of words with the King. Earl Spencer claims that Charles told him in a phone call days after Diana’s death: “Rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough.” The Palace hit back: “Fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and colour memory . . . even many years after such a loss.” In new excerpts, Earl Spencer blasts the Royal Household over the planning of his sister’s funeral. He says: “Diana remained theirs, in Buckingham Palace’s eyes, even in death. Her family, despite her divorce, were simply expected to fall into line with any royal decisions.” Earl Spencer even claims a request to play Mozart’s Requiem at the Westminster Abbey service was refused by the Palace. Talking of one courtier “clearly upset” by Diana’s death, he adds: “There were others in the Palace, I already knew, who were relieved — ­indeed, pleased — she had gone.” Hitting back, royal insiders have questioned the motives of Earl Spencer’s vicious attack on the King Credit: Alamy In other shocking claims, Charles allegedly told Earl Spencer that Diana would be forgotten Credit: Tim Graham – Getty He says he was told by Lt-Col Malcolm Ross — organising the funeral — that William and Harry would walk behind Diana’s coffin. Earl Spencer, who argued against it, adds: “It was a suggestion that struck me as utterly barbaric, and quite out of the question.” He says he felt “empowered” to speak on behalf of the princes, aged 15 and 12, because Di had made him their guardian. In another bitter attack, Earl Spencer questions Charles’s decision to walk behind the coffin. He says: “Prince Charles was insisting that he wanted to do so. It is hard to see why, given his feelings for Diana. Also, an ex is never expected to act as chief mourner at their former spouse’s funeral. But he was adamant. “Sir Robin Janvrin, the Queen’s deputy private secretary, told the committee planning the funeral that if Charles went ahead, then I must be persuaded to walk with him. “This was out of fear that if Charles walked alone, members of the public might shout abuse at him. The committee realised if they could persuade William and Harry to be there too, that would surely guarantee against insults flying.” The Earl also claims that the day before the royal wedding on July 29, 1981, Charles told Diana that he was “not actually in love with her”. He says: “Diana had to absorb that hammer blow while also feeling certain Charles was entering their marriage with his heart elsewhere.” In the book, Earl Spencer also claims that – the day before Diana’s wedding to Charles in July 1981 – the prince told her he was ‘not actually in love with her’ Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd Four-times wed Earl Spencer says in the book that Charles and Diana considered separating early in their marriage Credit: Getty – Contributor The Earl claims that his sister had earlier tried to cancel the wedding when Charles jetted overseas in the run-up to the ceremony. He writes: “Diana was completely at sea, having found a bracelet that Charles had bought for Camilla. “A month or so after that, she became so concerned she even tried to break off their engagement.” The Earl says Di suffered from an eating disorder for five months before the wedding and was unhappy at a photo of her looking “heavier than she wanted to”. He claims: “Her insecurity was increased a few days after the engagement announcement when Prince Charles had squeezed her waist and said, ‘Oh, a bit chubby here, aren’t we?’” Diana’s weight loss “returned with a vengeance” after Prince William’s birth in 1982. The Earl adds: “I am convinced now that Diana had ADHD, and that as part of that condition she suffered from Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria. “This is an intense emotional pain in the face of others’ rejection or criticism.” Four-times wed Earl Spencer claims Charles and Diana considered separating early in their marriage. He adds: “It is a sad fact that, in her later years, Diana drove herself more than once to Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in England, while contemplating ending it all. Her love for her sons stopped her from going further.” Spencer also twists the knife by claiming Charles’ first reaction ‘must have been to think more of how this event might free him to marry the woman he loved (Camilla)’ Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd Earl Spencer claims Prince Charles once squeezed Diana’s waist and told her she was ‘a bit chubby’ after their engagement was announced. Credit: Getty The Earl says Diana once invited him to her favourite London restaurant, San Lorenzo and told him: “I’m going to get divorced.” He says he tried to talk her out of it but Diana allegedly told him Charles was in love with “his valet”. Extracts from Swan Song, published in the UK by Penguin Michael Joseph, are being serialised in the Daily Mail. 5 comments5