Queen Camilla quotes 'togetherness' proverb at her literary festival amid war of words between Palace and Earl Spencer over his Diana memoir

The Queen has said there is a need for 'togetherness' amid the war of words between Buckingham Palace and Earl Spencer over his memoir about Diana. At her literary festival in Chatsworth House, Derbyshire, Camilla quoted a proverb in reference to the bitter row that has broken out following some of the claims in his book. The Queen said she was 'recently reminded of a rather beautiful proverb, "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together"'.Camilla said: 'The fact that we have "gone far" is due to the incredible support offered to us by a huge number of booklovers: writers, actors, publishers and, above all, readers.'Her intervention came after Earl Spencer was forced to insist 'I'm telling the truth' when Buckingham Palace said grief had clouded his 'reason, judgment and memory'. Earl Spencer had claimed that King Charles said 'we'll forget her [Diana] soon enough' during an argument over William and Harry's involvement in her funeral.Camilla's speech at the fourth Queen's Reading Room Festival followed Earl Spencer's doubling down over claims that the King had made disparaging comments about Diana soon after she died. Lord Spencer suggested that Charles is embarrassed by the 'monstrous' alleged comment that William and Harry's mother would soon be forgotten. Camilla meets members of the public during The Queen's Reading Room Festival at Chatsworth House Camilla walks with Gyles Brandreth in the Garden Stage Marquee during the festival on Saturday The Queen gives a speech in the Painted Hall in which she alludes to the war of words between Buckingham Palace and Earl Spencer with a proverb about 'togetherness' On Friday night he insisted he is 'telling the truth' about a phone call with Prince Charles in the days following the death of his sister Princess Diana.In his new autobiography – exclusively serialised in the Daily Mail – the Earl claims Charles told him 'we'll forget her [Diana] soon enough' during an argument over William and Harry's involvement in her funeral.Buckingham Palace hit back with an 'unprecedented' strongly worded response, suggesting that grief had clouded Earl Spencer's 'reason, judgment and memory'. But the Earl has now doubled down on the account he gave in Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, saying: 'I can tell you here and now, those are exactly the words he said.'Speaking from his Althorp estate in Northamptonshire, Earl Spencer also questioned whether the official response showed whether the King was actually embarrassed.And when pressed on whether he had evidence to back up the allegation, he said he told family and friends at the time what had been said 'because it was so monstrous'.'I've only ever had two calls on the line with Prince Charles at any stage of my life,' the Earl told the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg.'I was hyper alert to what he was saying and those are precisely the words that he said and I promise that to you now.' Camilla is greeted by Gyles Brandreth with a kiss on the cheek Camilla stands with Gyles Brandreth as she unveils the titles for the four new books in The Queen's Reading Room Book Club Autumn 2026 season The Queen speaking to author William Sieghart and actor Natascha McElhone Queen Camilla speaks to author Reeta Chakrabarti, whose book, Finding Belle, has made the list for The Queen's Reading Room Book Club Autumn 2026 seasonAlluding to the Palace's statement, he added: 'Genuinely, that is what he said. I don't hear him saying he didn't say that.'The Earl claims Charles 'went ballistic' and 'ranted for a while' after he tried to tell the future King that Diana would not have wanted William and Harry to walk in her procession.'And then he stopped and I thought, oh now, now he's gonna pull himself together and say something more appropriate,' he said.'And then, he said, "We'll forget her soon enough."'Earl Spencer added that the remark 'stunned' him, and that he hung up.The book's first astonishing extract made headlines around the world and is splitting society, with rival camps backing either side.In the first extract, published online on Thursday and in Friday's Daily Mail, the Earl claims: The late Queen dramatically offered to restore Princess Diana's royal title on the day of her funeral; Diana told her father she could not go through with the marriage to Prince Charles a month before the wedding – but he told her it was 'impossible to pull out'; The day before the wedding Charles told Diana that while he was happy to marry her, he was not in love with her; Diana was so unhappy that she considered suicide and drove herself 'more than once' to Beachy Head cliffs in East Sussex; Charles sounded 'giddily elated – like a lottery winner' shortly after Diana's death. Details of a new BBC Arts documentary featuring Her Majesty Queen Camilla were revealed today at The Queen's Reading Room Festival.'The Book That Changed My Life' is expected to air on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer on October 14, subject to confirmation in the weekly television schedules.Broadcasting in the National Year of Reading 2026, the documentary will see Queen Camilla explore the transformative power of reading, meeting four remarkable people whose lives have been changed by books at moments when they most needed them. Warm, emotional, and full of hope, the film explores how reading can lift us, open our minds and, sometimes, change the course of a life.Read part one of our exclusive serialisation of Swan Song: Diana, My Sister - the searing memoir that has started a war of words with the King - here Read part two: Earl Spencer criticises the royals' 'lack of obvious care' for Prince Harry on the day of his mother Diana's funeral