Is the King gaslighting Diana's brother?
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
This is a global production.
Why would you suddenly produce a book about your dead sister? The Queen used that brilliant phrase recollections may vary as a way of saying, I don't think so. We have seen that the king has got a temper. And what Charles here is doing is trying masterfully to shut down that whole episode. Is it
conceivable that the Prince of Wales, the King as he is now, said those comments? Rest assured, we'll forget her soon enough.
I was talking to a good friend of the King's who said he's very upset. That tension, from what I'm hearing, is is still present.
It is a point to remember that of all the ironies about Diana, perhaps the greatest was this. A girl given the name of the ancient goddess of hunting was, in the end, the most hunted person of the modern age. She would want us today. to pledge ourselves to protecting her beloved boys, William and Harry, from a similar fate. And I do this here, Dana, on your behalf. We will not allow them to suffer the anguish that used regularly to drive you to tearful despair. And beyond that, on behalf of your mother and sisters, I pledge that we, your blood family, will do all we can to continue the imaginative and loving way in which you are steering these two exceptional young men. so that their souls are not simply immersed by duty and tradition, but can sing openly as you planned.
That was Princess Diana's brother, Earl Spencer. His eulogy was At her funeral on the sixth of september nineteen ninety seven. Changed the entire tenor. Of that moment, and set up
What new claim does Earl Spencer’s memoir make about the King’s remarks on Diana?
A historical rift between those two families.
Now, twenty-nine years on, that rift has grown ever wider, with Earl Spencer producing a memoir in which he claims that the king said, Rest assured, we'll forget her soon enough. Why are these two families still fighting over the legacy of a woman who died nearly thirty years ago? Welcome to the news agents. The news agents. It's John. It's mateless. And we learnt yesterday that the mail was going to serialize uh a memoir from Earl Spencer, Charles Spencer, who we heard there in that clip giving the eulogy in Westminster Cathedral after Diana died. and an explosive claim that apparently the King, then the Prince of Wales, said, Rest assured, we'll forget about Diana soon enough, And that wasn't the end of it.
The palace fired back almost immediately saying maybe grief had clouded the reasoning of Earl Spencer and he wasn't remembering things properly. This was a conversation allegedly that took place between Charles Spencer and Charles Windsor. And Only those two people on the call knew what was said and But why now? Why is Earl Spencer? Bringing this out at this particular time. When the king is on the throne and by all accounts in very poor
health. It was really interesting that statement, and I think we should sort of dig into it a little bit further, because in essence, uh, he was said to be mindful. A very Charles sort of use of words. Earl Spencer's grief for his sister could cloud reason, affect judgment, and colour memory. On the surface of it, it sounds um almost affectionate. It sounds like you're worrying about somebody who's in the depths of their grief. What he's really doing, I think, is updating the that statement that the Queen herself made after Meghan and Harry came out with their accusations of racism, the royal family. And the Queen used that very uh Brilliant phrase. Brilliant phrase, recollections may vary. And recollections may vary has sort of, I think it's now entered common parlance, hasn't it?
As a way of saying, Oh, you know, I don't think so. She doesn't have a clue or not quite. And what Charles here is doing is trying, I think masterfully, to shut down that whole episode and shut down the phone call, and also remind us that. But if this man is in Still in profound fraternal grief. Thirty years on. w w what is this book about? You know, where does the book come into it? Why would you why would you suddenly produce a book about your your dead sister and have it m serialized in the mail. And I think contained in that phrase by the king were all these sort of offshoots of of the bigger question.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:02–1:51
2
What new claim does Earl Spencer’s memoir make about the King’s remarks on Diana?
1:51–15:01
3
How did the Royal Family respond to the alleged “forget her soon enough” comment?
15:01–24:47
4
Why is the timing of the book’s release considered significant now?
24:47–29:49
5
What historical tensions from Diana’s funeral still affect the royal family today?
29:49–31:11