Charles Spencer Reveals He Has Spoken to Prince William and Prince Harry Since Diana Memoir’s Release

Charles Spencer has confirmed that he has spoken to both Prince William and Prince Harry since the publication of his memoir about their mother, Princess Diana — and revealed that he deliberately kept the book away from the royal family while writing it.

The 9th Earl Spencer discussed the brothers’ reaction during an appearance on CBS Mornings with Gayle King on Monday, Sept. 28, following the release of Swan Song: Diana, My Sister. The memoir was published on Sept. 22 and offers Spencer’s personal account of Diana’s life, death and the events surrounding her funeral.

When King asked whether he had spoken to William and Harry since the book came out, Spencer simply replied: “Yes, I have.”

Spencer told William and Harry about the book at the same time

Spencer explained that he intentionally kept the project private while writing it.

According to the Earl, only his wife and publishers knew about the memoir before its release. He chose not to involve other members of the family because he did not want anyone, particularly Harry, to be perceived as having influenced the book.

That was especially important to Spencer because of his close relationship with Harry during the summer.

“I decided not to have anyone involved in the book,” Spencer said, explaining that he wanted to make sure Harry could not be portrayed as having played any role in what was written.

The book was ultimately revealed to William and Harry shortly before its public release. Spencer later told PEOPLE that he informed both princes, along with his sisters Lady Sarah and Lady Jane, at “exactly the same time.”

He said the decision was deliberate: the memoir was intended to represent his own perspective as Diana’s brother rather than a family project.

Princess Diana “was a really brilliant mother” who was completely her own person, her younger brother, Charles Spencer, tells @gayleking: “There was no one like her.”

Spencer opens up about some of the revelations from his new book, “Swan Song,” and responds to Buckingham Palace’s statement about some of the allegations he makes regarding King Charles from the time of Diana’s death: “They have to gaslight. They have to, sort of, pretend there’s something wrong with my mind or my memory. There’s nothing wrong with either.”

— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) September 28, 2026

What Harry asked after learning about the memoir

Harry’s initial concern, according to Spencer, was not about the wider royal family or the book’s most controversial claims.

Instead, he wanted to know whether anything in it could embarrass him.

“Is there anything in there that would be embarrassing to me?” Harry asked, according to Spencer.

The Earl said he immediately reassured his nephew that there was not.

Spencer has repeatedly emphasized that protecting William and Harry’s privacy was important to him. In his PEOPLE interview, he explained that the brothers do appear in the memoir, but primarily in the context of their childhood and their relationship with their mother.

The book largely concludes with Diana’s death in 1997, followed by a brief postscript at her grave. Spencer believes the limited timeframe helped him keep the focus on Diana rather than on the adult lives of her sons.

“I think it’s natural that people so in the public eye are concerned how they will come across in the book,” he told PEOPLE.

He said he was able to reassure both princes that they were included as “two little boys who had the most exceptional mother” and that he was not compromising their privacy.

Spencer also said Harry is “completely fine” with the book.

His sisters had a different reaction

While Spencer said he was able to reassure William and Harry, his sisters Lady Sarah and Lady Jane were apparently less comfortable with the decision to keep the memoir secret from them.

He admitted that they were hurt that he had not told them about the project.

Spencer said he believed they were still processing their feelings about the book, despite his description of it as a “pure celebration” of Diana.

His reasoning was that the memoir needed to remain his own account rather than become a collaborative family project.

“I was going to hurt you either way,” Spencer recalled telling them, explaining that he would have written the book according to his own judgment regardless of whether they knew about it.

He also wanted his sisters to be able to distance themselves from the project if it generated criticism.

Spencer said he wanted them to be able to say that they had not known he was writing the book, making them “totally innocent parties” if backlash followed.

Spencer regrets William and Harry’s role in Diana’s funeral

One of the most emotional subjects addressed in the memoir is the decision for William and Harry to walk behind their mother’s coffin during Diana’s funeral procession in September 1997.

William was 15 and Harry was 12 when Diana died.

Spencer has written that he opposed the brothers taking part in the procession and recalled having a heated disagreement with then-Prince Charles over the issue.

He later learned that the boys had decided they wanted to take part.

“I remember saying, ‘Well, as long as they haven’t been dragooned into it,’” Spencer recalled.

Looking back nearly three decades later, he said he believes the decision should not have been made.

“Nobody now can possibly think that was the right thing to do,” he said.

Spencer also admitted that he feels guilty for not doing more to prevent William and Harry from walking behind their mother’s coffin.

He said he and the brothers discussed the issue around the 20th anniversary of Diana’s death, but maintained that he does not believe anyone now considers the decision a good one.

The memoir has reignited controversy around King Charles

Spencer’s book has attracted significant attention because of several claims concerning Diana’s final days and the aftermath of her death.

Among the most controversial is his account of a conversation with King Charles III, who was then Prince Charles, shortly after Diana died.

Spencer has maintained his recollection despite a response from Buckingham Palace questioning the reliability of memories shaped by grief.

In a statement following publication of an early excerpt, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said the Palace does not generally comment on books, while noting that “the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and color memory.”

Spencer has rejected any suggestion that his memory is unreliable and defended his account in subsequent interviews. During his appearance on CBS Mornings, he again addressed the Palace’s response and insisted that he was telling the truth.

The memoir also contains Spencer’s recollections of Diana’s troubled marriage and her experiences within the royal family, alongside his memories of their childhood and his relationship with his sister.

A personal tribute to Diana

Despite the controversy surrounding some of its revelations, Spencer has repeatedly described Swan Song: Diana, My Sister as a deeply personal tribute to Diana.

The book traces their childhood together, Diana’s transformation into a global figure after marrying the Prince of Wales, the breakdown of her marriage and the final week of her life.

Penguin describes the memoir as the story of Diana’s life and death told from her brother’s perspective. The book was published in the U.K. on Sept. 22, 2026, nearly 30 years after Spencer delivered his famous eulogy for Diana at Westminster Abbey.

For Spencer, the purpose was not simply to revisit the events surrounding Diana’s death, but to put his own memories on record and challenge what he believes are misconceptions about his sister.

“This book, in my view, is something [Diana] would like,” Spencer told PEOPLE, adding that it contains 350 pages of compliments about her.

He also said the memoir gave him an opportunity to “lay certain myths to rest.”

For William and Harry, however, the book has inevitably brought their mother’s memory — and some of the most painful moments surrounding her death — back into public view. Spencer’s decision to speak with both brothers after publication suggests that, despite the memoir’s revelations and the controversy surrounding it, communication between the family members has continued.