Laura Kuenssberg: I asked Earl Spencer who we should believe - him or the King?
By Laura Kuenssberg, Political editor
Published 23 minutes ago
When I arrived at Althorp on Thursday to speak to Charles, Earl Spencer, only a handful of people were in evidence in the vast stately home, where Princess Diana had once tapdanced in the hall and rollerskated in the cavernous library.
It was only hours after Buckingham Palace had sent out its blistering statement in response to the explosive claims made in a new book by Earl Spencer. From the particularly English peace of this grand countryside setting, Diana's brother had provoked a storm.
That Palace statement, questioning Earl Spencer's account of the days after his sister's death, was a total contrast to its normal "never explain, never complain" mantra. But it meant that as we sat down, with oil paintings of Earl Spencer's aristocratic ancestors staring down at our TV lights, the interview was not just about his recollections of his sister. It had become about whether the earl, or the King himself, was telling the truth. As we asked Earl Spencer: which Charles are we meant to believe?
To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
This video can not be played
Figure caption: 'There was a lightness in his tone,' says Earl Spencer about Charles' reaction to Diana's death
That's why it was so important to test Earl Spencer's claims. Was he really sure that the then-Prince Charles had sounded "giddy" after his former wife had died on that terrible night in 1997? Both men, after all, were in a moment of profound shock.
Did the earl, a historian and former journalist himself, have evidence of another of his memories, that Charles had "hissed" at him that the world would "forget her soon enough"? Why does he, the uncle of William and Harry, think the world needs to hear his version of events from all those years ago?
Earl Spencer was resolute; strong in his conviction that his version of events needed to be told as a matter of record. And he recounted his memories of his conversations with the King in meticulous detail, noting carefully in our discussion that the Palace had not explicitly denied his claims, instead choosing to question his judgement.
Key takeaways from BBC interview as Earl Spencer defends claims about King:
- Harry and Meghan's media treatment echoes what happened to Diana, Earl Spencer tells BBC
- There is deep unhappiness and frustration in Buckingham Palace at what Earl Spencer has put into the public domain. Their strongly worded statement tells you everything you need to know about how upset they are. "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 judgment and colour memory in ways others do not recognise, even many years after such a loss," it said.
Bear in mind that the two Charleses have had a difficult relationship for decades. Even before either of them was born, the Spencers and the Windsors, two aristocratic families, had years of splits and spats. In the past 48 hours, allies on either side have lined up to back the two different accounts, with acolytes of the King suggesting he would never have said such things. Others emerged to back Earl Spencer's claims.