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King Charles Is “Deeply Wounded and Very Angry” Over Allegations Made in Charles Spencer’s New Book About Princess Diana
By Extra Extra Editorial
Cross-spectrum analysis, synthesized with AI from 8 sources · Updated
Earl Spencer, Princess Diana's brother, has made allegations in a new BBC documentary that King Charles made an insensitive remark about Diana shortly after her death in 1997, suggesting the public would "forget about Diana soon enough." Spencer claims Charles had an inappropriately light tone during a phone call following the princess's fatal car crash. The allegations have prompted strong reactions from the royal household, with reports indicating Charles feels wounded by the claims, while Queen Camilla has issued a statement urging unity.
Left-leaning coverage emphasizes Charles's emotional distress and anger over the allegations, framing the story as a damaging personal attack on the king during a vulnerable moment. This perspective centers on the king's suffering rather than examining the substance of Spencer's claims.
Center outlets present Spencer's account through extensive documentary excerpts and direct questioning, allowing him to detail his allegations while also capturing his emotional connection to Diana. This coverage treats the claims as newsworthy statements requiring public examination without predetermined judgment about their accuracy.
Right-leaning sources highlight Spencer's suggestion that William and Harry were already aware of his claims, implying broader family knowledge of the allegations. This framing emphasizes the political dimensions of the dispute and questions about what other royals knew beforehand.
Key Differences
- Left coverage focuses on Charles's emotional state and sense of injury, while center coverage prioritizes Spencer's detailed account and documentary evidence.
- Right outlets emphasize the involvement of other royals (William and Harry) in prior knowledge, adding a dimension of family-wide implications absent from left framing.
- Center sources provide extensive documentary material and direct quotes, whereas left coverage relies more on characterizations of Charles's internal reactions.
How this story is being covered
Extra Extra has grouped 8 reports on this story from 4 news outlets across the political spectrum. By political lean, that breaks down as 1 left-leaning, 5 center, and 2 right-leaning sources.
With a coverage-diversity score of 82 out of 100, this is one of the more evenly reported stories in our index right now — left, center, and right outlets are all giving it attention.
On reliability, 2 of the 4 rated outlets carry a high or mostly-factual reliability rating (A or B) and 2 outlets fall into our mixed or lower-reliability tier (C or D). Ratings are drawn from independent assessments and are meant to help you weigh each report, not to tell you which to trust.
This story has been covered over the span of about 2 days, making it a longer-running thread rather than a single news flash.
Below, the same story is laid out side by side as left, center, and right outlets reported it. Read across the columns and watch what changes: the headline emphasis, which facts lead, the adjectives, and what each side leaves out. The story itself rarely changes — the framing almost always does.
Outlets covering this story: Vanity Fair, BBC News, Daily Mail, GB News.
Left(1)
Center(5)
BBC NewsASep 20, 3:00 PM
Watch: Earl Spencer says he felt Charles had 'giddy tone' during call after Diana's death
Princess Diana's brother has been interviewed by the BBC ahead of the release of his book on the late Princess of Wales.
BBC NewsASep 20, 3:00 PM
Watch the full interview with Earl Spencer on iPlayer in Princess Diana: My Sister's Story
In this UK exclusive, Laura Kuenssberg interviews Earl Spencer.
BBC NewsASep 20, 3:00 PM
Watch: Emotional Earl Spencer says he misses sister Diana every day
"This is my swan song too. I'm not here to bang on about Diana, this is my final word, celebration of her", Earl Spencer told presenter Laura Kuenssberg.
BBC NewsASep 20, 4:11 PM
Kuenssberg: I asked Earl Spencer who we should believe - him or the King?
Princess Diana's brother has caused a storm with his new memoir - the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg describes how she put his claims to the test.
BBC NewsASep 20, 3:21 PM
Key takeaways from BBC interview as Earl Spencer defends claims about King
Earl Spencer speaks to the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg ahead of the publication of his book about his sister Diana, Princess of Wales.
Right(2)
Daily MailDSep 20, 5:09 PM
'This will not be a surprise to them': Earl Spencer suggests William and Harry already knew about his claim Charles said 'we'll forget about Diana soon enough' after her death
The earl today suggested that he had informed to the two brothers in the past that Charles remarked during a row over her funeral that their mother would soon be forgotten.
GB NewsCSep 20, 1:59 PM
Queen Camilla issues ‘go together’ message as King Charles faces bitter Earl Spencer row
Queen Camilla struck a pointed note of unity at her annual literary gathering on Saturday, calling for togetherness as King Charles finds himself embroiled in an increasingly bitter dispute with Earl
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