Earl Spencer made an explosive claim about Charles. The Palace answered with a rare public rebuke.
In a forthcoming memoir, Diana's brother recounts a bitter 1997 argument over William and Harry walking behind her coffin. Buckingham Palace disputes his memory of it.
- The allegation: Spencer says he opposed making William, 15, and Harry, 12, join the funeral procession. He alleges that Charles replied: "Rest assured, we'll forget her soon enough."
- The response: The Palace said it normally does not comment on books, then argued that fraternal grief can cloud reason, judgment and memory. It offered no alternative account of the call.
- Why this lands: The dispute is bigger than one alleged sentence. It reopens the decision to put two grieving boys into a global public ritual—and turns a 29-year-old family argument into a fight over whose memory counts.