Charles Spencer’s memoir about his sister, Princess Diana, was published in Britain on Tuesday, September 22, and has drawn sharply critical reviews in the British press.
The book, titled Swan Song, is written by Diana’s brother, Earl Charles Spencer. As DR reports, it made headlines before publication and has since met a cool reception among reviewers in Britain.
According to Reuters, the memoir appeared nearly 30 years after Diana’s death. The news agency notes that it contains allegations about her marriage to King Charles and about the period after she died.
The Guardian wrote that the book suffers from self-pity and self-absorption. Its reviewer said Spencer carries so many grudges and revenge motives that it is at times impossible to hear what he is saying.
Per DR, The Telegraph wrote that the book is not about Diana but a tribute to its author’s ego. The Times described it as a salvo in a Shakespearean blood feud between two aristocratic houses.
The Times compared the conflict to a Montague against Capulet drama played out in Barbour jackets and tweed. The paper also noted that Spencer stresses how his family’s roots in the English aristocracy run deeper than those of the Windsor dynasty.
Focus on the 1997 funeral speech
Several papers noted that large parts of the book are built around the speech Spencer gave at Diana’s funeral in Westminster Abbey in 1997. He goes through its sentence structure, its stylistic choices and the reactions to it in detail.
The Telegraph wrote that the book is, frankly, obsessed with the speech. The Guardian’s reviewer conceded that it was a remarkable speech, but said the book keeps returning to it long past the point of interest.
Jakob Steen Olsen, culture and royal commentator at Berlingske, told DR’s program K-Live that it is unclear why Spencer is reopening the conflict now. He noted that Spencer’s view of the British royal family has long been known, above all from the 1997 funeral speech.
Last week the palace stated that the pain of a brother’s grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and color memory in ways others do not recognize. USA Today described the Buckingham Palace response as unusually firm.
Spencer stood by his account in a subsequent BBC interview. ABC News in Australia reported that he said he was telling the truth.
Diana and the then Prince Charles divorced in 1996 after a turbulent marriage marked by infidelity and conflict. Diana died after a car crash in Paris in 1997, at the age of 36.
