Earl Spencer's Memoir Sparks Palace Dispute Over King Charles

Buckingham Palace, in London, is disputing an account by Charles Spencer, the Earl Spencer and brother of Diana, Princess of Wales, that King Charles III sounded 'giddy' during a phone call in the hours after her death, according to BBC reporting on claims contained in his new memoir. The dispute has drawn renewed attention to one of the most examined episodes in modern royal history: the family's private response to a death that played out under intense public scrutiny.

What Does Earl Spencer Claim Charles Said?

In BBC video reporting on the memoir, Spencer describes what he says was a 'giddy tone' in Charles's voice during a call following Diana's death. A separate BBC segment, drawn from the same run of coverage, describes Spencer's account differently, saying Diana's brother recalls Charles having 'gone ballistic' during a phone call after her death. The BBC has not reconciled the two characterizations in the material reviewed, and it is not clear from the available reporting whether they refer to the same call or to separate conversations. Where accounts diverge, both descriptions are presented here as reported.

What is consistent across the BBC's coverage is that the claims originate with Spencer himself, are contained in his new book, and are being treated by the broadcaster as central to what it calls a 'royal row' that has intensified since the memoir's claims began circulating.

Who Is Earl Spencer?

Charles Spencer holds the title Earl Spencer and is identified by the BBC as the brother of Diana, Princess of Wales. He is the source of the claims against King Charles III that are the subject of the broadcaster's reporting, and the BBC's own coverage frames its explainer video around the question of who he is, an indication that his profile is central to how the claims are being received.

Why Is Buckingham Palace Disputing the Memoir?

Buckingham Palace has pushed back on the characterizations attributed to the King in Spencer's account, according to reporting tied to the memoir's publication. The dispute centers on how Charles is said to have behaved on a phone call tied to one of the most sensitive moments in the family's recent history, and it places the Palace in the position of contesting a first-person account from a member of Diana's own family rather than from a journalist or outside biographer.

Neither the Palace's full statement nor the memoir's exact wording was included in the material reviewed for this report, and HTT News is not able to independently verify the content of the call being described.

What Do the BBC's Two Accounts of the Call Reveal?

The BBC's own publication pattern illustrates how quickly the story has moved. One video, describing Spencer's account of a 'giddy tone,' was published roughly 13 minutes before the network's related-content list was compiled. A second video, describing Charles as having 'gone ballistic' on the call, was published about a day earlier. The gap of roughly a day between two differently worded BBC accounts of what appears to be the same underlying claim suggests the network's own coverage evolved, or was refined, as the story developed — a detail readers should weigh when comparing the two descriptions.

What Happens Next in the Royal Dispute?

The BBC describes the story as an intensifying 'royal row,' suggesting further developments are likely as more of the memoir's contents become public.

• Whether Buckingham Palace issues a more detailed, on-the-record response beyond disputing the general characterization.
• Whether additional excerpts from Spencer's memoir are reported that touch on the same phone call or other claims about the King.
• Whether King Charles III's office directly addresses either the 'giddy tone' or 'went ballistic' descriptions attributed to him.

For now, the dispute rests on competing accounts: a memoir from a family member asserting one version of events, and a Palace that has pushed back without, in the material available, offering its own detailed narrative of the call in question.

Read the original BBC report and video: Who is Earl Spencer, the man making claims against King Charles?