- Brought to book… - 21st September 2026
- Money go round - 21st September 2026
- More check, check, check again… - 18th September 2026
During 43 years in journalism, (when he was trained to use clear and simple language, avoiding jargon), it was always drilled into the head of our Editor Welshman Phil Parry, to check at least three times, to ensure a recollection is correct, and once again this is underlined by MORE bombshell revelations coming out about the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, which will be highly embarrassing for Buckingham Palace.
Princess Diana’s brother Earl Spencer (the author of the latest information in his new book), was even the subject of an interview about the clams by the BBC’s former Political Editor, Laura Kuensberg, and in the broadcast said that he is “telling the truth” about a phone call with King Charles in the days after his sister’s death in a car crash. The Earl’s book ‘Swan Song: Diana, My Sister’ is due to be published next week.
Yesterday, much of the news was the accusation from the Earl that the King was ‘gaslighting’ him.
Sky News said: ‘Earl Spencer has accused King Charles of gaslighting him and being “astonishingly provocative” in the latest escalation of his row with the royals…
‘I also thought it was a rather poor imitation of the ‘recollections may vary’ quote, which was a much more elegant way of putting things, but in these circumstances entirely out of place.’
In excerpts from his memoir published in the Daily Mail, he recounts being alerted to the car crash in Paris, on August 31, 1997, by a phone call from his sister in the middle of the night at his home in Cape Town, South Africa.
During the calls that followed, which confirmed the death, the then-Prince Charles telephoned him, and the book alleges: “Unlike my other callers, who were stunned, barely able to articulate their condolences and offers of help, he sounded giddily elated – like a lottery winner, I remember thinking at the time”.
In the memoir, Earl Spencer writes of his sister’s troubled marriage – claiming a friend of Diana’s had told him on the eve of their wedding in July 1981, Prince Charles had said to her that he was “very happy to marry her, but… not actually in love with her”.
Things became “very difficult indeed” in the marriage early on, he says, adding that he is “sure that both spouses despaired of the other at times”.
Earl Spencer now believes his sister had Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and as part of her condition suffered from Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD) – describing the latter as an “intense emotional pain in the face of others’ rejection or criticism”.
Following these latest disclosures, and the Earl’s dramatic appearance on a key programme normally reserved for political leaders, The Eye here re-publishes the story about this extraordinary row, by our Editor, Welshman, Phil Parry.
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When I started in journalism in 1983, a mantra was drilled into me by the instructors: “Check, check, check…”
This, of course, means that everything you publish must be triple checked to ensure it is accurate.
It is conceivable that this is emphasised by Earl Spencer’s shock allegation about (now) KING Charles soon after the death of his former wife Diana, Princess of Wales.
The Earl claimed in a new book on his sister, ‘Swan Song’, to be released next week, that a Palace aide had told him that Charles had proclaimed: “we’ll forget her (Diana) soon enough”.
An extract from his memoir was published in the Daily Mail yesterday.
In the extract, Earl Spencer said the then-Prince of Wales subjected him to a “stream of anger” after he insisted Diana would not have wanted her sons Prince William and Prince Harry, then aged 15 and 12, to walk behind her coffin during the funeral procession.
In ‘Swan Song: Diana, My Sister’, the earl said he was told by a palace aide that the late princess’ sons would walk behind her coffin, however, Earl Spencer objected to the move and claimed he received a phone call from Charles soon afterwards.
The comments may or may not be a correct recollection, but clearly Buckingham Palace was unhappy, and took the rare step of issuing a public statement.
It declared: “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”.
Whatever the truth is at the heart of this difficult issue, it is obvious that these things need to be verified (which may or may not have been done), because they can cause a tremendous stink!
Check, check, check!
‘Swan Song: Diana My Sister’ will be published on Tuesday in the UK, ahead of the 30th anniversary of Princess Diana’s death in Paris, next year.
Some of the stories Phil has covered over the years (when sources were always checked), as he was gripped by the rare neurological condition Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia (HSP), have been released in a a different kind of book ‘A GOOD STORY’. Order it now!
Tomorrow – recent right wing unrest around the world against immigrants, has focused attention on how FEW people from overseas actually live in Wales, as well as the economic and cultural benefits they bring to the country, amid concern that the demonstrations might spread.
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