According to a report by Page Six, King Charles was “overjoyed—beaming as if he had won the lottery”—upon learning of the death of his ex-wife, Princess Diana.
In the upcoming book Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, Diana’s brother, Charles Spencer, recalls that Charles—who was then the Prince of Wales—telephoned him after learning that Diana had died in a car accident in 1997.
Spencer wrote in the book, “Unlike the others who called me—who were all utterly shocked, barely able to offer condolences, and unsure of how to help—he sounded positively elated. I remember thinking at the time, he sounded like someone who had just won the lottery.”
Spencer stated that Charles told him that “the very first thing” he did that morning at Balmoral Castle was to go to his sons’ bedrooms and inform Prince William and Prince Harry that their mother had died.
However, Spencer felt that Charles’s reaction at the time “sounded strangely matter-of-fact.” Given the magnitude of the tragedy, he described the reaction as “truly bizarre.”
Spencer further wrote, “Looking back now, I suspect the Prince’s first reaction was more about how this event might enable him to marry the woman he loved, rather than feeling the grief of losing someone he did not love.”
The “woman he loved” refers to the current Queen Camilla; Charles and Camilla married in 2005.
Spencer also wrote, “After a painful divorce, it is difficult to feel much sympathy for an ex-spouse—or for those who cared deeply about that ex-spouse.”
Charles and Diana married in 1981, separated in 1992, and officially divorced four years later.
However, Charles’s camp has denied these accounts. A Buckingham Palace spokesperson told Page Six on Wednesday, “His Majesty is well aware that the grief of losing a sibling can cloud reason, affect judgment, and alter memories in ways others cannot comprehend—even years after the loss occurred.”
It is understood that Prince Harry was aware of the relevant content in his uncle’s book beforehand. A source stated that the Duke of Sussex was not “shocked” by the allegations made in the book.