Earl Spencer is set to share his personal memories of his sister, Princess Diana, in a new book that promises to challenge some of the stories that have emerged about her since her death.
Swan Song: Diana My Sister will be published on September 22, ahead of the 30th anniversary of Diana’s death in 2027.
Earl Spencer, Diana’s younger brother, said he had been receiving renewed requests to speak about his sister as the anniversary approaches.
“This has convinced me to write down my own thoughts and memories, once and for all, rather than having the discomfort of again reading the opinions of others, many of which are based on untruths that have become accepted over time,” he said.
“The aim of this book is to tell the truth about Diana from her brother’s perspective, just as I attempted to do when speaking at her funeral,” he said, referring to the eulogy he delivered at Westminster Abbey in 1997.
“As with my eulogy, I want to speak on Diana’s behalf and do so in an openly positive way.”
The book is expected to cover Diana’s childhood, her marriage to the then-Prince Charles, the breakdown of their relationship and the events surrounding her death in Paris.
It will also explore the aftermath of her death, including the public grief and anger that followed and how the royal family responded.
Diana was born in 1961 and married the now King Charles in 1981. The couple had two sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, before divorcing in 1996.
She died aged 36 in a car crash in Paris in August 1997, alongside her partner Dodi Fayed and their driver Henri Paul.
Spencer delivered an emotional eulogy at her funeral, describing Diana as the “most hunted person of the modern age” and promising to protect her young sons.
William was 15 and Harry was 12 when their mother died.
“I pledge that we, your blood family, will do all we can to continue the imaginative way in which you were steering these two exceptional young men so that their souls are not simply immersed by duty and tradition but can sing openly as you planned,” he said at the time.
Earl Spencer said he hoped the book would reach the younger generation.
“I hope this book will be of interest to the many who still cherish the memory of Diana when she was alive, and I would be delighted if those too young to remember her in her heyday feel − after reading this − that they ‘get’ who she really was,” he said.
“A one-off dynamic character, full of love, charisma and self-doubt, who gave life a hell of a go, and left the world a better place, despite exiting the stage while still so young.”
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