Earl Spencer has provided a detailed account of the immediate aftermath following the death of his sister, Diana, Princess of Wales, in an exclusive memoir. Recounting the events from his home in Cape Town, South Africa, he describes receiving the initial news late at night via a phone call from his sister Jane, who informed him of Diana’s involvement in a car crash in Paris.
Initially, the information seemed to suggest Diana had only sustained minor injuries, possibly a broken leg. Jane’s husband, Robert Fellowes, who served as the Queen’s Private Secretary at the time, was viewed as a reliable source of accurate information. However, as Earl Spencer watched the unfolding coverage on television, he observed a dismissive and, at times, misogynistic tone toward Diana, reflecting a pattern of criticism cultivated by palace insiders since her divorce from Prince Charles a year earlier.
The severity of the crash soon became apparent, first with confirmation that Diana’s companion, Dodi Fayed, and the driver, Henri Paul, had died instantly. Amid increasing concern, a phone call captured Fellowes’s audible shock, as Jane relayed the tragic confirmation to Earl Spencer: Diana had died.
Earl Spencer describes the profound sense of loss but also directs sharp criticism at the role of the paparazzi, suggesting their relentless pursuit had endangered and ultimately taken Diana’s life, with collateral fatalities including the driver and Dodi Fayed.
He recalls an unexpected exchange with Prince Charles early that morning. Unlike other family members who expressed grief and support, the prince’s demeanor struck Spencer as unusually upbeat. Charles informed him that he had already told William and Harry of their mother’s death at their home in Balmoral, prompting Spencer to reflect that Charles’s initial reaction may have been dominated by personal considerations rather than the gravity of the loss.
Following Diana’s death, Earl Spencer was designated as the family’s main contact regarding funeral arrangements. While Diana’s family recognized the public’s desire for a national ceremony, control of the event was largely assumed by Buckingham Palace and Prince Charles’s offices, underscoring how Diana was still regarded institutionally as part of the royal household despite the divorce.
Earl Spencer highlights tensions between the royal factions—Buckingham Palace and St James’s Palace—partly driven by Prince Charles’s frustration over his prolonged wait to ascend to the throne. These dynamics contributed to a lack of direct communication with Diana’s family about funeral plans. Instead, arrangements were managed by Lieutenant Colonel Malcolm Ross, then Comptroller of the Lord Chamberlain’s Office, who maintained a professional but distant role.
He also notes that the family’s request to have Mozart’s Requiem performed—a known wish of Diana’s—was denied on the grounds that no part of a requiem was permitted at a Church of England funeral. Earl Spencer subsequently discovered this was not strictly accurate, marking the start of a series of misleading statements from the authorities during the period.
His account offers an insider perspective on the complexities, tensions, and bureaucratic challenges that framed the immediate response to one of the most significant royal tragedies of recent times.