It's been years since Prince William and Prince Harry have stood united. But the upcoming release of their uncle Charles Spencer's explosive book, will see them both forced to relive one of their most difficult shared experiences.
Swan Song: Diana, my Sister will hit the shelves on Tuesday. But excerpts have been released ahead of time, and it will have made upsetting reading for the two Princes.
One of the most shocking claims from Diana's brother concerns their father's reaction to her death. The Earl wrote: "I assumed the pause signalled an effort to bring himself under control, but then he unleashed down the phone what I have always taken to be his pent-up contempt for Diana, and his horror that the world was so bowled over by her death. 'Rest assured,' he hissed, 'we'll forget her soon enough!'"
In a separate passage, he claimed that then-Prince Charles had sounded "giddily elated". He wrote: "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.
Earl Spencer faces a backlash - and the Palace responds
There has been a huge backlash to the Earl's version of events, and it prompted Buckingham Palace to release a rare, sternly-worded rebuttal. "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."
It's clear that the King has been angered by Charles's claims - and it's likely to have evoked a similar response. Harry is known to be closer to his uncle, and has seen him in recent weeks. But it's not known whether he had any knowledge of the book, and its contents.
© Alamy Stock PhotoRegardless, it must be upsetting for the brothers to have their mother's untimely death once again in the spotlight.
William and Harry 'want their mother's memory laid to rest'
According to Katie Nicholl - author of the book The New Royals: "It’s hard to know how they're feeling because ultimately, [Earl Spencer’s book bombshell is happening…] at a moment in time nearly 30 years on, when they want their mother's memory laid to rest, they want her legacy honored, and continued in their charity work…
"To have it overshadowed with arguments, fallouts, rifts… that are now resurfacing three decades on, can surely not be what any of them want.
© UK Press via Getty Images"And also, one has to imagine that for the King - these statements have come on the eve of a very important official engagement at a time of great flux and uncertainty for the Royal Family, when the King is trying his best to keep his tiller on an unsteady ship - this must come as quite a blow. I do understand that the Palace were bracing themselves for an explosive book, which very much seems to be the case."
Reconciliation, however, seems unlikely. As Katie points out, it's simply "not a priority" for Prince William, who is said to be unable to forgive his younger brother for comments he made about the royal family - in particular, Princess Kate.
Has Earl Spencer burnt his bridges with William and Harry?
But what about Earl Spencer's relationship with his nephews moving forward?
Speaking on HELLO!'s Right Royal Podcast, HELLO!'s Royal Editor, Emily Nash, said: "Well, to the best of my knowledge, I don't think he's particularly close to William. We know Harry stayed with him back in July when he was in the UK.
© WPA Pool"So they do have a somewhat closer relationship, but it puts Harry in a difficult situation because, however much he may like to wear his heart on his sleeve when he talks about his mother, he's been very passionate about being attached to her legacy and wanting to bring that into pretty much everything he does; on the other hand, we know he's trying to reconcile with his father. So where does this leave him? He can't very well support what his uncle is saying."
She continued: "But William is the person, I think, maybe in the most difficult situation, because whatever his feelings behind the scenes, he has to keep the show on the road. This is his future and his family's future. And if you're lobbing a grenade at the institution… Really? Because it's not just the King who's being accused of things here, it's the whole palace machinery. And of course we know from everything that happened around the Panorama scandal, William is sick of people capitalising on his mother's memory to make money. So I do wonder what he feels about this."
Earl Spencer stands by his explosive claims - 'gaslit by the King'
Charles Spencer has now gone on to accuse the King of 'gaslighting' him over his claims in the book.
Speaking exclusively to The Mail on Sunday, the earl denied that he wrote his bombshell memoir because he was motivated by money and said his late sister would be 'cheering from the rafters' at his book.
© Max Mumby/IndigoReferring to the Palace's strong rebuttal, he added: "It is not every day you wake up to find you've been gaslit by the King.
"It was astonishingly provocative and below the belt because it was essentially trying to say I'd lied without the King being able to deny what I'd said.
"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."
Charles also discussed the alleged conversation in a BBC interview with Laura Kuenssberg, an extract of which was released on Friday. According to the earl, the disagreement concerned whether William and Harry should walk behind their mother's coffin.
The King 'criticised' Spencer family's sense of duty
He alleged that the then-Prince of Wales became angry and criticised the Spencer family's sense of duty. "[The King] went ballistic, would be the right term, and started really going for my family as a whole, about their sense of duty, not being adequate enough, and ranted for a while, I have no idea how long, but it was a significant period, and I just listened," he said.
He continued: "And then he stopped, and I thought, 'Oh now he's going to pull himself together and say something more appropriate'.
© Getty Images"And then he said, 'We'll forget her soon enough'." Asked whether he had evidence of the alleged remark, Charles said he had shared his account with people close to him at the time.
"I told friends and family straight away, close friends and family, about what had been said, because it was so monstrous," he said. He added: "I'm telling the truth."
Charles Spencer recalled his concern for Prince Harry
In another extract from the memoir, serialised in the Daily Mail, Spencer described his concern for Harry on the day of Diana's funeral.
The service took place on September 6, 1997. Harry was 12 and William was 15 when they walked behind their mother's coffin alongside their father, their uncle and their grandfather, Prince Philip.
© Tim Graham Photo Library via GetCharles recalled being struck by how young Harry looked, describing him as "tiny, and slight, and bereft". He remembered thinking his nephew was "too small to be doing this".
His account also covered the train journey from London to Althorp after the service.
"My chief memory of that train journey is of being concerned at the lack of obvious care for Harry, as he decompressed from the ghastliness of the morning," he wrote.
"He needed Diana's hugs, of course, and they would forever be denied him. "But instead of calm and nurture, he was allowed to spin out of control."
