The British royal family has faced some unprecedented problems in the past 12 months, from the decision to strip Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor of his titles, to today's most pressing issue - the explosive allegations contained within Charles Spencer's new book.
For decades, the monarchy adopted the stance of 'never complain, never explain'. But there has been a notable shift in how King Charles has approached these recent troubles.
Just last week, the King issued a stern rebuttal after claims made in Charles Spencer's book about the late Princess Diana started to come to light.
In the first excerpt published in the Daily Mail, which is serialising Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, Charles claimed that the then-Prince of Wales told him days after Diana's death and during a heated row over funeral arrangements: "Rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough."
Little over an hour later, the Palace hit back. "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."
The King's shot across the bows
It revealed a different side to King Charles, according to Katie Nicholl, author of the book The New Royals - one that is not afraid to speak out. Alongside the King's action over his brother Andrew, and the Spencer response, she also noted Charles's decision to send a letter reiterating the stance over Harry and Meghan's titles.
The correspondence, which was sent on behalf of the King by the Lord Chamberlain, confirmed that despite the Sussexes' decision to return to the UK, they still cannot use the titles of "His and Her Royal Highness", and remain "private citizens".
© Getty ImagesIt further established that any engagements carried out by Harry and Meghan will be in a private capacity and that they will not be representing the Royal Family.
It was seen by many as something of a shot across the bows, and came a short time ahead of Harry's first public appearance back in the UK.
The King is 'flexing his constitutional muscles'
Asked about the King's more decisive approach, Katie remarked: "I think it's worth noting just on that point of greater transparency and just not sitting back and taking it. You know, we are seeing the King being more proactive.
"He is flexing his constitutional muscle and he's establishing very clear boundaries and we've seen that at its most extreme with Andrew and the stripping of Andrew's titles, but we saw it with the letter going out of the Lord Chamberlain's office re iterating Harry and Megan's titles, the HRH as being in abeyance, and that they are not public officials. So I think we are seeing an institution at a moment of change.
© Indigo/Getty Images"It has gone through a huge amount of crisis in recent years, there's no mistaking it. I think this is the King's way of perhaps taking hold of a narrative before it can run away and take on a new meaning altogether. So you're seeing them being proactive rather than reactive."
There seems little doubt that the claims made by Charles Spencer have rocked the royal family.
In one extraordinary passage he claimed that during a heated 1997 telephone row over Princess Diana's funeral arrangements, the then-Prince Charles hissed, "Rest assured, we'll forget her soon enough."
Charles further alleged that the King sounded "giddily elated" after her death and went "ballistic" when he opposed having young Princes William and Harry walk in the funeral procession.
A painful time for William and Harry
His allegations will have been incredibly difficult for the estranged brothers, bringing them back to an incredibly painful time in their lives. And it clearly had an emotional impact on the King.
© Getty ImagesIngrid Seward, author of Catherine & Diana: The inside story, highlighted the unprecedented response from the King, regarding the claims, telling HELLO!: "I think that Charles felt very strongly about this, because I've never heard a statement like this before. And he must have considered the implications of it and realised, you know, this is going to cause more agony, so he felt so strongly. I think that it was put out pretty swiftly."
Charles Spencer doubles down
With regards to the King's hard-hitting rebuttal, Charles Spencer has gone on to accuse the King of 'gaslighting' him.
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.
Referring 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.
© Getty Images"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, set to be aired on Sunday evening.
The argument over Diana's coffin
According to Charles, the disagreement concerned whether William and Harry should walk behind their mother's coffin.
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.
© Tim Graham Photo Library via GetHe continued: "And then he stopped, and I thought, 'Oh now he's going to pull himself together and say something more appropriate'.
"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."
A broken bond between Charles and his nephews?
It's not known how Charles's book will impact his relationship with Prince William and Prince Harry.
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."
Charles likes Harry and Meghan to Princess Diana
Earl Spencer told the BBC in an interview set to be aired on Sunday evening that Harry and Meghan's treatment at the hands of the media has "echoes" of what happened to his sister Diana.
He described press coverage of the couple as a "cancerous influence in their life" and said it would be "beholden on people to learn from Diana's example".
Speaking to Laura Kuenssberg at his Althorp estate, Earl Spencer was asked if he believed Diana would "identify" with the scrutiny the Sussexes face.
"If you look at an article in a tabloid about Diana or the couple that you were mentioning, Harry and Meghan, you know, they can be really, really unpleasant," he replied.
"And I think it would be really beholden on people to learn from Diana's example.
"I'm not here to speak for Harry and Meghan, but for anyone who's being destroyed in this way daily, it must be such a cancerous influence in their life."
He said he saw Diana's "tears of despair" when describing the impact of media coverage on her, adding she was "very, very sensitive to criticism".
Charles insists he is not on Harry's 'side'
Charles further said that his sister - who married the then-Prince Charles in 1981 - was "really brought low by all that criticism", describing it as a "pity" to see "echoes of that now" in the treatment of his nephew Harry and wife Meghan.
He also said he thought there was a media perception that he was "on Harry's side" but insisted: "I'm on my deceased sister's sons' side, both of them and if either of them wanted anything, then I'd be equally there for them."
