Princess Diana's 'very private' sisters will be feeling 'pretty annoyed' about Earl Spencer's memoir

Princess Diana's sisters will be feeling "pretty annoyed" about Earl Spencer's new memoir, a royal expert has claimed.

Lady Sarah McCorquodale, 71, and Lady Jane Fellowes, 69, are "very private" and tend not to "get involved" with royal drama, according to Ingrid Seward, author of the new book Catherine & Diana. 

However, the sisters won't like that "old wounds" have been brought up again in their younger brother's new book, Swan Song: Diana, my Sister.

Ingrid told HELLO!: "I should think they'll be pretty annoyed because it just brings up their sister yet again. Next year is the 30th anniversary of her death, so there's bound to be another big fuss, which I'm sure they won't like.

© Tim Graham Photo Library via Get

"They just don't get involved, for self-preservation. They've never said anything, only occasionally giving the odd quote to a proper Diana memorial book, published shortly after her death. Otherwise they don't, and I think that's the way they're going to keep it."

Charles Spencer published Swan Song last Tuesday, containing incendiary claims that King Charles had acted "giddily elated" after his ex-wife passed away. 

The Palace has not been alone in speaking out; the Earl also issued an apology to Piers Morgan over a factual error within its pages.

Princess Diana's close relationship with her sisters

Princess Diana had two older sisters, Lady Sarah and Lady Jane, as well as her younger brother, Charles Spencer. 

She spent part of her childhood in Norfolk before they settled in Althorp, the family seat in Northamptonshire. Sarah famously met King Charles first at a party in 1977, and the pair briefly dated. 

Lady Jane, meanwhile, married Robert Fellowes, the assistant private secretary to the late Queen. Diana was close to her sisters, and was a bridesmaid at the wedding.

© Getty Images

The late Princess of Wales's life changed forever when she married the then-Prince Charles in 1981. 

Ingrid added: "From their point of view, he didn't treat her well. So, I don't know how they feel about him. 

"I'm sure they're very respectful of him as their monarch, but, you know, I don't think they have anything really to do with him."

Earl Spencer celebrates book achievement

Despite its share of controversy, Swan Song has become the UK's bestselling hardback non-fiction book in 2026.

© Instagram / @charles.earl.spencer

The Earl said: "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: 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 far better place, despite exiting the stage while still so young."

Prior to its publication, the book sparked a war of words with Buckingham Palace, which hit back, saying "fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and colour memory".