Earl Charles Spencer has been at the forefront of royal headlines in 2026 following the release of his new book, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, in September 2026.
Causing a royal war of words, the 62-year-old makes a series of shocking claims in the memoir, including alleging that King Charles acted "giddy" following the death of his ex-wife, Princess Diana, in a 1997 car crash.
The book prompted an unprecedented response from Buckingham Palace, who issued a statement reading: "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."
© Getty ImagesEarlier in May, the late Princess Diana's brother made headlines for his love life when he married Norwegian archaeologist Cat Jarman, marking his fourth marriage, having previously been divorced three times.
Aside from his book and his recent marriage, take a look at Charles's most shocking family moments below…
His 'unhappy childhood'
© Getty ImagesCharles Spencer has previously spoken about his upbringing and how the divorce of his parents, John Spencer and Frances Shand Kydd, had a profound impact on him.
"Diana and I had two older sisters who were away at school, so she and I were very much in it together and I did talk to her about it," he told The Sunday Times in 2020. "Our father was a quiet and constant source of love, but our mother wasn't cut out for maternity. Not her fault, she couldn't do it," he added.
"While she was packing her stuff to leave, she promised Diana (then aged five) she'd come back to see her. Diana used to wait on the doorstep for her, but she never came," he recalled.
The father-of-seven added that he has done "a lot of very profound work" on his "unhappy childhood" which was "agonising and horrible."
His claims of abuse while at school
© Getty Images for Invictus GamesEarlier this year, Charles disclosed that he was sexually abused at the age of 11 by a female staff member when he was at boarding school. In an extract from his book, A Very Private School, Charles claims that he was abused by an assistant matron at the school when he was a child, during the 1970s.
Princess Diana's death
© Tim Graham Photo Library via GetCharles's older sister Diana was tragically killed in a car crash in Paris on 31 August 1997. Her death had a profound impact on the royal family and sent shockwaves around the globe.
For Charles, the incident was unsurprisingly heartbreaking. During a 1999 TV interview with US chat show host Larry King, the author spoke about the moment he learned of Diana's fate.
"I was in Cape Town, South Africa with my four children, just the five of us in the house, and the telephone went very early in the morning," he recalled. "And somebody from my property in England said, 'Look, I've got some bad news. It seems as though your sister and Dodi Fayed have been in a car crash in Paris.'"
He continued: "So I went downstairs and turned on the television and was following, in fact, on CNN, and watching the broadcast, and they were quite adamant at the time that she had been seen walking away from the car and was obviously hurt, but fine.
© InstagramCharles went on to add: "And then I called my other sister, my middle sister, who was actually married to somebody who was working for the Queen, and I said, 'Look, what's going on?' And she said, 'Well, he's on the other line, right now.' And then she stopped talking, and I'll always remember hearing my brother-in-law Robert say, 'Oh, no,' and then my sister Jane said, 'I'm afraid that's it. I'm afraid she's dead.'"
At her funeral, Charles delivered a heartbreaking eulogy where he paid tribute to his late sister, describing her as the "very essence of compassion, of duty, of style, of beauty."
John Spencer's death
© InstagramIn 1960, Charles' parents lost their baby son, just ten hours after his birth. The Hon. John Spencer was the third child born to the couple, following elder sisters Lady Sarah McCorquidale and Jane Fellowes
In 2022, Charles paid a touching tribute to his late brother. Alongside a picture of John's gravestone, he wrote: "Looking as it should, now… I never knew my older brother, John, and live 100 miles from his grave - but, seeing it last summer, realised serious action was required. Thank you, BB, for making it look as it should."
