British Conservative Party leader, Kemi Badenoch, has declared her support for King Charles III amid a fresh controversy over claims made by Earl Spencer about the monarch in his forthcoming memoir on his late sister, Princess Diana.
Badenoch, speaking in an interview with the BBC, said she was “always on the side of His Majesty” when asked about the dispute surrounding Spencer’s book, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister.
The memoir, which is being serialised by the Daily Mail ahead of its publication, contains several claims concerning the late Princess Diana’s relationship with Charles and events surrounding her death in 1997.
Among the claims, Spencer alleges that Charles told him days after Diana’s death: “Rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough.”
He also alleged that the then-Prince of Wales was “giddily elated” after learning of Diana’s death.
Reacting to the controversy, Badenoch said: “I have a side and it’s always on the side of His Majesty.”
She also referred to a statement issued by Buckingham Palace in response to the allegations, saying she would reiterate what the Palace had stated on the King’s behalf.
Buckingham Palace, while maintaining its longstanding position of not commenting on books as a matter of principle, said the King understood that grief between siblings could affect recollections of painful events.
The Palace said 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.”
Spencer, however, has stood by the claims in his memoir, insisting that he was accurately recounting what Charles allegedly told him.
Responding to the Palace’s statement, Spencer said the response appeared to suggest that recollections could differ.
He also rejected suggestions that the alleged comments attributed to Charles had been distorted.
“I can tell you here and now, those are exactly the words he said,” Spencer said.
Former royal correspondent Charles Rae also questioned the allegations, saying he would be surprised if Charles had made such comments following Diana’s death.
Rae said the then-Prince of Wales had been devastated by Diana’s death and expressed doubt that he would have spoken in the manner alleged in the memoir.
The controversy has renewed public interest in the circumstances surrounding Diana’s death and the relationship between members of the British Royal Family more than two decades later.
