'Betrayed' Prince William tangled in new Spencer memoir feud
The 'betrayed' Prince William tangled in yet another royal rift after his uncle Charles Spencer published "Swan Song: Diana, My Sister" and reopened traumatic memories of Diana's 1997 funeral. Royal commentator Kinsey Schofield told Page Six that William feels a sharper sting because Spencer is Diana's brother—not a distant critic mining the past for profit.
Charles Spencer, the 9th Earl Spencer, 62, writes that he argued with King Charles III in a "stream of anger" over making William and Prince Harry walk behind their mother's coffin from Kensington Palace to Westminster Abbey. Those claims landed last week as William, 44, faces questions about how fresh "Charles and Diana warfare" affects the monarchy he is set to inherit.
Key Takeaways
- Spencer's memoir "Swan Song: Diana, My Sister" revisits his opposition to William and Harry joining the 1997 funeral procession behind Diana's casket.
- Kinsey Schofield told Page Six William feels betrayed because Spencer once promised Diana's blood family would protect her sons.
- Schofield cited sources describing "considerable frustration and anger" for William and for King Charles, though for different reasons.
- She said William has tried to "draw a boundary" around Diana's memory and resist commercialization of her life and death.
- Page Six also reported Prince Harry may be "wooing" Spencer amid Sussex documentary rumors while he and William remain estranged.
What did Charles Spencer reveal in his new book?
Spencer recounts fighting Charles over the funeral walk that put teenage William and Harry before a global audience. He wrote that his protests failed and the brothers walked with their father anyway.
Schofield told Page Six that Spencer is now making "very damaging allegations" about the King while retelling 1997 events William considers among the ugliest in family history. Track similar stories in Celebrity Breaking News.
Why does Kinsey Schofield say William feels betrayed?
"With Prince William, there is an additional sense of betrayal because this is coming from his own uncle," Schofield said exclusively. She noted Spencer stood at Diana's funeral and pledged her blood relatives would shield William and Harry.
Nearly three decades later, Schofield said, William is watching that same uncle reopen childhood trauma. William has spent much of his adult life resisting the "endless excavation and commercialization" of Diana's life, she added, so a memoir from Diana's brother hits especially hard.
How does this feud affect the monarchy and other royals?
Schofield said William is both Charles' son and the future king, meaning Spencer's narrative damages "the institution William will eventually inherit." She asked how airing disputed private conversations from 1997 helps either of Diana's sons.
For Charles, she reported allies see "character assassination" rooted in an alleged private talk from almost 30 years ago, though the King has long endured being cast as the Diana story's villain. Royal journalist Tom Sykes told Page Six Harry may be cultivating Spencer for documentary credibility, while William and Harry have feuded since Harry and Meghan Markle stepped back from royal duties in 2020. Page Six said it contacted William's representative for comment.