I could write ‘hit piece’ on royal family but ‘that’s not my job’ – Earl Spencer

Earl Spencer has said he could write a “hit piece on the royal family” but said it was not a threat as he would not put pen to paper.

Charles Spencer’s controversial book about his sister Diana, Princess of Wales has made headlines around the world for its string of allegations against the monarch, but he insisted it was not a “hit piece on the King”.

Former tabloid editor Piers Morgan has claimed the royal family are “spitting blood” over Earl Spencer’s memoir about Diana – called Swan Song: Diana, My Sister – and that he wants to “destroy” the reputation of the King.

Copies of Earl Spencer’s book Swan Song: Diana, My Sister at Waterstones Piccadilly in London (Aaron Chown/PA)

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Interviewed on the ITV show Lorraine, Diana’s brother, who famously gave a eulogy at her funeral, said: “This is about Diana.

“It was impossible to give the full story of Diana’s life without putting in context certain things.

“This is not a threat at all because I’m not going to do it, if I wanted to write a hit piece on the royal family, I could do that – that’s not my job.

“My job in this book was to celebrate Diana, it’s exactly the same as with the eulogy.

Diana, Princess of Wales (John Stillwell/PA)

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“By doing that, other people are going to come off not as well as they might want to.”

Earl Spencer claims in his book that the King, then the Prince of Wales, said about Diana “we’ll forget her soon enough” during an argument over whether the then Princes William and Harry should walk behind their mother’s coffin in her funeral procession.

The memoir also alleges the King “sounded giddily elated – like a lottery winner” when he spoke to the earl after Diana’s death.

In a strongly worded response, Buckingham Palace said the King was “mindful that the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgement and colour memory in ways others do not recognise, even many years after such a loss”.

Charles, Earl Spencer, Harry and William walking behind the funeral cortege of Diana, the Princess of Wales (PA)

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When asked by Lorraine if he stood by everything he said about the King, the earl replied: “Yes, so I would like to explain, I wasn’t setting out to do a hit piece on the King at all.

“The bits that have been included in the book are totally in context.”