Senior Royal Family members are set for a busy day today after bombshell claims were published from a new memoir by Princess Diana’s brother.
Buckingham Palace has hit back after it was alleged that in the days after the Princess of Wales’ untimely death in 1997, Charles told her brother, Earl Spencer: ‘Rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough.’
A spokesperson said: ‘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.’
As criticism mounts following the claims, royal diaries are packed full of public engagements on Thursday.
The King – who separated from Diana in 1992 before finalising their divorce the year before her death – is set to address bosses from some of the world’s leading developers at AI firms Nvidia, Anthropic and OpenAI about the future of the technology.
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AI has also made headlines in recent weeks after former Anthropic employee Jacob Coxon publicly quit the company over fears the technology could threaten humans.
Charles is expected to speak at a summit at Dumfries House in Scotland, telling attendees the new technology should be in the ‘service of humanity, community and the natural world’.
Meanwhile, Prince William and Kate Middleton will make their first official visit to the Isle of Bute.
The Prince and Princess of Wales – who also hold the titles of the Duke and Duchess of Rothesay in Scotland – will visit their namesake town of Rothesay during the trip.
Prince Harry – who moved back to the UK with wife Meghan Markle last month – is also stepping out for his first public appearance since returning to his home country.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are not working royals, and earlier this month, the Royal Household clarified that the pair will be treated as private citizens – a move said to have ‘surprised’ the couple.
Since returning, the family has been plagued by alleged security issues, with Harry and Meghan reportedly having to pull their two children – Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five – out of school just days into term.
The Duchess of Sussex’s mobile number was also allegedly leaked when screenshots of a parents’ WhatsApp conversation were shared outside the chat.
Other royal engagements include a visit by the Duchess of Edinburgh to Zambia and the Princess Royal’s plan to attend the opening of a new History Centre at the German Military Cemetery in Staffordshire.
Earl Spencer claims in the book Swan Song: Diana, My Sister – serialised in the Daily Mail – that Charles, then the Prince of Wales, subjected him to a ‘stream of anger’ after he insisted Diana would not have wanted Princes William and Harry, then aged 15 and 12, to walk in her funeral procession.
One book excerpt claims Queen Elizabeth II’s senior aides told him the young princes were to walk in the procession, prompting the Earl to respond: ‘That’s not going to happen.’
Charles called minutes later and told him that 18 years earlier he had walked in the funeral procession of his great-uncle, Lord Mountbatten, it is claimed.
In the book, the Earl claims: ‘Prince Charles continued his stream of anger, without me interrupting. Then he stopped.
‘I assumed the pause signalled an effort to bring himself under control, but then he unleashed down the phone what I have always taken to be his pent-up contempt for Diana, and his horror that the world was so bowled over by her death. “Rest assured”, he hissed, “We’ll forget her soon enough!”‘