Nearly three decades after Princess Diana’s death, a new book from her younger brother is reopening some of the most painful chapters of her life — and not everyone who fiercely protects the late princess’s legacy is happy about it.
Charles Spencer’s new memoir, “Swan Song: Diana, My Sister,” has already triggered headlines with deeply personal recollections about Diana, her troubled marriage and the extraordinary days surrounding her death in 1997.
Now prominent Diana collector Renae Plant is questioning whether putting those private memories into a bestselling book really protects the princess Spencer says he loved.
“People always cash in on Diana, and I hate it,” Plant said in comments reported by RadarOnline.
Her criticism comes with an important caveat: Plant acknowledged that she had not yet read Spencer’s memoir.
Even so, she argued that repeatedly reopening painful episodes from Diana’s life risks turning the princess’s memory into another round of controversy.
“To keep bringing up these pieces that are going to sell a book when you’re telling people you’re never going to cash in on your sister is kind of contradictory to me,” Plant told the Daily Mirror.
She added that discussing Diana in a way that reignites old disputes “doesn’t sit well” with her.
Spencer Says He Wants to Tell Diana’s Story
Spencer, 62, has offered a very different explanation for writing the book.
The 384-page memoir was released on September 22 and is billed by publisher Penguin Random House as an intimate portrait of Diana told by the brother who grew up alongside her.
Spencer has said the approaching 30th anniversary of Diana’s death in 2027 prompted him to put his own memories on record rather than continue watching other people tell her story.
The siblings shared a turbulent childhood following their parents’ divorce, and Spencer recounts everything from their early years together to Diana’s transformation into one of the most recognizable women in the world.
The book becomes considerably more controversial when it reaches Diana’s marriage, divorce and death.
Diana died at age 36 following a car crash in Paris on August 31, 1997.
One of Spencer’s most explosive claims involves a conversation he says he had with Diana’s former husband, then-Prince Charles, while the family was making arrangements for her funeral.
Spencer claims the two men argued about whether Princes William and Harry, who were just 15 and 12, should walk behind their mother’s coffin.
According to Spencer’s account, Charles allegedly told him that Diana would eventually be forgotten.
The King has not personally confirmed Spencer’s version of that conversation.
Buckingham Palace Takes Rare Step
What made the dispute especially notable was Buckingham Palace’s decision to respond.
The Palace generally avoids commenting on books about the Royal Family, but it issued an unusually sharp statement after excerpts of Spencer’s memoir began circulating.
Buckingham Palace said King Charles was mindful that grief following the loss of a sibling could affect a person’s judgment and memories, even many years afterward.
The statement stopped short of providing a point-by-point denial of Spencer’s account, but its unmistakable implication was that the Palace questioned the reliability of his recollection.
Spencer did not back down.
During subsequent interviews promoting the memoir, he accused the Palace of attempting to undermine his memory and insisted that he stands behind his account.
That extraordinary public disagreement has transformed what Spencer describes as a tribute to his sister into the latest battle over who gets to shape Diana’s legacy.
Diana Collector Questions the Timing
Plant has become a major figure in efforts to preserve Diana’s clothing, possessions and memorabilia.
Originally from Australia, she has described becoming fascinated with Diana after watching the royal wedding in 1981.
Two years later, when Diana and Charles toured Australia, Plant had the opportunity to meet the princess in Queensland.
Plant has recalled Diana reaching out to shake her hand and looking directly into her eyes.
That encounter helped spark what would become a decades-long passion for collecting and preserving items associated with the princess.
Her extensive collection is now helping form the centerpiece of a major new American exhibition devoted to Diana.
“Diana: Love Life Legacy — A Life of Giving” is scheduled to open November 7 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley, California.
The Reagan Library says the exhibition will contain more than 700 original artifacts covering virtually every period of Diana’s life.
Among the items announced for the exhibition are handwritten letters, childhood possessions, jewelry, wedding memorabilia, handbags, shoes and several of Diana’s best-known outfits.
One major attraction will be the dark blue velvet gown
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