Arabic version: القصر يرفض مزاعم سبنسر مع انتهاء البحث عن نواه

According to BBC News, Earl Spencer’s forthcoming book has triggered a fresh dispute with Buckingham Palace over his account of events following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997. The Times reports that Spencer alleges King Charles, then Prince of Wales, told him: “Rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough.”

The Daily Mail says an extract from Swan Song: Diana, My Sister describes a row over funeral arrangements. Spencer alleged that the then-Prince of Wales responded with a “stream of anger” after he said Diana would not have wanted the young Princes William and Harry to walk in her funeral procession.

Buckingham Palace issued a statement described by the Daily Telegraph as a highly unusual response. It 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”. A source close to the King told the Telegraph that the alleged comment was “just not in his nature”, particularly when he was “absolutely grief-stricken”.

Elsewhere, police confirmed that a child’s body was found near Brantham, Suffolk, where three-year-old Noah Woods disappeared from a playground after becoming separated from a relative. The Daily Mirror reported that the body was found in a nearby pond.