I know lots of things about the King, claims Earl Spencer as he launches veiled ‘threat’ at Charles during interview

EARL Spencer made a veiled threat to King Charles yesterday amid their bitter war of words — claiming he “knows lots of things” about him. The brother of Princess Diana refused to go into any details and swerved the question of whether he is cashing in with his new book. Princess Diana’s brother Earl Spencer in a 30-minute interview with the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg Credit: BBC Earl Spencer launched a veiled threat at King Charles amid their war of words — claiming he ‘knows lots of things’ about him Credit: Reuters But in a 30-minute interview with the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg yesterday, the Earl, 62, dragged Diana and Charles’s sons, Princes William and Harry, into the row. Asked what he believes they would make of his claims, he said: “Well, I don’t like to talk about what I’ve been speaking about to William and Harry, but this will not be a surprise to them.” Sign up for the Royals newsletter Thank you! The Earl said he wanted to “put things down once and for all that were true”. He added: “I know lots of things about the King which I chose not to include in the book because they were not relevant.” Put to him that the statement sounded like a threat when it involved potentially damaging information, he said: “No, not at all a threat, it’s just the reality.” He added: “If I was a salacious writer and wanted to write that sort of thing I have plenty of other things I could have said.” The Earl did, however, admit he was not certain about his previous comment that Charles, 77, was “giddily elated” when they spoke in a phone call in the wake of her death in Paris in 1997. In the astonishing claim, he said His Majesty told him: “Rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough.” Most read in Royals In the Earl’s memoir Swan Song: Diana, My Sister — out tomorrow — he also said Charles was like a “lottery winner” during the exchange. Buckingham Palace said in a statement that “fraternal grief” had clouded the Earl’s judgment. Ms Kuenssberg said he was “suggesting in black and white” that the King “felt that Diana’s death was rather convenient, because he would be able to marry Camilla”. The Earl replied: “That is how I felt at the time from the tone of his voice.” Earl Spencer said His Majesty told him ‘we’ll forget about her soon enough’ in a phone call in the wake of Diana’s death Credit: BBC Earl Spencer claims the book is tribute to his sister, Diana Credit: Getty Ms Kuenssberg asked if he can “be sure that’s what he was thinking”. Shaking his head, the Earl said: “I cannot be sure. I’m saying that’s what I assume from the tone is a possibility and that’s all I can do.” She told him Buckingham Palace had said his account “didn’t happen”, prompting the response: “Well they haven’t actually, Laura. “They’ve sort of smudged that one, haven’t they?” Referring to the Palace’s statement over Harry and Meghan’s 2021 Oprah interview, he added: “They’ve said that recollections may vary.” Ms Kuenssberg then read out the Palace’s statement in full and said the King was “plainly furious”. The Earl replied: “Well is he furious, or is he embarrassed? “Because I can tell you, here and now, those are exactly the words he said.” He added: “I don’t hear him saying he didn’t say that.” The Earl said part of his eulogy at Princess Diana’s funeral was in response to Charles’s alleged “forget her” remark. Charles with Earl Spencer a few months after Di’s death Credit: PA Di’s brother hopes feuding Harry and William will make up Credit: AFP He said: “I really stress Diana’s sense of duty. If you get to the final bit of my eulogy, it is that her fantastic qualities ‘will never be extinguished from our minds’. “It was a direct rebuttal of, ‘We’ll forget her soon enough’.” Kuenssberg then asked the Earl, whose first name is also Charles: “Which Charles are the public meant to believe?” He answered: “Well, I’m telling the truth.” When she suggested that meant the monarch was misleading his people, the Earl replied: “I can hardly be responsible for what Buckingham Palace says.” Later in the interview at his Althorp estate in Northamptonshire, he touched on the feud between Harry, 42, and William, 44, and what he thought Diana would say about it. He said: “As an uncle I hope one day it’s resolved. But I certainly don’t know what’s been done in the finer detail. “And so I’d feel intrusive if I got more involved (other) than to say of course a mother would want her two sons to be happy together and love each other.” Commenting on Harry’s bid for security, he said: “I personally worry about the fifth in line to the throne who served in the military not having police protection. “As an uncle who has seen his sister die in very, very preventable circumstances . . . I would veer towards protection.” Earl Spencer’s memoir Swan Song: Diana, My Sister Credit: PA Spencer wants an‘Oprah’moment By Matt Wilkinson, Royal Editor CHARLES Spencer claimed his book is a “brother’s loving tribute to his sister” — but this BBC interview seemed to be more about himself and justifying his attacks on the Royal Family. He looked genuinely emotional when speaking fondly of Princess Diana. But he spent most of his 30 minutes defending his accusations and appearing shocked some of his wildest claims are being disputed. King Charles is big enough to defend himself against attack, as we saw last week, but Earl Spencer has now needlessly pulled in nephews William and Harry as human shields. The four-times-married Earl also dodged Laura Kuenssberg’s question concerning the millions of pounds he will earn from revealing private alleged conversations from three decades ago. Perhaps most chilling to royal-watchers is Spencer claiming: “I know lots of things about the King which I chose not to include.” It has obvious parallels to Harry bragging after his memoir Spare that he had enough material for two books. And to Meghan telling Oprah Winfrey she would never reveal who made comments about Archie’s skin colour, adding: “I think that would be very damaging to them.” The interview seemed less like a loving ­tribute to Diana and more like a ­misguided desire to have his own Oprah moment. Now back in Britain, Harry has contacted the King but not his brother. The Earl described himself as a “benign” figure for Harry and William. Harry visited Althorp with his family in July but William is not believed to be close to his uncle. The Earl dodged a question about whether he wrote the book to make money. He has been accused of profiting from Diana’s death, despite having previously promised never to do so. He is said to have received an advance of at least £750,000 for Swan Song, and is expected to rake in millions from sales. Ms Kuenssberg asked: “Some people listening will wonder if you are including some of these allegations in order to create interest to sell your book, perhaps. You may be accused of that, you know that.” The Earl said he had been “accused of lots of things” — before insisting he wrote it as a “loving tribute to a sister”. He became tearful at the end of the interview and said: “This is my final take on the situation. This is my swan song too. I’m not here to bang on about Diana. This is my final word, a celebration of her, and I will step off into the sunset now and not be available for comment.” Asked if family secrets are best left unsaid, he replied: “They certainly are. They have been left unsaid.” Comment now