Charles Spencer to publish memoir of Diana

[OccasionalHope]

Could be interesting.

Charles Spencer is a very good writer- I read The White Ship and it's excellent, hadn't realised it was by that Charles Spencer and was quite surprised when I found out, which goes to show one shouldn't make assumptions.

And the whole episode seems to have opened the floodgates for a lot of embarrassing emotional incontinence in this country in all kinds of ways.

I agree. If I had to pinpoint the year when this country's collective common sense began trickling down the drain, I'd say 1997.

Yes thats right. The Queen spent summers at Balmoral and If memory serves, thats where the boys were when the news of their mothers death broke.
The poor Queen was horribly slated for not immediately dashing down to London to address her "subjects"
Those entitled, selfish subjects didnt seem to have the brains to realise that she stayed at Balmoral to comfort and shield her grandsons who had just lost their mum.
That was the correct decision imho

Of course she had people to brief her. All celebrities who shine a light on a cause do. I agree, she chose amazing causes to support and significantly reduced the stigma of AIDS at the time, as did others. Her landmine awareness work was also amazing.

But I don’t think she had any common sense whatsoever I’m afraid.

Prince Philip was told by a bystander “Make sure you look after those boys!” He replied (very restrainedly, I thought), “Yes, that’s what we’re trying to do.”

Theres a lot of stuff out there about how the public’s view of the Queen/PP changed as a result of Diana’s death but I bet the RF’s view of Joe Public changed a lot too!

I mean - can you imagine saying something so crass in those circumstances, when the baying mob of the press had forced them to bring the boys back from the seclusion of Balmoral?

Diana wasn't short of money in the sense that any normal person would understand, but she had nowhere near the insane level of wealth of the Fayeds. She had to 'manage her money' to an extent, i.e. there were some wild extravagances that were beyond her purse. The wealth and lifestyle on offer might have been a draw.

I don't think anyone is questioning his literacy skills.

She also chose the high profile 'shocking' stories. So yes lovely shake hands with AIDS patients and wander around a minefield, not so much opening a leisure centre in Grimsby. Harry takes after her in that regard.

Yes, I agree with you there.

Weird response to a general remark not addressed to you.

You didn't quote anyone? Who were you addressing? I thought was just a contribution like any other.

Anywayyy I stand by what I said and there's nothing weird about my post. It doesn't matter if his previous books were well written, it's the content of this one that is the problem.

I doubt that she was ever in love with Dodi or that she would have stayed with him long term. Going off with him was more likely a post-divorce summer fling, and a supremely effective way of giving the finger to the Palace in general and her ex-husband in particular.

I do wish people would stop repeating this inaccurate nonsense.

Charles Spencer successfully sued the Times and the Mail for publishing this story.

https://people.com/royals/princess-dianas-brother-charles-spencer-wins-new-legal-victory-over-lie-that-he-deprived-diana-of-a-home/

That it is so widely believed to be true should give people pause for thought that the narratives they are being fed by certain factions of the British media are not always to be believed. It’s not hard to understand why! The coverage outside of the UK is far more balanced.

The thirtieth anniversary of Diana’s death is fast approaching, there were always going to be books written. I’m just glad that CS has taken it upon himself to protect his sister and write the definitive version himself.

And - if I remember rightly - there was a theory that it was to try and make Hasnet Khan jealous and get him to change his mind. I think it was Hasnet she really loved. He was a heart surgeon and a much more wholesome character than Dodi!

We'll never know now. She did apparently tell a friend in the weeks before she died that 'What I'm going to do next will shock everybody!' Ironic, with hindsight. But we'll never know what that was.

Seeing as Althorp contains one of Europe's finest private collections of art, furniture, and ceramics in existence, I doubt his motivations are solely financial.

If anyone on this thread has seen inaccurate stories about a member of their family, or anyone they know, written about in the press, they would understand the urge to provide an accurate record.

I’m looking forward to reading it.

@Filoparcels017

I agree. The tabloid narrative / Windsor manipulation is what interests me .

I’ve no doubt there is a lot to come out. There will be obvious attempts to discredit Spencer - just as there were with Lownie - and they won’t work. I expect the book will be a best seller .

Though I’d prefer proper focus on Andrew / Epstein and any other links that the Windsors may have to the Epstein class.

and my idea is , why not

@Filoparcels017- Althrop is all in trust, he can’t access that cash. And poverty is all relative depending on your lifestyle expectations (and about of divorces and kids you need to fund)

Gosh, she’s practically been forgotten. Will be lovely to resurrect her memory

🙄
poor old Charlie must need some cash to keep the estate running

She wasn’t just persuaded, she was the victim of a calculated deception and presented with fake bank statements which had been commissioned by Martin Bashir to persuade her that royal staff were being paid to spy on her.

This led in no small part in her decision to divest herself of royal protection, which ultimately played a part in her untimely death.

The BBC had to publish a public apology for breaching editorial standards and Martin Bashir was completely discredited as a journalist.

Althorp will cost a fortune to run and as you say - he can’t necessarily just sell stuff.

As long as he doesn’t try to tale the moral high ground about marital fidelity!

One of the women I worked with took her 3 children to London to sign the books of condolence. They were primary school age if I remember, and it was still the school holidays. I thought that was a bit odd, they had to queue for 8 hours, it was hot and having to entertain 3 kids for that length of time was bat shit crazy!
However, she later thought of something else to write in the book that she'd forgotten so she did it all again.

Yes of course the collections are in trust but
Althorp is completely independently run and is not affiliated with the National Trust for example. It remains entirely under private family control and I am sure if something had to be sold to fix the roof, for example, it would be done. I seem to remember that his late step-mother Raine managed to sell off plenty of furnishings and paintings when married to Johnny when she needed to raise funds.

Yes, I remember that was the story at the time. Make HK jealous and make that intriguing statement about what she was going to do to surprise everyone.