Discussion about Charles Spencer's book - Swan Song : Diana, my sister , Beautiful, Beloved, Hunted.

[BasiliskStare]

I know there is a thread about the theft of some pre publication editions of this book.
This thread is more by way of a book club discussion about the actual book , the text. Threads will go where they will , but my intention is this is more for me to give my opinion on the book and for others who read it or are interested in the book to join in. I have pre-ordered from Kindle (half price otherwise I may not have 😊) But is only available on September 22nd. So a holding place if you like.

Wasn't Raine's care at one time said to have been a significant factor in
Johnnie's recovery from his stroke?

I read a quote from someone who said that considering the care HM took when breeding her horses, especially when it came to temperament and bloodline, it's a mystery she didn't do the same when considering Diana's suitability as a future queen.

Not the impression I got from book. She redecorated in poor taste & put in ugly double glazing. Her “jealousy towards her stepchildren” meant she blocked their visits when he was vulnerable. Although of course they’ll be another side to this.

Interesting. You could argue there was more emotional investment re: horses & dogs.

She thought the Spencers were a reliable family, living on the Sandringham estate, well versed in royal foibles. Old man Spencer had been an equerry to her father and herself. The Granny was a close friend of the QM. Johnny Spencer said Diana loved the outdoors and reading. She looked like a good bet.

Yes, and Diana recognised that later on in her life, when the two became friends again.

Makes sense, they weren’t really acquainted CS says & superficially they looked very promising.

Yes, C wanted a wife, D wanted to be married and be the Princess of Wales, it all looked as if it would work out ok. Diana didn't even need introducing to the family or their traditions, she knew them all.

Maybe she did it more than once?
Though I think one would beware of confrontations with her whilst standing anywhere near the stairs.

Sorry - posted before reading the posts explaining the date discrepancy.

Don't make things up. Her stepmother publicly forgave her and they became friends

Amused to learn tonight that in his own volume of diaries, Peers Morgan made a mistake and stated that he was having tea with Tony Blair at Downing Street, at a time when John Major was Prime Minister. 😆

And if Swan Song is pulped or not, it matters not really anymore, as what Earl Spencer wanted to say in the book is already out there, and all this fuss is just generating more publicity for it.

Yes it’s interesting actually as they not only became friends, they used to ring each daily, and various biographies stated that once they were both single, they came to respect and like each other, and went out to lunch weekly, probably because they both had dysfunctional childhoods, they were both intuitively intelligent and energetic, and having been raised to look pretty and say nothing, they found they both wanted a bit more out of life.

Yes, that's an interesting friendship, which at one point had been so toxic.

Right. So you don’t think it would be humiliating to have your book pulped because you had got important details wrong and that actually people would not believe what you had written because of this?

posted too soon

So you said what you wanted to say but everyone thinks you made it up? How is that winning?

That would only be relevant and amusing if he blamed Blair for something he had done when it was Major in the post?

Context matters. A mistake is fine but when you're attacking someone you have got to get details 100% right.

You're right it matters not if it's 'pulped'. Spencer has made a total fool of himself and there's no changing that now.

It is true that the contents of the book are already out there.

It is just that now he will be regarded the same as his bitter, vengeful nephew and thought of as a liar and a figure of ridicule.

The publicity around it will only make more people think that he is a joke.

It doesn’t seem like winning in my book.

Cross post @Janiie 🙂

I agree. I watched the funeral from start to finish and at no point did the hearse break down. It had to stop at one point so that flowers could be removed from the windscreen as there were so many of them they were starting to limit the driver's view of the road and had become a hazard. I can well believe there was a back up hearse just in case as this is the norm for big public events. I remember there was a back up Land Rover hearse for Prince Phillip's funeral too.

Except the general point that he phoned piers Morgan and told him not to come to the funeral the royals had invited him to, was true.

Well at least one bit is true then eh?

Good review by John Crace in the Guardian of Earl Spencer's new book "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius"
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/sep/23/peoples-earl-charles-spencer-swan-song-diana-my-sister-digested-read-john-crace

This is shaping up to be like the extended Christmas episode of Shameless.

I believe CS has released a public statement saying "while I accept that many of the checkable bits in my book are untrue, I completely stand by all of the uncheckable bits being 100% true".

@Sweetpeasaremadeforbees - I won't have time this evening but if I can I'll try to find that bit for you tomorrow.

@bluegreygreen did me a favour earlier on, as a question she asked made me use the search function on my Kindle for the first time. 💐 Yes. I'm a Luddite. 😊