Charles Spencer's book Diana Swan Song etc etc . Thread the second.

[BasiliskStare]

There has been interest from some who engaged with the topic , so I'm starting a new thread as we are on page 10 . I honestly didn't think it would engender so much interest.

Let me be absolutely clear here. Threads meander , and sometimes go off topic and sometimes amusingly and interestingly so. My intention with this thread is to discuss the book , related matters eg contemporaneous accounts, reviews , interviews etc I'm also , frankly, interested to see how Piers Morgan's reaction to it goes.

As has been so often said anyone is allowed to post whatever they like on a public forum. I'm just explaining why I have started this thread. I have no intention of policing it .

Let's see how it goes 😎

https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16174947/Earl-Spencer-reveals-Harrods-owner-Mohamed-Al-Fayed-groped-Princess-Diana-filthy-remark-early-stages-romance-son-Dodi.html

Correct me if I am wrong please, I thought they weren't talking at that point in time?

@Cathandkin My claims are not remotely wild. It’s pretty much out there! It’s what nearly everyone thinks. Diana and APB were meant to tolerate it. One did and the other was distressed.

I would hardly call the book a "forensic recollection". What a stupid article but the sisters do come well out of it. It must be hard for them to maintain family relationships but they are doing what Charles S said he would do which he hasn't, actually looking out for Diana's children.

"pretty much out there" isn't evidence.

No, Diana and her brother weren't talking - I think it was strained in the last 5 years in particular. Piers Morgan was a more frequent guest at KP!

Considering APB's reputation, I doubt he gave his wife's behaviour a thought. He certainly wasn't the long suffering husband sitting at home and totally neglected.

I'm always wary of anyone claiming 'everyone thinks,' or 'nearly everyone thinks.' What it usually means is 'I think,' with a wholly spurious claim of 'and a lot of people agree with me.'

I know, it's odd really. I always baulk at "Mumsnet thinks" for that very reason! So narrow.

Quite. He was definitely out and about escorting the ladies.

That's a cute euphemism. :)

Well, I didn't know how robustly to put it! 🤣🤣🤣

Charles S continues his tour of America

https://archive.is/ZnSSx

It's an amusing article.
I liked the bit where he bangs on about how calm he stayed and Charles W was having a tantrum. It's very reminiscent of many AIBUs on MN where the OP insists they were very calm and polite in the face of someone else "screaming" at them 🙄
Sure, sure.

Thanks, @bluegreygreen.

One wonders what a 'forensic recollection' is? I'm baffled.

'... Spencer has extensively quoted others in the book, based on his forensic recollection of conversations ...'

I this case, he means "hazy"

I suspect the writer was sitting on her hands to prevent herself putting quotation marks around the words, @TheSwanTheCatAndTheClownfish.

The book was half price in Waterstones and a local independent book store this morning. No one looking at the piles in either shop.

Did Piers Morgan ever produce the proof from his lawyers he was suing CS /RPH re this book, CS denied in an interview that Piers was suing. Wonder where the truth is ?

Piers has published his letters before action on twitter (they are a requirement under the Civil Procedure Rules before issuing court proceedings in England & Wales).

Did any of you see Have I Got News For You last night? Ian Hislop went into a bit of history about why CS and PM don't like one another. Sorry, de-rail.

I’d like to know!

A bit late, perhaps, for my thoughts on Swan Song but here they are.

I listened to the audio version of this book. First off to compare it to the audio version of Spare, which I also purchased, I found Charles Spencer‘s reading to be really irritating. His tone seemed to be imbued with disdain. I recall being surprised at how good Harry’s reading of his own book was.

Others have noted the structure of the book is centred around the eulogy, and the writing of the eulogy. This structure centres him in the book. My God, he really is full of himself. He refers to a glowing Guardian “review” of his eulogy, (“review” is my word for it, I think, not Charles’), and mentions other people telling him how wonderful it was.

Overall, the book seemed to be about how wonderful Diana was, which I certainly understand as he was her brother, but more importantly, how wonderful Charles Spencer and his eulogy were/are.

One week on (Tues 06/10), my Amazon UK bestsellers list is as follows:

2 Julia Donaldson - Gruffalo Granny (published 10/09 - holding steady at 2)
9 C Spencer Swan Song (published 22/09 - down from 4)
14 R Osman - We Chase Shadows (published 10/09 - down from 9)

The Bookseller hasn't updated its bestseller chart for this week yet, though one of the headlines on its page gives the number one spot to a new book.

The Bookseller (Nielsen figures) 06/10

2 Julia Donaldson - Gruffalo Granny (published 10/09 - holding steady at 2)
3 C Spencer Swan Song (published 22/09 - down from 1)
4 R Osman - We Chase Shadows (published 10/09 - up from 5)

I’m still not entirely sure what to make of this book.

It could have been really impactful. Instead it just feels like tattling. A lot of the bits for me felt like when someone on a long rant says “… and another thing…” and each thing gets more random and less relevant than the last.

Overall my impression was that Charles Spencer has a real feeling of self importance. I actually think he, similar to KC, was (and is) very pissed off that Diana outshone him. He was the heir, she was just the sister, and yet she became the megastar.

I think that’s why the story about her pushing Raine was put in with dates. In a book that was supposedly about defending his sister he actually told one of the most shocking new stories about her in years. That the Princess of Wales, mother of two, and fully grown adult deliberately pushed her step-mother down the stairs. That she was an adult was new information to most people.

That’s not a story someone defending their sister tells. That’s a story that someone who wants to put out there and remind people that his family is better / grander / older than the royal family and that he is better than his sister tells.

Combined with the factual inaccuracies it’s just feels like a ranty diary of someone pissed off that he’s not famous in the way he thinks he should be.