Royal family news live: Late Queen had ‘tetchy’ reaction to Princess Diana car crash, Earl Spencer claims

Royal family news live: Late Queen had ‘tetchy’ reaction to Princess Diana car crash, Earl Spencer claims Princess Diana’s brother has insisted he is ‘telling the truth’ about his bombshell allegations - Bookmark - CommentsGo to comments The late Queen reacted “tetchily” to the news that Princess Diana had been in a car crash before she knew of its severity, Earl Spencer has claimed. In his most recent extract from his memoir on Friday, Diana’s brother said: “When the Queen had heard the first news of Diana being in a traffic accident, she had asked tetchily, ‘What is she up to now?’ This, before the seriousness of it all became clear.” The Earl has insisted he is being truthful about his claims, following backlash from Buckingham Palace, which said that the King is mindful that “grief can cloud reason”. In an earlier excerpt, he also claimed that the Queen considered restoring his sister’s Her Royal Highness title, which she lost when she divorced Charles. It’s the latest in a string of bombshell allegations made against the royal family and King Charles. The Earl told the BBC on Friday that he was “telling the truth” after claiming that Charles had said his sister would be forgotten “soon enough” on the phone with him in the days after Diana’s death. “I can tell you here and now, those are exactly the words he said.” In full: Earl Spencer insists ‘I am telling the truth’ after backlash over Charles’ alleged comments on Diana’s death Earl Spencer insists ‘I am telling the truth’ over explosive Diana book Earl Spencer is ‘haunted by demons’, claims royal expert after bombshell book claims King went 'ballistic' during funeral procession row Earl Spencer has claimed the King went “ballistic” before telling him “rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough”, days after Diana’s death in 1997. In an earlier excerpt, he wrote about how he fought plans for William and Harry to walk behind their mother’s coffin during the funeral procession, which caused a “stream of anger” from the King. He told BBC: “He went ballistic, would be the right term, and started really going for my family as a whole, about their sense of duty, not being adequate enough, and ranted for a while, I have no idea how long, but it was a significant period, and I just listened. “And then he stopped, and I thought, ‘Oh now he’s gonna pull himself together and say something more appropriate’, and then he said, ‘We’ll forget her soon enough’.” He added: “I really was so stunned, and I just, after a stunned silence, I said, ‘I cannot believe you just said that’, and I hung up on him.” Watch: Royal expert questions timing of Earl Spencer book release ICYMI: Queen reacted 'tetchily' to news of Diana's car crash Earl Spencer has claimed the late Queen reacted “tetchily” to the news that Princess Diana had been in a car crash before she knew of the severity. “When the Queen had heard the first news of Diana’s being in a traffic accident, she had asked tetchily, ‘What is she up to now?’ This, before the seriousness of it all became clear,” he wrote in his memoir. The Earl added: “After Diana’s death the Queen said she wanted Diana’s coffin to be placed in the royal burial ground at Frogmore, near Windsor Castle. “But my family was determined that Diana must come home to Althorp. We knew she would have wanted to do so. Besides, having had her HRH title removed as part of the package of humiliation handed to her at her divorce, almost a year to the day before her death, Diana was no longer eligible for royal Frogmore.” In an excerpt released yesterday, he claimed that the Queen considered restoring his sister’s Her Royal Highness title, which she lost when she divorced Charles. “The removal of Diana’s title had hurt her. The loss was designed to emphasise to her, and the world, that her royal days were over.” Earl Spencer's comments about late Queen are 'incredibly unpleasant' Earl Spencer’s latest comment about the Queen are “incredibly unpleasant”, a royal commentator has said. In his most recent memoir excerpt release on Friday, the Earl said the late Queen reacted “tetchily” to the news that Princess Diana had been in a car crash before she knew of the severity. Asked if it sounded correct, Jennie Bond said told Sky News: “Look, I don’t know. This is the brother of Diana giving his version of what went on in his memory, but it is incredibly unpleasant. “He is forthright in his condemnation of Charles and now questioning the Queen's attitude to it all. “I find it incredibly hostile of Earl Spencer to do this. It is brutal, really, and I don’t know what his motive is and I cannot think who is going to benefit,” she said, adding: “Well, obviously his wallet will. “What is the point of raking over this tragedy nearly 30 years on. It’s certainly isn’t I don't think what William and Harry would want.” 'We're not going to know who is telling the truth', says royal commentator The public is “just not going to know” who is being truthful after Earl Spencer claimed that the King said Diana would be forgotten after she died, a royal commentator has stated. Earl Spencer insisted he was “telling the truth” in an interview with BBC on Friday following backlash from Buckingham Palace. Reacting to the claims, Jennie Bond said: “The big question now is whether anyone is going to come forward and corroborate his version of what went on and what was said. “If that happens, that is big trouble for the palace because essentially Earl Spencer is accusing his former brother-in-law of lying.” It comes after Buckingham Palace responded to the Earl’s claims, saying that the King is mindful that “grief can cloud reason”. Asked about the “unprecedented” statement from the palace, Earl Spencer said: “Well, is he furious? Is he furious or is he embarrassed?. He added that the palace had not denied his claims.” “They've sort of smudged that one, haven't they? They've said that recollections may vary.” Watch: William’s new battle as uncle and brother tell their ‘Diana Truth’ All of the claims Earl Spencer made about the King today Further damaging claims about King Charles have been made in the latest excerpt from Earl Spencer’s book on Friday. Princess Diana’s brother has insisted he is “telling the truth” as he faces backlash from Buckingham Palace over his allegations. In his latest passage, the Earl has said a “lack of obvious care for Harry” following Diana’s death allowed him to “spin out of control”. He also questioned why Charles was at Princess Diana’s funeral following their divorce the previous year, saying: “This ex-husband, from a marriage that had collapsed so bitterly… surely had no place at his ex’s funeral.” Earl Spencer also wrote of how the late Queen reacted “tetchily” to the news that Princess Diana had been in a car crash before she knew the severity of the situation. He claimed that some royal family members had “taken delight” in the removal of Diana’s HRH title. In an interview with BBC aired on Friday, he suggested Charles was “embarrassed” about comments he made to the Earl in the days after Diana’s death. Asked about Buckingham Palace’s response that “grief can cloud reason”, Earl Spencer told the BBC: “Is he (Charles) furious, or is he embarrassed? Because I can tell you, here and now, those are exactly the words he said. “I’ve only ever had two calls on the line with Prince Charles at any stage of my life. “I was hyper-alert to what he was saying, and those are precisely the words he said, and I promise that to you now, genuinely, that is what he said.“I don’t hear him saying he didn’t say that.” Prince Harry said 'no child' should have to walk behind their mother's coffin Prince Harry has previously spoken about the experience of walking behind his mother’s coffin, saying no child “should be asked to do that under any circumstances”. In an excerpt of his memoir, Earl Spencer wrote about how he fought plans for William and Harry, then aged 15 and 12, to walk behind their Diana’s coffin during the funeral procession. The Earl is said to have insisted to the King that Diana would not have wanted her young sons to have made the difficult public walk. “He went nuts. ‘That’s the problem with your family. They’ve got no bloody sense of duty!’ he started, before descending into a general rage,” Earl Spencer wrote. In June 2017, the Duke of Sussex said: “My mother had just died, and I had to walk a long way behind her coffin, surrounded by thousands of people watching me while millions more did on television. “I don’t think any child should be asked to do that, under any circumstances. I don’t think it would happen today.” In his memoir, Spare, the duke said he felt “numb” as he walked behind his mother’s coffin but was nearly brought to tears while listening to Sir Elton John perform during the service. Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Comments