Charles Spencer memoir Swan Song draws criticism for score-settling tone
Charles Spencer's new memoir about his sister Diana, Princess of Wales, mixes touching passages with grievances and indiscretions, according to a critical review.
Charles Spencer's new memoir about his relationship with his late sister Diana, Princess of Wales, has been criticised as a work that reveals more about its author than its subject. Swan Song, reviewed for a British newspaper, is described as a fascinating document that offers only a little insight into Diana while exposing a great deal about the Earl Spencer himself.
The review characterises the 400-page book as a mix of genuinely touching passages about Diana and what it calls score settling, chest thumping and wild indiscretion. The overall effect, the critic writes, is a head-spinning account of the world that created Diana, accompanied by a certain sourness at the manner in which the story is told.
Attention has focused on extracts serialised in the Daily Mail, the newspaper that bought the rights to run portions of the book. One headline-grabbing claim concerns a phone call said to have taken place shortly after Diana's death, in which King Charles allegedly insulted her. According to the serialisation, the then Prince of Wales told Spencer: «Rest assured, we'll forget her soon enough.»
The review questions the reliability of that account, noting that the word «hissed» is used to describe the king's delivery. The critic argues that such embellishments, like «snarled» or «flounced», tend to be used by writers to make their subjects appear worse. The reviewer adds that while it is possible to believe the king behaved badly, the phrasing raises doubts about the book's tone and accuracy.
The memoir also includes a line describing tabloid journalists as people who «inhabit the murky swamps of malevolence, and who need to suck their victims dry of their souls». The review notes the irony that Spencer sold serialisation rights to a tabloid newspaper, suggesting he may have had a different set of journalists in mind.
According to the review, Spencer presents himself throughout as the injured party, with so many axes to grind that at times it becomes difficult to hear what he is actually saying. The book is portrayed as a document that puts the author and his grievances centre stage, even amid passages that genuinely touch on his sister's life and legacy.
The criticism reflects a broader debate about memoirs written by relatives of public figures, particularly when they deal with the death of someone as globally scrutinised as Diana. The review suggests that readers' reactions to the book will depend heavily on how they interpret the disputed quote about the king and the wider question of Spencer's motivations.
For a British audience, the book adds another layer to the long-running public conversation about Diana's memory, the monarchy and the media. The review concludes that Swan Song is a revealing but uneven work, one that tells us a little about Diana and a great deal about Charles Spencer, perhaps more than some readers wanted to know.
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