As in Prince Harry’s memoir, Spare, the paparazzi emerge as a formidable antagonist in Swan Song. Charles Spencer recalls Diana’s exasperation and melancholy at being denied privacy by the press while the Martin Bashir scandal receives a chapter of its own
Shaoli Pramanik Published 23.10.26, 09:50 AM
Sourced by the Telegraph
Book: SWAN SONG: DIANA, MY SISTER
Author: Charles Spencer
Published by: Michael Joseph
Price: ₹1,699
Swan Song begins with this assertion: “My mother told me many times that she felt I knew Diana better than anyone else in the world.” Almost three decades after the death of one of the most recognisable faces on earth, Charles Spencer, Diana’s younger brother, offers his version of her life that continues to engage long after her tragic death.
Spencer begins with an idyllic portrait of their childhood at Park House and Althorp shaped by aristocratic comforts. Their parents’ divorce and subsequent remarriages notwithstanding, he insists that the four Spencer children enjoyed familial warmth. This is an unmistakeable determination to challenge the suggestion that a troubled childhood left Diana emotionally damaged.
The book does not shy away from settling scores. The principal antagonist is, predictably, the other Charles whose treatment of Diana is recalled with considerable bitterness. Spencer recalls a telephonic conversation on the fateful morning of August 31, 1997, when the then Prince of Wales sounded “giddily elated — like a lottery winner”. Instances of the Establishment’s cruelty make the reader feel as though they are watching an episode from The Crown. However, here Diana is granted the compassionate perspective of a “protective brother” who admired her transformation from a young woman with learning difficulties to an object of admiration. Yet Spencer does not let admiration obscure the less flattering aspects of Diana, including her impulsiveness and her tendency to play to the gallery.
As in Prince Harry’s memoir, Spare, the paparazzi emerge as a formidable antagonist in Swan Song. Spencer recalls Diana’s exasperation and melancholy at being denied privacy by the press while the Martin Bashir scandal receives a chapter of its own.
Running through these recollections is Spencer’s struggle to write and deliver Diana’s funeral eulogy. The painstaking revisions and the meticulous choice of words reveal the emotional burden of being her eulogist.
Swan Song is, expectedly, partisan but it derives its value from intimacy and candour.
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