Swan Song: Diana, my sister.

Beautiful. Beloved. Hunted. The extraordinary life and death of Diana, as told by her brother, Charles.

'When asked, ‘What was it like, growing up with Diana?’, my first thought is always, But I don’t know what it was like not to grow up with her…’

In September 1997, Charles Spencer stood in Westminster Abbey before a watching world and shared his grief at losing his beloved sister, Diana. Now, nearly thirty years later, he tells the astonishing story of his life with Diana and the tragic week of her death.

In childhood, Charles and Diana, the youngest Spencers, were inseparable – secretly calling one another Duch and Carlos. As each other’s closest confidantes, they roamed the family estate, endured extremely challenging boarding schools, survived terrifying nannies and helped each other through the agony of their parents’ divorce.

Yet everything changed when Diana married the Prince of Wales, now King Charles III, and overnight became a global icon. Charles saw his older sister serve the world’s marginalized and relish being mother to her treasured sons.

But, pursued by a barbaric press as her royal marriage crumbled, she was left desperately alone. Charles always tried to be there for Diana – until that black night in August, 1997.

In Swan Song, Charles Spencer provides the most intimate, loving and honest portrait yet of his sister.

Review

Head-spinning, fascinating, truly touching, devastating. A portrait of Diana that is affectionate, sad, and lovely ― Guardian

Explosive, devastating, astonishing, extraordinary ― Daily Mail

Compelling, fascinating, a solemn act of brotherly devotion ― The Times

A poignant, honest portrayal . . . and one that will endure ― Daily Express

Credible and candid and vitally it re-centres Diana, whom the Palace have been wiping from national memory for many years. I was moved to tears ― Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, i

A brotherly tribute to the People’s Princess, no holds barred . . . Full of love and vengeance ― New York Times

Charles Spencer was there for all this history, indelibly present in one of the most iconic tableaux of the late 20th century. After holding back for so long, his memoir finally tells us what it was like ― Tina Brown, Fresh Hell Substack

About the Author

Charles Spencer is an author, historian, public speaker, broadcaster and journalist. He is also the 9th Earl Spencer. Spencer is the author of nine non-fiction books, including four Sunday Times bestsellers. A globally in-demand keynote speaker, he worked for NBC News as an on-air correspondent from 1986 to 1995. He has presented for the History Channel, was a co-host of the hit Rabbit Hole Detectives podcast, and has written for many newspapers and magazines. He is a columnist for the Financial Times.

Spencer was educated at Eton College, and at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he obtained his MA in Modern History.

He is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries.