Is Earl Spencer’s new book, Swan Song: Diana My Sister, all about his sister Princess Diana, really as controversial as the media reports would have us believe? Does Princess Diana’s brother Earl Spencer try to take down the monarchy in his book, or has its anti-royal content been overstated? What exactly does Charles Spencer say about King Charles in the book and why did Charles Spencer write his book now? Above all, what does Earl Spencer say about Princess Diana in the new book?
In this book review from History Calling I tell you what I think of Charles Spencer’s book about Princess Diana, having actually read it from cover to cover. I discuss why Charles Spencer wrote a book about Diana, Princess of Wales, from possible financial motives, to a desire to remember his sister and perhaps a wish to hurt those who hurt her. We’ll also use this book as a case study to help us think about how to analyse primary sources (which this is) and what the limits of human memory are.
I’ll look at some of the claims made in the book about King Charles and others, at whether we can believe Charles Spencer’s account of Princess Diana’s life and death, at whether this book really serves anyone and at what its effect on Princes William and Harry and their children might be. Above all I’ll ask, is this memoir about the People’s Princess worth a space on your bookshelf, or not?
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