London: Buckingham Palace has responded strongly to claims by the late Princess Diana’s brother that King Charles III made an insensitive remark in the days following her death in a Paris car crash in 1997.

Charles Spencer, in his forthcoming memoir Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, claims that the then-Prince Charles told him, “Rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough,” shortly after Diana’s death.

The palace issued an unusually pointed statement on Wednesday, while stressing that it does not normally comment on books.

“While we do not comment on books as a matter of principle,” a palace spokesperson said.

“His Majesty is mindful that the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and colour memory in ways others do not recognise, even many years after such a loss.”

Spencer’s memoir is due to be published next week, with excerpts serialised by the Daily Mail.

In the book, Spencer also claims that Charles subjected him to a “stream of anger” after he argued that Diana would not have wanted her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, then aged 15 and 12, to walk behind her coffin during her funeral procession.

According to Spencer’s account, Charles expressed anger over his sister’s death and the public reaction to it.

“He unleashed down the phone what I have always taken to be his pent-up contempt for Diana, and his horror that the world was so bowled over by her death,” Spencer writes, before quoting the alleged remark: “Rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough!”

Diana, one of the most popular members of the British royal family, died aged 36 when the car carrying her crashed in Paris while being pursued by paparazzi photographers.

Her death triggered an unprecedented public outpouring of grief in Britain and prompted criticism of the royal family’s response.

British media have compared the wording of Buckingham Palace’s latest statement with a response issued by the late Queen Elizabeth II in 2021 after Prince Harry and Meghan made allegations of racism within the royal family.

At the time, the Queen said that “some recollections may vary”.

(AP)