Prince Charles is said to have made an "offensive" remark about Princess Diana not long after she died! This shocking news was revealed on Thursday, as People shared a new excerpt from Robert Lacey's book Battle of Brothers: The Inside Story of a Family in Tumult— and supposedly Diana's brother was the one Charles offended!
Prince Charles wanted sons to walk in funeral procession
Prince Charles found himself disagreeing with Charles Spencer while attempting to make funeral plans for Diana. As People explains, Spencer did not feel it was appropriate for his young nephews, Prince William and Prince Harry to have to walk behind Diana's coffin during the procession to Westminster Abbey. At the time, William was 15 years old and Harry was 12— and Diana's funeral ended up taking place just six days after she had passed away.
"Spencer felt quite sure that Diana would have been horrified at the idea of her sons having to endure such an ordeal," Lacey says in the excerpt from the book, which chronicles William and Harry's lives and relationship over the years. "He had already told Charles as much." As the author says, one of the phone calls during the funeral planning process is said to have gotten especially heated, and "had ended with the earl slamming down the phone on his brother-in-law after Charles had made a particularly offensive comment about Diana."
Prince Charles angered Charles Spencer with funeral plans
Prince Charles' adamant desire to include his two sons in the funeral procession did not bode well with his brother-in-law, as Lacey says that Spencer was upset with the whole idea of it. "Prince Charles had no doubt that he should walk the long route with both his sons beside him," the author shares. "But Uncle Charles Spencer did not agree."
"He was already angry on his family’s behalf that his sister’s funeral had been hijacked into a royal occasion," Lacey continues, "and he was particularly opposed to the idea that his young nephews should have to walk the best part of a mile behind their mother’s coffin through the streets." Ultimately, William and Harry were involved in the procession— a traumatic event that Harry recently opened up about to Newsweek.
His upbringing was unaffectionate...
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"My mother had just died, and I had to walk a long way behind her coffin, surrounded by thousands of people watching me while millions more did on television," Harry said. "I don’t think any child should be asked to do that, under any circumstances. I don’t think it would happen today." No wonder Spencer was angry with Charles, as the royal not only offended his late wife, but ended up causing his sons lasting trauma.
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