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Princess Diana‘s brother, Charles Spencer, paid tribute to the late royal on the 29th anniversary of her tragic death.
“31 August. My least favourite day,” Spencer, 62, wrote via Instagram on Monday, August 31, sharing a photo of a flag flying at half-staff over Diana’s childhood home at Althorp House in the U.K.
Diana died at age 36 in August 1997 after being involved in a car crash in Paris. She is survived by her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, whom she shared with King Charles III.
Ahead of the anniversary of his sister’s death, Spencer announced his new book, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, which hits shelves September 22.
“The aim of this book is to tell the truth about Diana from her brother’s perspective, just as I attempted to do when speaking at her funeral,” he noted in a press release. “As with my eulogy, I want to speak on Diana’s behalf and do so in an openly positive way.”
Princess Diana Patrick Riviere/AFP
Spencer added that the book is for readers of all generations.
“I hope this book will be of interest to the many who still cherish the memory of Diana when she was alive,” he said. “I would be delighted if those too young to remember her in her heyday feel, after reading this, that they ‘get’ who she really was: a one-off, dynamic character, full of love, charisma and self-doubt, who gave life a hell of a go, and left the world a far better place, despite exiting the stage while still so young.”
In the years since Diana’s death, Spencer has been outspoken about her life and legacy. He previously shared insight into the eulogy he delivered at Diana’s highly publicized funeral, which took place in September 1997, revealing that he initially planned a “very different” tribute.
“I had a big, thick address book, and I thought, ‘I want to find someone who’s going to make the speech for her.’ And I got to ‘Z’ and I hadn’t found anyone,” Spencer recalled of the “profoundly emotional moment” during an interview on the “Rosebud” podcast in October 2025.
Spencer remembered getting an “awful feeling” that he would have to be the one to speak at the memorial. At first, he began to write a “very traditional eulogy,” but he soon realized that was “not who [Diana] was.” He wrote the final speech “in an hour and a half.”
Princess Diana left a grand legacy in her wake following her death in 1997. Diana married into England’s royal family in July 1981, when she and King Charles III (then Prince Charles) exchanged vows. The couple soon welcomed heirs to the throne, with Diana giving birth to Prince William in 1982 and Prince Harry two […]
Spencer’s memorable eulogy featured a pointed message about William and Harry, who were just 15 and 12 years old, respectively, when they lost their mother.
“She would want us today to pledge ourselves to protecting her beloved boys, William and Harry, from a similar fate and I do this here Diana on your behalf,” he said at the time. “We will not allow them to suffer the anguish that used regularly to drive you to tearful despair.”
“And beyond that,” he continued, “on behalf of your mother and sisters, I pledge that we, your blood family, will do all we can to continue the imaginative way in which you were steering these two exceptional young men so that their souls are not simply immersed by duty and tradition but can sing openly as you planned.”
