{"publisher":{"name":"MediaBias News","url":"https://mediabias.news","methodology":"https://mediabias.news/methodology","editorialPrinciples":"https://mediabias.news/editorial-principles","corrections":"https://mediabias.news/corrections"},"scoreGuide":{"trust":"How well corroborated and evidenced the source reporting is. 0-100, higher is better.","critic":"Craft quality of the source journalism: context, balance, fact vs comment. 0-100, higher is better.","hype":"How far the source presentation runs ahead of substance. 0-100, LOWER IS BETTER.","scope":"Scores assess the original reporting this article was written from, not the truth of the underlying event and not the quality of this write-up."},"assessmentGuide":{"type":"coverage-and-source-reporting-analysis","factCheck":{"status":"not-performed","note":"Media Bias News compares coverage and scores the source reporting. It does not currently publish a ClaimReview verdict on whether the underlying event or claim is true."},"sourceFactuality":{"note":"Factuality values describe published ratings of the outlets that covered the story. They are not a factuality verdict on this story or its claims."}},"story":{"id":"https://mediabias.news/politics/earl-spencer-claims-king-charles-sounded-euphoric-after-dianas-death","slug":"earl-spencer-claims-king-charles-sounded-euphoric-after-dianas-death","url":"https://mediabias.news/politics/earl-spencer-claims-king-charles-sounded-euphoric-after-dianas-death","title":"Earl Spencer claims King Charles sounded 'euphoric' after Diana's death","subtitle":"New memoir excerpts detail alleged phone call and Buckingham Palace's response to claims.","excerpt":"Earl Charles Spencer claims King Charles sounded 'euphoric' and 'like a lottery winner' in a phone call shortly after Princess Diana's death in 1997. Buckingham Palace has responded, stating that grief can affect memory.","category":"Politics","area":"United Kingdom","publishedAt":"2026-09-17T19:45:33.818Z","sourceReportedAt":"2026-09-17T19:05:00.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-09-17T19:45:33.818Z","readTime":"3 min read","scores":{"trust":42,"critic":57,"hype":65,"notes":{"trust":"Claims are attributed to Earl Spencer's book, with Buckingham Palace issuing a statement.","critic":"Reporting is largely based on digests, with limited original reporting and quotes.","hype":"Headlines and digests use sensational language like 'shocking attack' and 'giddily elated'."}},"tags":["#RoyalFamily","#PrincessDiana","#KingCharles","#EarlSpencer","#Memoir"],"entities":["Earl Charles Spencer","King Charles","Princess Diana","Buckingham Palace"],"body":[{"type":"key_takeaways","items":["Earl Charles Spencer claims King Charles sounded 'euphoric' and 'like a lottery winner' in a phone call after Princess Diana's death.","Spencer also alleges King Charles suggested he could marry the woman he loved following Diana's death.","Buckingham Palace stated that grief can cloud reason and affect memory, responding to claims Charles told Spencer they would 'forget her soon enough'.","Diana had previously asked her father to allow her to break off her engagement to Charles, according to Spencer."]},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Earl Charles Spencer has made new claims about King Charles's reaction to Princess Diana's death in 1997. In his forthcoming memoir, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, Spencer alleges that Charles, then Prince of Wales, sounded 'euphoric' and 'like a lottery winner' during a phone call shortly after Diana died in a car crash. Spencer suggests that Charles's immediate thoughts were about how the event might free him to marry the woman he loved."},{"type":"paragraph","text":"The memoir also includes claims that Diana had asked her father for permission to end her engagement to Charles. Spencer writes that Diana felt deeply hurt and confused by Charles's lack of interest in her, particularly after his return from a trip to New York. According to Spencer, Diana told her father she could not go through with the marriage to a man who clearly did not love her. Spencer's book further alleges that Charles told Spencer they would 'forget her soon enough' in the days after Diana's death."},{"type":"heading","text":"Disagreement on King Charles's reaction"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Earl Spencer claims King Charles sounded 'euphoric' and 'like a lottery winner' in a phone call after Princess Diana's death. Digi 24 reports Spencer's account that Charles seemed 'euphoric' and 'like a lottery winner' when he called. In contrast, Buckingham Palace responded to claims that Charles told Spencer they would 'forget her soon enough' by stating that 'grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and colour memory in ways others do not recognise'."},{"type":"heading","text":"What the coverage left out"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"None of the reports printed below mention Diana asking her father to allow her to break off her engagement to Charles. This detail was included in the full report from Digi 24 but was not present in the digests from other outlets."}],"basedOn":[{"sourceName":"Sky News UK","url":"https://news.sky.com/story/charles-was-giddily-elated-in-phone-call-after-dianas-death-earl-spencer-claims-in-book-13588671","headline":"Charles was 'giddily elated' in phone call after Diana's death, Earl Spencer claims in book","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-09-17T19:05:00.000Z"},{"sourceName":"reader.gr","url":"https://reader.gr/kosmos/san-na-eihe-kerdisei-laheio-i-ataka-seismos-toy-adelfoy-tis-ntaianas-gia-ton-karolo-meta-ton-thanato/661927","headline":"\"It's Like He Won the Lottery\": Diana's Brother's Shocking Attack on Charles After Her Death","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-09-17T18:39:27.951Z"},{"sourceName":"WTVB","url":"https://wtvbam.com/2026/09/17/king-charles-sounded-like-lottery-winner-after-dianas-death-her-brother-writes","headline":"King Charles sounded like ‘lottery winner’ after Diana’s death, her brother writes","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-09-17T18:39:22.792Z"},{"sourceName":"Digi 24","url":"https://digi24.ro/stiri/externe/mapamond/regele-charles-era-euforic-dupa-moartea-dianei-sustine-fratele-ei-intr-o-carte-de-memorii-reactia-palatului-buckingham-3952985","headline":"King Charles Was \"Euphoric\" After Diane's Death, Supporting Her Brother in a Book of Memories. 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