Queen offered Diana her HRH title BACK on the day of her funeral, Earl Spencer's memoir claims
From the Newshound archive · first published 19 September 2026.
Prince Harry attended the inaugural Invictus Spirit Awards in London on Thursday, the same evening Prince William and Kate were on the Scottish Isle of Bute — the brothers' simultaneous but separate engagements…Prince Harry at the Invictus Spirit Awards in London, an event honouring members of the Invictus Games community, as commentators characterised his return to Britain as the emergence of a 'rival court'.
Earl Spencer's explosive memoir 'Swan Song: Diana, My Sister' claims Queen Elizabeth offered to restore Princess Diana's HRH title on the very day of her funeral in 1997. The Earl says he was told of the offer by the Queen's Private Secretary Robert Fellowes on the Royal Train to Diana's private burial at Althorp, and rejected it as a "consolation prize." Buckingham Palace disputes the account, insisting no such offer was made and that any title discussion was understood by the Spencers themselves to be against Diana's wishes.
Spencer wrote that Diana had been 'dreadfully hurt' by the 'petty and vindictive' removal of her HRH title after her 1996 divorce.
He says he turned down the Queen's 'well-meaning' gesture, writing: 'What's the point, Robert? Now? I mean — Diana's dead.'
The memoir also alleges Charles sounded 'giddily elated — like a lottery winner' when he rang Spencer hours after Diana died in Paris.
