British broadcaster Piers Morgan has taken a firm stand against author Charles Spencer after the latter’s memoir, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, repeated what Morgan calls an “egregious defamatory lie” about him. Morgan told Fox News Digital that, although Spencer issued an apology for misidentifying Morgan as the editor of the Daily Mirror in 1993, the offending passages remain in copies sold worldwide, including in the United States.
Legal pressure to remove the book
“My legal team has been in touch with him and his publishers demanding that they remove the book from sale and reissue the book without the offending pages,” Morgan said. He emphasized that the disputed material spans several pages, not just a single reference. Spencer denied that Morgan had sued him, prompting Morgan to release correspondence from his lawyers showing they had indeed contacted Spencer and his publisher, Penguin Press.
Charitable intent behind any damages
In a notable twist, Morgan indicated that any monetary damages awarded would be directed to The King’s Trust, a youth charity founded by King Charles III in 1976 when he was Prince of Wales. This gesture underscores Morgan’s desire to see the dispute resolved without personal gain.
Correction of factual error
The memoir incorrectly identified Morgan as the editor of the Daily Mirror when the newspaper published photographs of Princess Diana exercising in a gym in November 1993. People magazine reported that Morgan was actually working for The Sun at the time and did not become editor of the Daily Mirror until 1995. Spencer has acknowledged this mistake and issued an apology, stating, “As a historian, accuracy is important to me. I therefore wish to clarify that my assumption was incorrect.” The publisher plans to correct the error in the second edition of the book.
Broader doubts about Spencer’s claims
Morgan argues that the error raises questions about the reliability of other explosive allegations in the memoir, particularly those involving King Charles. Spencer claims that, within hours of Princess Diana’s death, King Charles sounded “as giddy as a lottery winner” on a phone call with Spencer. Morgan refuted this, citing former royal butler Paul Burrell, who told Morgan’s show that the king was “utterly grief‑stricken” in Paris after Diana’s passing.
Spencer also recounts a heated phone exchange with then‑Prince Charles about the funeral procession for Diana, quoting the prince as saying, “Rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough!” Morgan dismissed the passage as “grotesquely wrong” and warned readers to question the memoir’s overall credibility.
Official response
A Buckingham Palace spokesperson declined to comment on the book itself, noting that the monarch is mindful that “the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and color memory in ways others do not recognize, even many years after such a loss.” No further comment was provided.
Spencer stands by his account
Despite the controversy, Spencer told the BBC that he is “telling the truth” and reiterated his duty as a historian to “lay down facts.” He emphasized that his primary focus is honoring his sister, Princess Diana, and that the central figure in his narrative remains her.
As the dispute unfolds, Morgan’s legal team continues to press for a revised edition of Swan Song that removes the disputed passages, while Spencer maintains that the core of his memoir remains accurate.
Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
