Princess Diana reportedly told her brother that then-Prince Charles was “in love” with a male valet as she revealed plans to end their marriage, according to Charles Spencer’s new memoir.
In Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, Spencer recalls a private conversation in which Diana told him she intended to divorce Charles. Spencer wrote that he already knew the marriage was troubled, but the announcement still caught him off guard.
“I had known things were bad, but not this bad,” he wrote.
Spencer said he warned his sister that the public had become deeply invested in the royal marriage and might unfairly blame her for ending the “fairytale.”
Diana then allegedly told him Charles was “in love” with his valet.
Spencer said Diana did not identify the staff member, and he never pressed her for a name or an explanation.
“It was not important,” he wrote. “The end of her marriage, and of her dreams, was.”
Charles and Diana separated in 1992 and finalized their divorce in 1996, one year before her death.
Buckingham Palace declined to comment on the specific valet claim. The palace previously issued a rare response to separate allegations in Spencer’s memoir, saying King Charles is “mindful that the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and color memory in ways others do not recognize.”
