ROYAL FAMILY NEWSPrincess Diana Believed King Charles Was 'in Love With His Valet,' Her Brother Claims in New Book
Princess Diana's brother made a shocking confession in his new memoir.
Sept. 17 2026, Published 5:01 p.m. ET
Princess Diana reportedly told her brother Charles Spencer that she believed her former husband, then-Prince Charles, was "in love with his valet," his new memoir revealed.
The Daily Mail published the first excerpt of the 9th Earl Spencer's upcoming book, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, on Thursday, September 17, which recounts a conversation Diana had with her sibling where she shared her plan to divorce Charles.
'I'm Going to Get Divorced'
Princess Diana's brother Charles Spencer's new book is titled 'Swan Song: Diana, My Sister.'
Over lunch at San Lorenzo in London, using their nicknames for each other, Duch and Carlos, Spencer wrote, "She looked down at the table and said, 'Carlos, I’m going to get divorced.'"
"I was silent for a moment. I had known things were bad, but not this bad," he continued. "'Well, Duch,' I carefully replied, 'you of course have my full support… I know you’ll have thought this through. But my main worry is the public. I fear they won’t forgive you. They’ve bought into a fairytale, and I reckon they may well — wrongly — blame you for destroying their fantasy.'"
'My Husband Is in Love With His Valet'
Charles Spencer replied 'you really don't have a choice' when the royal revealed she wanted a divorce.
"She looked up at me, nodded, and said quietly: 'But, Carlos, my husband is in love with his valet.' I gulped. 'Well, I guess, in that case, you really don’t have a choice,'" Spencer added.
Spencer said that his sister did not mention the staffer by name: "It was not important: the end of her marriage, and of her dreams, was."
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'She Told Me That Things Became Very Difficult'
Charles Spencer added that he is 'merely' sharing how his late sister felt.
He goes on to note in his book, "I am not hypocritical enough to judge or criticize anyone else’s marital record. I am merely recording how my sister felt and am not assessing whether she was right or not."
"She told me that things became very difficult indeed in the marriage early on, and I am sure that both spouses despaired of the other at times," Spencer continued.
Princess Diana and King Charles Divorced in 1996
Princess Diana died in a car crash about one year after the split.
Charles and Diana tied the knot on July 29, 1981, at St Paul's Cathedral in London, with over 750 million people tuning in to watch the broadcast of the royal wedding.
The pair, who welcomed two children together, separated in 1992 after 11 years of marriage and finalized their divorce on August 28, 1996. Diana died at age 36 just over a year later in a Paris car crash.
In the years following her split from Charles, both of them acknowledged the relationship had been fundamentally flawed from the beginning.
One royal expert said Diana eventually accepted she was not Charles' great love.
They added: "Over time, Diana came to understand that Charles' emotional allegiance lay elsewhere. She recognized that Camilla occupied a place in his life that she never truly could."
