Princess Diana’s Brother Charles Spencer Shares Heartbreaking Description of How He Feels Every Anniversary of Her Death

Rachel BurchfieldMon, August 31, 2026 at 1:23 PM UTC

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Princess Diana in Washington, D.C. in 1997.Credit: GettyThe Gist -

August 31 marked 29 years since Princess Diana’s tragic death in a Paris car crash in 1997.

The former Princess of Wales was just 36 years old, and she was eulogized at her funeral by her younger brother, Charles Spencer.

On Monday, Spencer wrote that August 31 is his “least favorite day.”

August 31 marks the 29th anniversary of Princess Diana’s tragic death in a Paris car crash—and is her younger brother Charles Spencer’s “least favorite day.”

Spencer—who eulogized Diana at her funeral on September 6, 1997—posted a carousel of photos to Instagram on Monday that showed a flag at half-staff above Althorp, the Spencer family’s ancestral home in Northamptonshire. Diana died at just 36 years old, leaving behind her sons, Prince William, then 15, and Prince Harry, just 12.

Spencer recently announced that he is writing a book, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, which is due for publication on September 22. It comes ahead of the 30-year anniversary of Diana’s death in 2027, and Spencer said, “The aim of this book is to tell the truth about Diana from her brother’s perspective, just as I attempted to do when speaking at her funeral.”

“As with my eulogy, I want to speak on Diana’s behalf and do so in an openly positive way,” he added (per People).

Spencer said (per The Telegraph) that he intended to correct “untruths that have become accepted over time” about his late sister, the former Princess of Wales. The book will chronicle everything from Diana’s childhood, her unhappy marriage to Prince Charles, and the aftermath of her death nearly three decades ago.

Charles Spencer with Princess Diana’s sons Prince William and Prince Harry at her September 6, 1997 funeral.Credit: Getty

“I hope this book will be of interest to the many who still cherish the memory of Diana when she was alive, and I would be delighted if those too young to remember her in her heyday feel—after reading this—that they ‘get’ who she really was: a one-off, dynamic character, full of love, charisma, and self-doubt, who gave life a hell of a go, and left the world a far better place, despite exiting the stage while still so young,” he said.

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Princess Diana on June 2, 1997.Credit: Getty

Spencer added that he decided to write a memoir about the princess after being “inundated” with interview requests in the lead-up to the 30th anniversary of her passing.

“This has convinced me to write down my own thoughts and memories, once and for all, rather than having the discomfort of again reading the opinions of others,” Spencer said.

Charles Spencer and Diana Spencer in 1968.Credit: Getty

Charles Spencer and Cat Jarman on November 25, 2025.Credit: Getty

Spencer and his wife, Cat Jarman, recently hosted Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, and their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, at Althorp, where the family presumably visited Diana’s grave, located on a private island on the property and accessible only by boat.

Aerial view of the island in the Round Oval lake, the burial site of Diana, Princess of Wales.Credit: David Goddard/Getty Images

Of William and Harry, he previously told People, “I think it’s very important for them to be there with her. It is, luckily, very tranquil here, and they can come and go as they wish whenever they want. And that’s very lovely for me to know that.”

Charles Spencer on May 8, 2024.Credit: Getty

Spencer previously said while in conversation with royal biographer Gyles Brandreth that he becomes “fundamentally unhappy” every August 31, telling Brandreth on his “Rosebud” podcast, “I tell you what I do find quite difficult…it probably sounds ungracious, but occasionally total strangers come up and feel they must tell me where they were when they heard she died. I’m sure that’s helpful to them—it’s not entirely helpful to everyone else.”

“I always felt…intensely protective towards her,” Spencer previously told People.

on InStyle

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”