Britain’s royal family wracked by fresh turmoil after brief summer respite

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King Charles III wanted all eyes on AI, as he prepared to host a major summit to discuss the controversial technology.

But those hopes were shattered after a fresh royal scandal hit the front pages hours before Thursday’s meeting was set to start, threatening to overshadow the tech gathering and throwing the clan into turmoil.

“Charles’s astonishing outburst days after Diana’s death,” the Daily Mail’s front page read, while the Daily Telegraph wrote, “Palace hits back at Diana’s brother.”

Buckingham Palace issued a rare rebuttal on Wednesday after Charles Spencer, the brother of the late Princess Diana, said Charles had told him days after her death that “we’ll forget her soon enough,” according to an extract published by the Daily Mail from his forthcoming book.

Spencer claims Charles – then Prince of Wales – launched into a “stream of anger” over the phone following Diana’s death, after Spencer argued his sister would not have wanted William and Harry to take part in her funeral procession.

The late Princess of Wales died in August 1997 after suffering internal injuries resulting from a high-speed car crash in Paris. Her sons, ages 15 and 12 at the time, walked in the funeral procession days later alongside Charles, from whom she was divorced.

Spencer’s memoir casts back to a particularly sensitive period for the royals.

Known as the “People’s Princess,” Diana was a beloved figure in the United Kingdom and around the world whose untimely death, age 36, stunned the nation. The royal family’s initial response to her death was criticized as overly insular, sparking a major constitutional crisis and widespread public backlash.

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In response to the latest claims, Buckingham Palace called into question Spencer’s personal judgement following Diana’s death – an unusual intervention, even in the palace’s own words, and one which speaks to the scale of the crisis in the eyes of ‘the firm,’ as the royal family is sometimes described.

“While we do not comment on books as a matter of principle, His Majesty 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,” a palace spokesperson said.

For some royal observers, the firm’s response echoed the late Queen Elizabeth’s rebuke of several damning claims made by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in 2021, after the couple left the UK for North America following their step back from royal life.

“Recollections may vary,” the Queen said at the time.

Spencer’s book, titled “Swan Song: Diana, My Sister,” which tells the story of Diana’s life from a brother’s perspective, is set for release later this month.

This year got off to a particularly bumpy start for the British royals, including the arrest of Charles’ brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, on his 66th birthday on suspicion of misconduct in public office while the former prince was a trade envoy for Britain.

Mountbatten-Windsor stepped down from the role in 2011 after coming under severe criticism over his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He has vehemently denied any and all wrongdoing in his dealings with Epstein, and has denied any personal gain from his role as a British trade envoy, according to British media reports.

After a quieter summer, the clan would have been hoping for a scandal-free end to the year, but the upcoming release of Spencer’s memoir, shortly after the surprise return of Prince Harry and Meghan to the country presents a number of fresh headaches for the clan.

Amid the turmoil, senior members of the family will be carrying out a busy day of royal engagements Thursday.

Harry is expected to make his first public outing since returning to the UK with his family last month, according to the UK’s PA Media news agency. It is unclear if Meghan will accompany him.

Early glimpse of Prince Harry and Meghan back in the UK

Neither Harry nor Meghan are acting as working royals following their return, but the prince’s planned appearance indicates he isn’t planning to shy away from the public eye.

Charles issued a letter earlier this month clarifying that the couple should be treated as “private citizens,” a move which was said to “surprise” Harry and Meghan, according to a spokesperson for the Sussexes.

The couple and their children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, have largely kept out of the spotlight since their return.

But they have not proved immune from all issues, notably making the decision to switch their children’s school just days into the start of the new academic year, citing security practicalities.

That decision came after British media reported Meghan had been granted a new security review for the first time since quitting royal duties – another sticking point between the couple and the broader clan.

Meanwhile, the Prince and Princess of Wales, Prince William and his wife Kate, are set to make their first official visit to the Isle of Bute in Scotland on Thursday, PA Media reported.

CNN’s Lauren Kent contributed reporting.

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查理三世国王希望所有人的目光都聚焦在人工智能上，因为他准备主持一次重要峰会来讨论这项备受争议的技术。

但就在周四会议开始前几个小时，一桩新的皇室丑闻登上了各大报纸的头版，这些希望瞬间破灭，不仅威胁到这场科技盛会，也让皇室家族陷入了混乱。

《每日邮报》头版标题为“戴安娜去世几天后，查尔斯王子发表了令人震惊的言论”，而《每日电讯报》则写道：“王室回击戴安娜的弟弟”。

周三，白金汉宫罕见地发表声明予以反驳。此前，已故戴安娜王妃的弟弟查尔斯·斯宾塞在《每日邮报》刊登的自传节选中表示，查尔斯在戴安娜王妃去世几天后曾告诉他，“我们很快就会忘记她”。

斯宾塞声称，戴安娜去世后，当时的威尔士亲王查尔斯在电话里对他大发雷霆，因为斯宾塞认为他的姐姐不会希望威廉和哈里参加她的葬礼游行。

已故的威尔士王妃于1997年8月在巴黎遭遇高速车祸，因内伤去世。几天后，她当时15岁和12岁的儿子与她的前夫查尔斯一起参加了葬礼游行。

斯宾塞的回忆录回顾了王室一段特别敏感的时期。

戴安娜王妃被誉为“人民的王妃”，深受英国乃至全世界人民的爱戴。她年仅36岁便英年早逝，震惊了整个国家。王室最初对她去世的反应被批评过于封闭，引发了一场重大的宪政危机和广泛的公众舆论反弹。

蒂姆·格雷厄姆/盖蒂图片社

针对最新指控，白金汉宫对斯宾塞在戴安娜去世后的个人判断提出质疑——即使用王室自己的话说，这也是一次不同寻常的干预，这反映了王室（有时也被称为“公司”）眼中这场危机的严重程度。

“虽然我们原则上不对书籍发表评论，但陛下深知，兄弟相残的痛苦会蒙蔽理智，影响判断，并以他人无法察觉的方式扭曲记忆，即使在失去亲人多年之后也是如此，”一位王室发言人说。

一些王室观察人士认为，该公司的回应与已故女王伊丽莎白二世在 2021 年对苏塞克斯公爵和公爵夫人提出的几项严重指控的驳斥如出一辙。当时，这对夫妇在退出王室生活后离开英国前往北美。

“记忆可能会有所不同，”女王当时说道。

斯宾塞的新书名为《天鹅之歌：戴安娜，我的妹妹》，从哥哥的角度讲述了戴安娜的一生，将于本月晚些时候出版。

今年对于英国王室来说开局尤其坎坷，其中包括查尔斯王子的弟弟安德鲁·蒙巴顿-温莎在66岁生日当天被捕，他被怀疑在担任英国贸易特使期间行为不端。

蒙巴顿-温莎在2011年因与性侵犯罪犯杰弗里·爱泼斯坦的关系而受到严厉批评后辞去了英国贸易特使一职。据英国媒体报道，他强烈否认与爱泼斯坦的任何往来有任何不当行为，也否认从其英国贸易特使的身份中谋取任何个人利益。

在度过了一个相对平静的夏天之后，王室原本希望这一年能够以平静无丑闻的方式结束，但斯宾塞的回忆录即将出版，而就在不久之后，哈里王子和梅根又出人意料地返回英国，这给王室带来了许多新的难题。

在动荡局势中，王室高级成员将于周四进行繁忙的王室公务活动。

据英国新闻协会PA报道，哈里王子预计将自上个月与家人返回英国以来首次公开露面。目前尚不清楚梅根是否会陪同他。

哈里王子和梅根返回英国的早期照片

哈里和梅根回国后都没有履行王室公务，但王子计划的公开露面表明他并不打算回避公众的视线。

本月早些时候，查尔斯王子发表了一封信，澄清这对夫妇应被视为“普通公民”。据苏塞克斯夫妇的一位发言人称，此举令哈里和梅根感到“惊讶”。

自返回英国以来，这对夫妇和他们的孩子——7岁的阿奇王子和5岁的莉莉贝特公主——基本上一直远离公众视线。

但他们也并非完全不受所有问题的影响，尤其是在新学年开始仅仅几天后，他们就决定为孩子转学，理由是出于安全方面的考虑。

此前英国媒体报道称，梅根自退出王室职务以来首次获得新的安全审查——这是这对夫妇与王室其他成员之间的另一个分歧点。

据英国新闻协会（PA Media）报道，威尔士亲王威廉王子和王妃凯特将于周四对苏格兰比尤特岛进行首次正式访问。

CNN的劳伦·肯特对此报道亦有贡献。