King Charles sounded like 'lottery winner' after Diana's death, her brother writes

King Charles III sounded giddily elated after Princess Diana’s death in 1997, according to new extracts from Charles Spencer’s forthcoming book. Spencer wrote that he thought Charles sounded like a lottery winner and suspected he was thinking about marrying the woman he loved. Charles later said grief can affect reason, judgment and memory, through a Buckingham Palace spokesperson.

Charles Spencer said he spoke to Charles shortly after Diana’s death was confirmed and described his tone as giddily elated.

Spencer wrote that Diana died at age 36 in a car crash in Paris after the vehicle she was in with Dodi al-Fayed was chased by paparazzi on motorbikes.

Charles and Diana separated in 1992 and divorced in 1996.

A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and colour memory even many years after a loss.

Published Sep 18, 2026 2:49 am KST

Prince Charles looks toward Princess Diana as they await their carriage to depart the Order of the Garter ceremony at Windsor Castle, in this Jun. 15, 1992, file photo. Reuters-Yonhap

LONDON — Britain's King Charles sounded "like a lottery winner" after the death of his late first wife Diana, her brother writes in his forthcoming book, new extracts of which were published on Thursday.

Diana's brother Charles Spencer said the then-Prince Charles was "giddily elated" in the immediate aftermath of Diana's death in 1997, possibly because he felt it meant he was freer to marry again, according to passages in the Daily Mail.

Charles on Wednesday took the unusual step of responding to criticism after the first extracts of Spencer's book were published in the Daily Mail, saying via a spokesperson that grief could impact reason, judgment and memory.

There was no new comment from the king on the latest excerpts, which also stated that Diana went to a site of many suicides on Britain's south coast, but that her love for her sons, William and Harry, "stopped her from going further."

"It is a sad fact that, in her later years, Diana drove herself more than once to Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in England, while contemplating ending it all," Spencer wrote.

Diana was killed at the age of 36 when the car carrying her and her lover Dodi al-Fayed crashed in Paris as it sped away from chasing paparazzi photographers on motorbikes.

Spencer says in the book that he spoke to Charles shortly after Diana's death was confirmed, writing: "Unlike my other callers, who were stunned, barely able to articulate their condolences and offers of help, he sounded giddily elated – like a lottery winner, I remember thinking at the time."

Spencer added: "Looking back now, I suspect the prince's first reaction must have been to think more of how this event might free him to marry the woman he loved, rather than appreciating the loss of one he did not."

Charles and Diana separated in 1992 and divorced in 1996. That was a year after Diana told the BBC that "there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded" in reference to Charles' relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles, whom he married in 2005.

A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said on Wednesday: "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 colour memory in ways others do not recognise, even many years after such a loss."

根据查尔斯·斯宾塞即将出版的新书节选，1997年戴安娜王妃去世后，查理三世国王听起来欣喜若狂。斯宾塞写道，他觉得查尔斯当时就像中了彩票一样，并怀疑他正在考虑迎娶自己心爱的女人。查尔斯后来通过白金汉宫发言人表示，悲痛会影响人的理智、判断力和记忆力。

查尔斯·斯宾塞说，戴安娜去世的消息得到确认后不久，他就和查尔斯通了电话，并形容查尔斯的语气欣喜若狂。

斯宾塞写道，戴安娜王妃36岁时在巴黎遭遇车祸身亡，当时她与多迪·法耶德乘坐的车辆被骑摩托车的狗仔队追逐。

查尔斯和戴安娜于 1992 年分居，1996 年离婚。

白金汉宫发言人表示，即使在失去亲人多年之后，悲痛仍会蒙蔽理智，影响判断力，并影响记忆。

发布于2026年9月18日凌晨2:49（韩国标准时间）

这张摄于1992年6月15日的资料照片显示，在温莎城堡举行的嘉德勋章授勋仪式上，查尔斯王子和戴安娜王妃在等待马车离开时，查尔斯王子看向戴安娜王妃。（路透社-韩联社）

伦敦——英国国王查尔斯在已故第一任妻子戴安娜去世后，听起来“就像中了彩票一样”，戴安娜的弟弟在他的新书中写道。该书的新节选于周四发表。

据《每日邮报》报道，戴安娜的弟弟查尔斯·斯宾塞表示，当时的查尔斯王子在戴安娜于 1997 年去世后“欣喜若狂”，可能是因为他觉得这意味着他可以更自由地再次结婚了。

周三，在《每日邮报》刊登了斯宾塞新书的首批节选后，查尔斯王子罕见地回应了批评，他通过发言人表示，悲伤可能会影响理智、判断力和记忆力。

对于最新的摘录，国王没有发表任何新的评论。摘录中还提到，戴安娜曾前往英国南部海岸一个自杀事件频发的地点，但她对儿子威廉和哈里的爱“阻止了她继续深入”。

斯宾塞写道：“令人悲哀的是，戴安娜在晚年曾多次独自驾车前往英格兰最高的白垩海崖比奇角，当时她正在考虑结束自己的生命。”

戴安娜王妃36岁时，与情人多迪·法耶德乘坐的汽车在巴黎撞车身亡。当时，他们正驾车逃离骑摩托车追逐的狗仔队摄影师。

斯宾塞在书中写道，戴安娜去世的消息得到确认后不久，他就和查尔斯通了电话，他写道：“与其他来电者不同，他们都惊呆了，几乎无法表达他们的慰问和提供帮助，而他听起来欣喜若狂——我记得当时我想，就像中了彩票一样。”

斯宾塞补充道：“现在回想起来，我怀疑王子当时的第一反应一定是更多地考虑这件事如何能让他自由地娶他所爱的女人，而不是去体会失去一个他不爱的女人的痛苦。”

查尔斯和戴安娜于 1992 年分居，1996 年离婚。此前一年，戴安娜告诉 BBC，“这段婚姻里有三个人，所以有点拥挤”，她指的是查尔斯与卡米拉·帕克·鲍尔斯的关系，查尔斯于 2005 年与卡米拉结婚。

白金汉宫发言人周三表示：“虽然我们原则上不对书籍发表评论，但国王陛下深知，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。”