Prince Philip 'overruled' King Charles over divisive detail at Princess Diana's funeral - 'That isn’t how we will do it'
According to Earl Spencer, it was the late Duke of Edinburgh who stopped the King taking 'charge' of this aspect of the arrangements
Earl Spencer hasn't held back with the revelations in his book, Swan Song, and extracts published so far have painted his former brother-in-law King Charles in a damning light. The pair allegedly disagreed over one of the most divisive elements of Princess Diana's funeral, with the Earl writing that he argued his sister wouldn't have wanted her sons to walk behind her coffin.
As we know, this did end up happening, but Charles Spencer has also claimed Prince Philip stepped in and changed his son's plans. Instead of the King being at the centre, Philip firmly believed Diana's family should be in the middle.
"Prince Charles tried to take charge, having seemingly thought hard about the formation that the five of us chief mourners would adopt behind Diana," he recalled in an extract in the Daily Mail.
The Earl continued, "When he said, 'Now, I will walk in the center, with William on my right and Harry on my left,' Prince Philip overruled him, in an even voice that closed down any possible dissent. 'No, that isn't how we will do it.'
"Then, nodding towards me, he continued: 'Charles is representing his sister and their family, so he will walk in the middle, with William and Harry either side of him, and you and I will be on the outside flanks.'"
This placed Princess Diana's brother and sons at the forefront, whilst her ex-husband and ex-father-in-law were on the outside, which makes sense given the divorce. According to Earl Spencer, the King "looked pained" but gave in to Philip's authority "without a word".
What we've read so far from Swan Song is highly critical of the Royal Family, so it's interesting to see the Earl acknowledging Philip advocating for the Spencers on this.
He also describes how the Duke of Edinburgh's "usual gruffness" was "replaced by a calm and quiet kindness".
"He was clearly determined to help his motherless grandsons in their walk to the funeral, and he did so with grace," Charles Spencer claimed.
Prince William was 15 and Prince Harry 12 at the time and the then-Prime Minister Tony Blair's former government relations director, Anji Hunter, has also described how an "anguished" Philip spoke up for his grandsons earlier on.
"We were all talking about how William and Harry should be involved and suddenly came Prince Philip's voice," she previously alleged to the Evening Standard. "We hadn't heard from him before, but he was really anguished. 'It's about the boys,' he cried, 'They've lost their mother.'"
The night before Princess Diana's funeral at dinner, the late Duke is also believed to have told them both, "I'll walk if you walk."
He was entirely focused on supporting his grandsons at one of the darkest times of their lives and walked on the outside beside William in the procession - as he'd apparently stipulated to King Charles. The monarch hasn't responded to these specific allegations, though Buckingham Palace issued a rare statement when the first extract from Swan Song was published.
"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," it declared.
