Princess Diana's Brother Reveals What Her Life Without Charles Would Have Looked Like in a Single Word

That answer speaks volumes

Published Oct 4, 2026

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2:00pm

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It’s only been a few weeks since Charles Spencer’s new memoir, Swan Song: Diana, my sister, officially hit shelves, and it’s already giving everyone plenty to talk about. From bombshell revelations that prompted a statement from Buckingham Palace to Prince Harry reportedly having his own concerns, the memoir has continued to make headlines. And apparently, we’re not done yet.

During a September 29 interview with Tina Brown, the 9th Earl Spencer opened up about his sister, the late Princess Diana, and the life he believes she might have had if she had never married into the British royal family.

Brown posed a pretty big hypothetical: “What do you think Diana would have been if she hadn’t married the heir to the throne?”

Spencer’s response was surprisingly simple: “Happy.”

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He went on to explain why he thinks life inside the monarchy can be particularly challenging for those who marry into it. According to Spencer, growing up within the royal family may make it easier to understand the institution and its expectations, while joining it from the outside can be a much different experience.

“Well, there are people who endure it,” Spencer said. “I think there are certain people who find it very difficult to be inside of it. I think if you grow up in a royal family, it’s a lot easier than marrying into it.”

He added, “If you look at the wives of those who’ve married in, it’s tough,” before noting that the monarchy operates according to “a way of thinking that is very specific.”

Spencer has also made it clear that Swan Song is deeply personal. Ahead of its release, he shared photos of himself holding the finished book, calling it the most personal of the 10 books he’s written over the past three decades.

"Always an amazing, and exhilarating, moment for an author to hold the first physical copy of a new book - and even more so for me with ‘Swan Song’, the most personal of the ten books I’ve written over the past three decades."

He described the memoir as “a brother’s simple tribute to an extraordinary sister” and said that after recording the audiobook, he felt he had finally said everything he needed to say, adding that he believed Diana “would, I reckon, have approved of every word.”

Swan Song: Diana, my sister is available to purchase now.

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Danielle Long

Contributing Editor, News and Entertainment

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