Earl Spencer's Diana book opens old wounds royals would rather forget

Image source, Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty Images By Sean Coughlan Royal correspondent Published 9 minutes ago The legacy of the shocking death of Diana, Princess of Wales, is still the rawest of wounds for the royals, as demonstrated by the no-holds-barred memoir from her brother Earl Spencer.

It might be almost 30 years ago, but Buckingham Palace's unusually angry rebuttal to the book's allegations of a callous response to his ex-wife's death from the then Prince Charles shows how much this still matters.

That late summer in 1997 was a moment when the Royal Family looked out of touch, lacking in empathy for Diana's loss, and at peril of losing public support, as people laid siege to the palaces with flowers.