Charles Spencer Told William and Harry About His Diana Memoir Before Anyone Else (Yes, Harry Asked the Question You'd Expect)

Princess Diana’s brother, Charles Spencer, is releasing a memoir on Tuesday, September 22, calledSwan Song: Diana, My Sister— and he made sure William and Harry heard about it straight from him. Spencer told both princes together, and Harry’s first question was whether there was anything embarrassing about him in the book. Spencer told him there wasn’t. The memoir ends with Diana’s death in 1997, and the princes appear only as examples of two little boys with an exceptional mother, with no details about their private lives.

Spencer also said he was nervous about how the brothers would react to his portrayal of their father, King Charles, and revealed he deliberately avoided writing a scandalous book.“If I wanted to write a scandalous book about Prince Charles or King Charles as he is now, it would really be a jaw-dropper, but I’m not here to do that,”he said. Not everyone in the family got the advance notice, though. Spencer’s sisters, Lady Sarah McCorquodale and Lady Jane Fellowes, were reportedly surprised and hurt to learn about the project late.

So the nephews got a heads-up, the sisters didn’t, and the book lands Tuesday. The whole thing is a masterclass in complicated family politics meeting public storytelling — and the internet has opinions. What do you think: should Spencer have told his sisters before his nephews, or was William and Harry the right call? Let us know.