EXCLUSIVE: Why Charles Spencer 'Snubbed' Queen's Diana Funeral Tribute in Famous Eulogy

Aaron Tinney Sun, September 27, 2026 at 9:14 PM UTC

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Charles Spencer did not mention the Queen in his eulogy to his late sister.The Royal Family Channel/Youtube;MEGA

Charles Spencer apparently failed to acknowledge Queen Elizabeth II's historic tribute to Princess Diana in his famous funeral eulogy for a surprisingly simple reason – he had already written the speech and saw no need to change it.

As RadarOnline.com readers know, Spencer, 62, delivered his celebrated and controversial address at Diana's funeral at Westminster Abbey in September 1997, the day after the Queen made an unprecedented televised address about her former daughter-in-law.

Why the Queen Was Missing From the Eulogy

Spencer reportedly left the Queen out because his speech was finished.MEGA

But Lord Charles Moore has revealed that he later challenged Spencer directly over why the monarch's words were conspicuously absent.

A source familiar with the episode claimed to Radar: "The Queen's broadcast was an enormously significant intervention at an incredibly difficult moment for the monarchy, so there were people who genuinely wondered why Charles didn't acknowledge it. The answer appears remarkably straightforward – his speech had already been written.

"Charles had decided what he wanted to say about his sister and apparently didn't feel the Queen's broadcast required him to go back and alter it. Given the significance subsequently attached to every word of that eulogy, that is quite an extraordinary detail."

Moore recalled contacting Spencer shortly after the funeral to raise the omission. He said in a piece written for the Daily Telegraph: "Not long after the funeral, I rang him."

Moore added: "I said his speech had been very eloquent, but asked why he had not thanked the Queen for her public words.

"'Oh', he said, with that carelessness which some aristocrats enragingly display, 'I wrote my speech on Wednesday, and she hadn't said anything by then.' He hadn't seen the need to revise his script."

"I bet Lord Spencer's memoir is well written, but I shan't read it," Moore said. "It is time to close the book of 20th-century disharmony and get on with the 21st century in which we live, under the monarchy from which we benefit."

1997 Broadcast Came Before Princess Diana's Funeral

The sovereign spoke from Buckingham Palace during a wave of public grief.The Royal Family Channel/Youtube

The Queen had addressed Britain on television on September 5, 1997, speaking from Buckingham Palace as unprecedented public grief over Diana's death engulfed the country.

Spencer delivered his eulogy the following day before millions of television viewers worldwide.

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His speech became one of the defining moments of the funeral, particularly his pledge that Diana's "blood family" would protect Prince William, now 44, and Prince Harry, now 42.

The revelation comes as Spencer's relationship with his sister and recollections of her death receive renewed scrutiny following the publication of his memoir, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister.

The book has also returned Diana's funeral and its aftermath to the center of public discussion.

Prince Harry 'Completely Fine' With Book on Late Mom

Prince Harry felt completely fine about the new book's contents, according to Spencer.MEGA

Spencer has said Harry is "completely fine" with the memoir.

He insisted: "I can say that Harry is completely fine about it. He said, 'I hope there's nothing embarrassing about him in it.' I said, 'There isn't.'"

Spencer has insisted William and Harry appear primarily in the context of their relationship with their mother.

He said: "But I could reassure both of them that they're of course, in the book, but really as examples of two little boys who had the most exceptional mother; I'm not in any way compromising their privacy at all.

"I'm looking at them as people. And the central person, the only one that really matters, is Diana."

Royal Speech's Omission Sparks Debate

Lord Charles Moore said it was time to close the book on royal discord.MEGA

Another source said Moore's account offers a revealing glimpse into how Spencer approached what would become one of the most scrutinized royal speeches in modern history.

The insider added: "People can read enormous symbolism into the omission now, but Charles' explanation was much less dramatic. He had written the speech he intended to give and simply didn't rewrite it after the Queen spoke.

"But there are many who suspect it was his way of snubbing the Queen and the entire royal family."

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”