Topic Lifecycle: Dormant
This topic is currently dormant in the news cycle. It was last covered on Wednesday 23 September 2026 and has not appeared in recent broadcasts.
Coverage trend (last 30 days)
How much coverage this topic got from each channel over the past month.
Recent stories
The latest story timelines linked to this topic, newest activity first.
What was reported
A plain summary of this topic, built from the channels that covered it.
Channels reported that Earl Spencer's book about his late sister, Princess Diana, drew legal action and calls for it to be shelved. Sky News said the action came hours after the book came out. Piers Morgan said the book was factually wrong about him, including over the dates when he was in charge of the Daily Mirror. Sky News and BBC ONE West reported that Earl Spencer acknowledged the error and apologised to Mr Morgan. BBC ONE West reported that Spencer said he made a small error, had apologised and would correct it in a second edition, but that he stood by the book and by what he had written about the now King.
Key Claims by Channel
Friday 18 September 2026
| Claim |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Reported by all 2 channels | ||
| Earl Spencer's memoir is being serialised in the Daily Mail. | Reported by Channel 5 | Reported by ITV |
| Earl Spencer alleges that Prince Charles said in a phone call after Diana's death that she would soon be forgotten. | Reported by Channel 5 | Reported by ITV |
| Earl Spencer claims that Prince Harry was not properly cared for on a train journey after Diana's funeral. | Reported by Channel 5 | Reported by ITV |
| Buckingham Palace responded to the allegations by saying grief can cloud reason. | Reported by Channel 5 | Reported by ITV |
| Earl Spencer gave an interview to the BBC insisting his allegations are true. | Reported by Channel 5 | Reported by ITV |
| Buckingham Palace issued no further response to the allegations. | Reported by Channel 5 | Reported by ITV |
| Prince Harry was in Birmingham promoting the Invictus Games. | Reported by Channel 5 | Reported by ITV |
| Only on one channel | ||
| Earl Spencer alleges that Prince Charles was elated after Diana's death. | Reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by ITV |
| Prince William's Earthshot charity announced finalists for its next award. | Reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by ITV |
| Prince William and Prince Harry were kept at Balmoral before Diana's funeral to protect them from publicity. | Reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by ITV |
| Earl Spencer described the alleged comment by Prince Charles as monstrous. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Reported by ITV |
| Earl Spencer said he hung up on Prince Charles after the alleged comment. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Reported by ITV |
| Prince Harry's office declined to respond to the allegations. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Reported by ITV |
Saturday 19 September 2026
| Claim | |  |
|---|---|---|
| Reported by all 2 channels | ||
| Earl Spencer stands by his account of a post-death phone call with King Charles in which Charles reportedly remarked that Diana would soon be forgotten. | Reported by Channel 5 | Reported by Sky News |
| Only on one channel | ||
| Earl Spencer claims the then Prince Charles told Diana he did not love her before their wedding. | Reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by Sky News |
| Earl Spencer's book claims the late Queen reacted with suspicion when first told of Diana's involvement in a traffic accident. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Reported by Sky News |
| Earl Spencer's book claims Prince Philip insisted Earl Spencer walk between the young princes at Diana's funeral rather than their father. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Reported by Sky News |
| Earl Spencer's book describes his worry about the lack of care for Prince Harry on a train ride after Diana's funeral. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Reported by Sky News |
| Buckingham Palace had made no further statement regarding these allegations. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Reported by Sky News |
Sunday 20 September 2026
| Claim |  |  | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reported by a few · 2 channels | |||
| Earl Spencer gave multiple interviews in Australia and the UK ahead of a new memoir about Diana, Princess of Wales. | Not reported by BBC News | Reported by BBC One | Reported by Sky News |
| Earl Spencer said media treatment of Prince Harry and Meghan echoes the treatment of Diana and described the coverage as unpleasant and harmful. | Not reported by BBC News | Reported by BBC One | Reported by Sky News |
| The Sunday Times used a crested knife image in its coverage of Earl Spencer. | Not reported by BBC News | Reported by BBC One | Reported by Sky News |
| Only on one channel | |||
| Earl Spencer said he supports both of Diana's sons and is not in one camp or the other. | Not reported by BBC News | Reported by BBC One | Not reported by Sky News |
| BBC royal correspondent said Earl Spencer is closer to Prince Harry, citing summer photographs at Althorp and his attendance at an Invictus Games Thanksgiving service. | Not reported by BBC News | Reported by BBC One | Not reported by Sky News |
| Earl Spencer claimed he hung up on then Prince Charles during a tense phone call after Diana's death, after Charles said they would forget her soon enough. | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Reported by Sky News |
| Earl Spencer said his nephews Prince William and Prince Harry would not be surprised by his comments and were staying silent. | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Reported by Sky News |
| Earl Spencer raised concerns about Prince Harry's security, saying he worried Harry lacked police protection as an uncle who saw Diana die in preventable circumstances. | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Reported by Sky News |
| Sky News reported the palace gave no further comment after an earlier rebuttal that the King is mindful fraternal grief can cloud judgment, and Earl Spencer responded that he was being gaslit. | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Reported by Sky News |
| BBC royal correspondent said Prince William's side is locked down and not interested in getting publicly involved. | Not reported by BBC News | Reported by BBC One | Not reported by Sky News |
| BBC royal correspondent said Meghan is older, more robust, and financially independent compared with Diana, and noted her interest in controlling her own message. | Not reported by BBC News | Reported by BBC One | Not reported by Sky News |
| Earl Spencer denied writing the book for money and said he had sold a plot of land for 60 million pounds. | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Reported by Sky News |
| Earl Spencer said Diana would be pleased with the book. | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Reported by Sky News |
| BBC royal correspondent reported that royal family divisions include Prince Andrew and that no apparent progress has been made in bringing William and Harry together. | Not reported by BBC News | Reported by BBC One | Not reported by Sky News |
| Sky News commentators said both differing accounts of a phone call could be accurate from each man's subjective perspective. | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Reported by Sky News |
Tuesday 22 September 2026
| Claim | | |  | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Widely reported · 4 or more of 5 channels | |||||
| Piers Morgan threatened to sue Earl Spencer over alleged fabricated inaccuracies. | |||||
| Earl Spencer apologised to Piers Morgan over a factual error in his book about Princess Diana, saying accuracy mattered to him as a historian and his assumption about Morgan was incorrect. | Reported by Channel 5 | Reported by GB News | |||
| Piers Morgan argued the admitted error undermined the credibility of the rest of the book, including Earl Spencer's claims about King Charles. | Not reported by BBC One | ||||
| Reported by a few · 2–3 channels | |||||
| Earl Spencer's book about Princess Diana went on sale on its publication day. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Reported by GB News | Reported by ITV | Reported by Sky News |
| Piers Morgan disputed Earl Spencer's account of a phone call about disinviting newspaper editors from Diana's funeral and cited his published diaries as a contemporaneous record. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by GB News | ||
| Earl Spencer repeated his claim that Piers Morgan was surly and arrogant or snarled during a call about being disinvited from Diana's funeral. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by GB News | Not reported by Sky News | ||
| Only on one channel | |||||
| Prince William did not comment on his uncle's book, matching Prince Harry's response the previous day. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by GB News | Not reported by Sky News | |
| GB News reported that Prince William was heckled by the press earlier that day. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Reported by GB News | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News |
| Sky News reported that Earl Spencer's spokesperson had nothing further to add to the apology and that publisher Penguin had not responded to questions about pulping. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by GB News | Not reported by ITV | |
| Sky News reported legal analysis that whether the book is pulped would be decided by courts, damages could be awarded if defamation was found, and a correction slip might be more likely than pulping. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by GB News | Not reported by ITV | |
| The publisher will amend future editions of the book. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by GB News | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News | |
Wednesday 23 September 2026
| Claim | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Widely reported · 4 or more of 5 channels | |||||
| Piers Morgan threatened to sue Earl Spencer over alleged fabricated inaccuracies. | Reported by Channel 5 | Reported by BBC One | Reported by GB News | Reported by ITV | |
| Earl Spencer apologised to Piers Morgan over a factual error in his book about Princess Diana, saying accuracy mattered to him as a historian and his assumption about Morgan was incorrect. | Reported by Channel 5 | Reported by BBC One | Not reported by GB News | Reported by ITV | |
| Covert 1993 photographs of Diana were taken in a gym and were published by the Sunday Mirror or Mirror Group. | Reported by Channel 5 | Reported by BBC One | Not reported by GB News | Reported by ITV | Reported by Sky News |
| Reported by a few · 2–3 channels | |||||
| Piers Morgan disputed Earl Spencer's account of a phone call about disinviting newspaper editors from Diana's funeral and cited his published diaries as a contemporaneous record. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Reported by BBC One | Not reported by GB News | Reported by ITV | |
| Piers Morgan argued the admitted error undermined the credibility of the rest of the book, including Earl Spencer's claims about King Charles. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Reported by BBC One | Reported by GB News | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News |
| Only on one channel | |||||
| Prince William did not comment on his uncle's book, matching Prince Harry's response the previous day. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by GB News | Reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News |
| Sky News reported that Earl Spencer's spokesperson had nothing further to add to the apology and that publisher Penguin had not responded to questions about pulping. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by GB News | Not reported by ITV | Reported by Sky News |
| Earl Spencer's book claimed that Piers Morgan was Daily Mirror editor or in charge when covert gym photos of Diana were published in 1993; reports said Morgan did not hold that role until two years later. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by GB News | Not reported by ITV | |
| Earl Spencer's book is about his late sister, Princess Diana. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Reported by BBC One | Not reported by GB News | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News |
| Earl Spencer accused Buckingham Palace of gaslighting him in its response to his claims, in an interview with ITV's Lorraine. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Reported by BBC One | Not reported by GB News | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News |
| Piers Morgan rejected as a lie Earl Spencer's account that the then Prince Charles was giddy with excitement, like a lottery winner, over Diana's death. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by GB News | Not reported by ITV | Reported by Sky News |
| BBC reported that hundreds of thousands of copies had already been printed, that the book was not expected to be pulled, and that a media lawyer suggested a correction slip could be added if the case reached court. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Reported by BBC One | Not reported by GB News | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News |
| Earl Spencer wrote that Piers Morgan must have felt guilt because the Sunday Mirror had published intrusive photographs of Diana working out four years earlier, and Mirror Group had paid her 1 million pounds in compensation. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Reported by BBC One | Not reported by GB News | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News |
This is a cross-channel consensus summary, not an objective account. Consensus can be uniformly wrong, or omit what only one channel covered.
Timeline
Where this topic appeared. Cells show coverage time and are darker when there was more coverage.
| Date | Channel 5 | BBC News | BBC One | BBC Two | Channel 4 | GB News | ITV | Sky News |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday 23 September 2026 | — | — | 2m 42s 2.8% | — | — | — | — | 16m 14s 13.8% |
| Tuesday 22 September 2026 | — | — | — | — | — | 7m 45s 10.7% | 7m 56s 9.4% | 6m 4s 5.0% |
| Sunday 20 September 2026 | — | 25m 17s 21.8% | — | — | — | — | — | 12m 34s 13.0% |
| Saturday 19 September 2026 | 24s 20.0% | — | — | — | — | — | — | 3m 24s 3.5% |
| Friday 18 September 2026 | 4m 16.0% | — | — | — | — | — | 6m 32s 7.9% | — |
| Wednesday 16 September 2026 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2m 27s 2.0% | — |