Charles Spencer recalled the “hellish” walk through London to Princess Diana’s funeral service in his new book.

In an excerpt from Swan Song: Diana, My Sister shared by The Daily Mail on Sept. 18, the 9th Earl Spencer recounts the walk he made behind his sister’s coffin with King Charles, Prince Philip, Prince William and Prince Harry on Sept. 6, 1997, after her tragic death at age 36.

Spencer wrote, “Prince Charles tried to take charge, having seemingly thought hard about the formation that the five of us chief mourners would adopt behind Diana.”

“When he said, ‘Now, I will walk in the center, with William on my right and Harry on my left,’ Prince Philip overruled him, in an even voice that closed down any possible dissent,” Diana’s brother continued. “ ‘No, that isn’t how we will do it,’ he said. Then, nodding towards me, he continued: ‘Charles is representing his sister and their family, so he will walk in the middle, with William and Harry either side of him, and you and I will be on the outside flanks.’ Prince Charles looked pained but capitulated to his father’s authority without a word.”

Spencer went on to describe Prince Philip’s matter-of-fact directions to march together and look directly ahead with their heads bowed.

“What followed was the most harrowing experience of my life, far more so than reading my eulogy, and one that has been replayed for me in dozens of fitful nightmares since,” Spencer said. “It was hellish, entering that tunnel of grief, particularly because we were unable to put a face to it by looking at the individuals in the crowd.”

After the Daily Mail published the first preview of Swan Song: Diana, My Sister this week, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said, “While we do not comment on books as a matter of principle, His Majesty is mindful that the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and color memory in ways others do not recognize, even many years after such a loss.”

Spencer doubled down on his recollections in a BBC interview shared on Sept. 18, saying, “I’m telling the truth.”

A previous excerpt of Swan Song: Diana, My Sister described objecting to the idea that William and Harry, then 15 and 12, would walk behind Diana’s coffin in the funeral procession, having a heated exchange with then-Prince Charles over the phone.

Spencer wrote, “Prince Charles continued his stream of anger, without me interrupting. Then he stopped. I assumed the pause signaled an effort to bring himself under control, but then he unleashed down the phone what I have always taken to be his pent-up contempt for Diana, and his horror that the world was so bowled over by her death.”

“ ‘Rest assured,’ he hissed, ‘we’ll forget her soon enough!’ “ Spencer wrote.

He continued, “I was so stunned that it took me a few seconds to reply. ‘I can’t believe you just said that,’ I said flatly, before hanging up.”

Prince William, now 44, and Prince Harry, now 42, said in the BBC’s 2017 documentary Diana, 7 Days that it was a “group decision” for them to join their mother’s funeral procession, with William saying, “It wasn’t an easy decision, and it was a collective family decision to do that.”

Harry wrote about the funeral and walking in the procession in his 2023 memoir, Spare, recalling how an idea was floated for Harry not to participate.

“It must be both princes. To garner sympathy, presumably. Uncle Charles was furious,” Harry wrote. “But I wasn’t. I didn’t want Willy to undergo an ordeal like that without me. Had the roles been reversed, he’d never have wanted me — indeed, allowed me — to go it alone.”