What to Know
The late Princess Diana‘s brother, Charles Spencer, has been on a press tour to promote his new memoir, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, and though it comes to a surprise to absolutely no one, he does not paint King Charles in a very positive light in his book. Amid scrutiny of the way that he treated Diana and how his ex brother-in-law claims he behaved after her death, a video of the king has resurfaced that shows him throwing a “tantrum” over a pen.
The video shows Charles struggling with a pen while signing documents.
King Charles removes pen holder, mild irritation evident. pic.twitter.com/JOFzCnM2Kn
— 𝕏 Ali Al Samahi 🇦🇪علي السماحي (@alsamahi) September 21, 2026
This footage from 2022 shows Charles signing documents called the Accession Proclamation, the paperwork that officially signified him becoming king after the death of Queen Elizabeth. He’s trying to sign the paper, but the pen tray and inkwell keep getting in his way, which appears to be very irritating for him.
Charles signals for a member of his staff to take the pen tray away, grimacing as he does so. There are a couple of ways his reaction can be read — either he’s actually mad and demands his staff tend to his needs immediately, or he’s trying to be funny — but after everything that has come out about him in the last couple of weeks, his critics simply aren’t willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
People have little sympathy for him in this moment.
In a discussion about the moment on Reddit, some people pointed out that this was a delicate moment for him and his family, so emotions were likely running high. After all, not only was he grieving his mother, who had died just days earlier, but he was also living in the middle of a moment in history.
That might make some people cut him a little slack, but others weren’t nearly so generous.
“His inner demon almost ripped through the skin for a moment,” one person wrote.
One more sarcastic commenter wrote, “Everybody has his own trauma and battles to fight. Being a royalty is not an easy task, poor people can’t understand the everyday struggle.”
So far, the palace says that at least one of the claims Charles Spencer makes in his memoir is untrue.
It was only a matter of days ago that an excerpt from Diana’s brother’s book was published online, in which Charles Spencer claims that the then-Prince Charles told him that his sister would “soon” be forgotten after she died.
The palace quickly released a statement in response to that little gem: “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.”
It’s hard to know who Charles is without actually knowing him, but if half the things his former brother-in-law has written about him are true, it’s definitely not looking good.
READ NEXT: Princess Diana’s Secret Obsession May Have Shaped Her Dreams of Royal Romance
You must be logged in to post a comment.