Princess Diana "Was Contemplating Ending It All" But Powered on for Harry and William, Claims Earl Spencer in His Explosive New Book

Content warning: This story contains references to death by suicide. Call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

Earl Spencer’s new book about Princess Diana isn’t set to be released until September 22, but it’s already causing a stir in royal circles. King Charles issued a rare rebuttal after an unflattering excerpt from the book was published, and now the Daily Mail has published a serialization of Swan Song: Diana My Sister that contains more shocking claims.

Along with alleging that The King (then Prince Charles) “sounded giddily elated” when Diana died and that Charles was “in love with his valet,” Earl Spencer wrote that his sister experienced suicidal ideation in the 1990s.

“It is a sad fact that, in her later years, Diana drove herself more than once to Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in England, while contemplating ending it all,” Earl Spencer wrote, adding, “Her love for her sons stopped her from going further.”

Although Diana never discussed driving to the cliff, she did admit to self-harm in the heartbreaking recordings she made for royal biographer Andrew Morton. While discussing a long stay at Balmoral, she noted, "I got terribly, terribly thin. People started commenting: 'Your bones are showing.' By October, I was in a very bad way."

The princess continued: "I was so depressed, and I was trying to cut my wrists with razor blades. It rained and rained and rained. I came down early [to London] to seek treatment, not because I hated Balmoral, but because I was in such a bad way."

In his book, Spencer notes that his sister felt “isolated and trapped” in her marriage and “believed that her husband was sometimes too busy for her, and on other occasions that he was critical.” According to the earl, Princess Diana felt that Prince Charles, who was nearly 13 years older than her, “seemed always to wish she was nearer to 35, in character and outlook.”

King Charles is said to be "incandescent" over some of the allegations in the book, including the idea that he told Earl Spencer "we'll forget her soon enough" while arguing with him about Diana's funeral.

In reply to the claims, Buckingham Palace released a statement reading, "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 judgement and colour memory in ways others do not recognise, even many years after such a loss.”

Although the 9th Earl Spencer is critical of his ex-brother-in-law in the book, the Swan Song author—who is thrice divorced himself—also admits that the marriage was extremely difficult for both parties.

Writing that Charles and Diana were forced to live up to an impossible standard, Spencer adds, “the world was demanding a narrative of make-believe perfection when the reality could only be different.”

“I feel huge sympathy for them both,” he added. “It must have been intolerable.”