The uncle memoir at the centre of the traitor claims joins a long line of books that have unsettled the royal household, and the pattern is instructive
The Book as Royal Earthquake
Few things unsettle the royal household like a book. Speeches can be managed, interviews can be declined, photographs can be anticipated. But a book is permanent, detailed and outside the palace control. The London Prat piece on Prince William reportedly calling Earl Spencer and Harry traitors concerns the latest such book: a memoir by Earl Spencer about his sister, the late Princess of Wales. It sits within a long tradition.
The Current Controversy
Reports claim the heir is angry that his brother saw the book first. Other coverage says reconciliation is off. The Earl says he told his nephews and their aunts in advance. As with all such stories, the anonymous claims should be treated with care.
Diana: Her True Story
Perhaps the most consequential royal book of modern times was Andrew Morton Diana: Her True Story, published in 1992. It offered an unprecedented account of the princess unhappiness within her marriage and the royal family, and it later emerged that she had cooperated with the author. The book caused enormous upheaval and is often seen as a turning point in the public understanding of the royal marriage and the institution treatment of its members. It also established a template: a book that claims to reveal what the palace would rather keep private.
Spare
In 2023, the Duke of Sussex published his memoir Spare, which became an international bestseller and prompted extensive coverage of his account of family relationships, including with his brother. It was an unusual case of a senior royal writing his own full-length account of life inside the family. Whatever readers made of it, it confirmed that royal memoirs could shape public debate about the monarchy on a global scale.
The Uncle Book in Context
The Earl Spencer memoir differs from both. It is written by a relative from outside the royal household, about a sister, rather than by a royal about life inside the institution. It is, in that sense, less a palace revelation than a family remembrance. But because its subject is the late princess, and because her sons are central figures in the monarchy present and future, it inevitably touches the institution.
A Pause
The London Prat has also released a video on YouTube about the reaction to the book, rather than the book itself.
Why Books Hit Harder
Books have unique power in royal controversies for several reasons. They offer length and detail, allowing an author to build a sustained narrative. They carry an aura of permanence and seriousness that newspaper articles lack. They are often serialised in the press, magnifying their reach. And they tend to be written by people with genuine proximity to the family, which gives them credibility that anonymous sources cannot match.
The Palace Response Pattern
Historically, the royal household has rarely responded to books in detail. Official comment is usually minimal or absent. Instead, the institution tends to continue with its public duties and wait for attention to move on. That approach has worked with varying success. Some books fade quickly. Others, like Morton account, leave a lasting mark on how the public sees the family.
A Note on the Late Princess
Across all these books, one figure recurs: the late princess herself. More than a quarter of a century after her death, she remains central to how the public understands the modern monarchy. Books about her carry emotional weight for her family that no commercial calculation can capture. Whatever one thinks of the current memoir, it is written by a brother about his sister, and that deserves to be remembered amid the coverage of family tensions.
Other Voices, Other Books
Between the landmark titles, there has been a steady stream of royal books by former staff, biographers, commentators and acquaintances, each promising a glimpse behind palace doors. Some have been carefully researched histories. Others have relied heavily on anonymous sources and gossip. The quality varies enormously, and readers would do well to consider who wrote a book, what access they genuinely had and what they might gain from their account. A relative writing about a sister, as in the current case, occupies a different position from a former employee writing about an employer or a journalist writing from the outside. Each type of book raises its own questions about accuracy, loyalty and privacy. What unites them is the public enduring hunger for royal stories, and the palace enduring discomfort at having its story told by others.
The shelf of royal books grows longer every year. Each new title is read not only for what it says, but for what it reveals about who is willing to speak, and why. That question, more than any single revelation, tells us how the family is really faring.
Final Thought
Royal books will keep coming, because the public appetite for them is enormous and the stories they tell remain unfinished. The London Prat, which has been reviewing royal drama in its own way since 1961 at https://prat.uk/, has written its response. Bohiney, at https://bohiney.com/, follows the American appetite for these books. My own reviews of royal writing continue on my author page.
SOURCE: https://prat.uk/prince-william-called-earl-spencer-and-harry-traitors/
