Princess Diana’s Brother Describes Her Troubled Inner Circle Before Her Death

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Princess Diana’s final years are being revisited in new detail by her brother, Charles Spencer, in his memoir “Swan Song: Diana, My Sister.” The book examines the late royal’s relationships, including her complicated friendship with Sarah Ferguson, and reportedly details what Spencer viewed as King Charles III’s insensitive response to Diana’s death. In one newly published excerpt, Spencer recalled Diana admitting that she felt jealous of Ferguson’s close bond with her father, Ronald Ferguson — a relationship Diana may have wished she shared with her own family.

Spencer, the 9th Earl Spencer, wrote that Diana was “[trying] to establish subtly if I might become more closely involved in her royal life.” He said he chose not to pursue the idea, explaining, “I did not want to openly reject the overture, but I knew I would be of no use to Diana in even a semi-official capacity,” according to InStyle. The siblings had experienced periods of tension, and Spencer said Diana sometimes stopped speaking to family members for weeks or even months. He attributed those rifts to the immense pressure surrounding her public life and her tendency to react strongly, noting that she was not speaking with two close relatives in the months before her death over what he described as relatively minor issues.

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Spencer is not the only person close to Diana to describe her final years as increasingly lonely. Sarah Ferguson, who had known Diana since childhood, discussed their relationship in her 2011 memoir, “Finding Sarah: A Duchess’s Journey to Find Herself,” writing that their friendship remained strong despite the inevitable “ups and downs” of a close relationship. However, the women had not spoken for an entire year when Diana died in 1997 at age 36.

Ferguson said she never understood exactly what caused the breakdown, adding that once Diana formed an opinion, it could remain with her for some time. Although they had once been close, Diana openly acknowledged feeling threatened by how quickly Ferguson was embraced by the royal family. In recordings shared with biographer Andrew Morton for “Diana: Her True Story — In Her Own Words,” the princess said Ferguson made her feel “terribly insecure.” She recalled hearing people praise “Fergie” as a fun, refreshing presence and compare her favorably with Diana.

Diana’s then-husband, Prince Charles, was also reportedly impressed by Ferguson and sometimes told Diana he wished she were more like her. By the final period of her life, however, Diana had become increasingly distant from several people in her inner circle, including Ferguson. Royal commentator Ian Pelham Turner told Fox News in 2026 that Diana struggled to trust others, suggesting that withdrawing from those around her — including her friendship with Sarah Ferguson — may have felt like a form of protection.