Earl Spencer has claimed that King Charles sounded "giddily elated" during a phone call after the death of Princess Diana, according to The Guardian. The claim appears in a new book by Diana's brother, the paper reports.
The Guardian is among several outlets carrying the allegation, alongside the BBC and Sky News. Sky News reports that the claim concerns a phone call and is made in Earl Spencer's book.
The Guardian also reports that Charles has issued a rebuttal to Earl Spencer's claim, which the paper describes as offering a rare glimpse into palace thinking. The Telegraph, meanwhile, argues that the timing of Earl Spencer's remarks is not coincidental, linking them to Prince Harry's recent return.
Diana died in 1997. The material available does not include further detail on the book's contents, the nature of Charles's rebuttal, or the specific circumstances of the phone call described.
Attention is likely to remain on how Buckingham Palace and Earl Spencer respond to one another in the coming days, and on whether the book prompts further public statements from either side.