Charles 'sounded giddily elated' night Diana died, Earl Spencer claims

Earl Spencer, brother of Diana, Princess of Wales, has claimed King Charles "sounded giddily elated" when he called him on the night of her death in 1997.

In a controversial book about her life, he recalled thinking the then-Prince Charles sounded like a "lottery winner" after the news.

Yesterday, Buckingham Palace strongly pushed back against the book, after an initial extract claimed Charles had said of Diana: "We'll forget her soon enough."

A spokesperson said: "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 colour memory in ways others do not recognise, even many years after such a loss."

According to excerpts from Earl Spencer's memoir published in the Daily Mail, he remembers being alerted to the car crash on 31 August, 1997, by a phone call from his sister Jane in the middle of the night at his home in Cape Town, South Africa.

During the calls that followed, which confirmed the death, Charles phoned him as he was crossing the landing, he writes.

The book alleges: "Unlike my other callers, who were stunned, barely able to articulate their condolences and offers of help, he sounded giddily elated - like a lottery winner, I remember thinking at the time."

According to Earl Spencer, Charles informed him he had told Princes William and Harry of their mother's death first thing that morning, in their bedrooms at Balmoral.

The royal couple had divorced in August 1996.

Swan Song: Diana, My Sister is due to be published next week and is expected to be highly critical of the Royal Family. BBC News has not seen the book in full.