In the long aftermath of Princess Diana's death, the effort to write her story continues to generate its own controversies. Earl Spencer's memoir about his sister has drawn legal action from Piers Morgan, who was incorrectly identified as the editor responsible for publishing invasive photographs of Diana in 1993 — a role he did not hold until two years later. Spencer has apologized and the publisher has agreed to amend future editions, but Morgan is pressing for the first edition to be pulped and is seeking damages, insisting that a quiet correction is insufficient when a false claim about a
Morgan demands Spencer pull Diana book over factual error about Mirror editorship
Why would you want untrue claims about a public figure still in that book?
Mark
So Spencer wrote that Morgan was the Mirror editor when the gym photos came out, but Morgan was actually at The Sun?
Mimi
Exactly. Morgan didn't join the Mirror until 1995, two years after the photographs were published. Spencer has apologized for the error.
Luke
But here's the thing—Spencer says the core claim is still true: that Morgan was surly on the phone when Spencer called to tell him he wasn't invited to the funeral. The factual error is about which newspaper Morgan worked for, not about whether the call happened or how Morgan behaved.
Mark
So Morgan is demanding the pages be removed entirely, not just corrected?
Mimi
Yes. He's saying if you're going to claim accuracy as a historian, you can't leave false information in the first edition. He wants it pulped.
Luke
But Penguin is already amending future editions. The question is whether Morgan has a legal case for damages and removal of the first edition. That's not settled.
Mark
What about the other claims in the book—the King Charles quote?
Mimi
That's a separate controversy. Spencer says Charles said "we'll forget her soon enough" after Diana's death. The Palace denies it and suggests grief can distort memory.
Luke
And we don't have independent confirmation of either version. The Palace's response is diplomatic but doesn't directly confirm or deny the quote.
Mark
So this book is opening up old wounds?
Mimi
It's forcing a reckoning with how Diana's death was handled and remembered. Spencer is the primary source for many of these claims, and some people are pushing back hard.
Luke
The Morgan error is concrete and verifiable—we know when he worked where. The Charles quote is much murkier. That's worth keeping separate in your mind.
The Pulse
- A single misattributed fact — placing Morgan at the Mirror two years before he actually arrived — has ignited a legal confrontation between two prominent figures already entangled in Diana's complicated legacy.
- Morgan is not accepting a footnote correction: he wants the first edition physically destroyed and is pursuing financial damages, raising the stakes well beyond a standard publisher's erratum.
- Spencer's camp holds that the emotional core of his account — that Morgan was surly and unwelcoming when told he was not wanted at Diana's funeral — remains true, even as the factual scaffolding around it has collapsed.
- Penguin has agreed to amend future printings, but the thousands of first-edition copies already in readers' hands represent a live and unresolved problem for all parties.
- The Morgan dispute is only one front in a broader battle: Spencer's memoir also alleges King Charles said 'we'll forget her soon enough,' drawing a pointed response from Buckingham Palace about how grief distorts memory.
In the long aftermath of Princess Diana's death, the effort to write her story continues to generate its own controversies. Earl Spencer's memoir about his sister has drawn legal action from Piers Morgan, who was incorrectly identified as the editor responsible for publishing invasive photographs of Diana in 1993 — a role he did not hold until two years later. Spencer has apologized and the publisher has agreed to amend future editions, but Morgan is pressing for the first edition to be pulped and is seeking damages, insisting that a quiet correction is insufficient when a false claim about a public figure has already entered circulation. The dispute is a reminder that memory, grief, and the historical record rarely align without friction.
Piers Morgan is pursuing legal action against Earl Spencer and publisher Penguin after Spencer's memoir about Princess Diana incorrectly identified Morgan as the Daily Mirror editor responsible for publishing photographs of Diana exercising at a gym in 1993. The images were so invasive that Diana's lawyers sued, securing a settlement that included roughly £1 million in legal costs and £200,000 directed to charities of her choice.
The error is a matter of record: Morgan was working at The Sun in 1993 and did not join the Mirror until 1995. Spencer's book, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, had written that Morgan 'snarled with annoyance' during a phone call and implied he bore 'particular guilt' over the gym photographs — a characterization built on a foundation that simply does not hold.
Spencer has acknowledged the mistake and apologized, and Penguin has agreed to correct future editions. But Morgan has made clear that a quiet amendment is not enough. Speaking to the BBC, he said his lawyers are demanding the offending pages be removed from the first edition — pulped, if necessary. On his YouTube channel, he read the disputed passage aloud and asked pointedly: if Spencer values historical accuracy, why allow false claims about a living public figure to remain in circulation? Morgan has also announced he is seeking legal damages, with any settlement to be directed to the King's Trust.
Spencer's representatives maintain that the substance of his account — that Morgan was unwelcoming when told he was not invited to Diana's funeral — stands, even if the detail about his employer does not. The dispute is one of several controversies surrounding the memoir, which also alleges that King Charles said 'we'll forget her soon enough' during a disagreement over whether William and Harry should walk in the funeral procession. Buckingham Palace responded with a measured statement suggesting that grief can distort memory in ways the bereaved do not always recognise. Together, the disputes paint a picture of a reckoning with Diana's death that remains, nearly three decades on, far from settled.
Piers Morgan is taking legal action against Earl Spencer and his publisher Penguin over a factual error in Spencer's newly published memoir about his sister, Princess Diana. The dispute centers on a passage in which Spencer incorrectly identified Morgan as the editor of the Daily Mirror when the publication released photographs of Diana exercising at a gym in 1993—an invasion of privacy so severe that Diana's lawyers sued and secured a settlement believed to include roughly £1 million in legal costs paid by Mirror Group Newspapers and £200,000 directed to charities of her choice.
The problem is straightforward: Morgan was not working at the Mirror in 1993. He was employed by The Sun at the time and did not become Mirror editor until 1995. The photographs in question were published by the Sunday Mirror on November 7, 1993. Spencer, in his book Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, had written that Morgan "snarled with annoyance" during a phone call and suggested Morgan must have felt "particular guilt" over the gym photographs, attributing them to Morgan and "his Sunday Mirror counterpart." Spencer went on to describe the images as "such an intolerable invasion of her privacy" that Diana took legal action.
Spencer has acknowledged the error. Through a statement, he admitted that "his assumption was incorrect" and apologized to Morgan, noting that as a historian, accuracy matters to him. Penguin, the book's publisher, has agreed to amend the offending passage in future editions. But Morgan is not satisfied with a quiet correction in subsequent printings. Speaking to the BBC, he said his lawyers are demanding that "the offending pages be removed from this book. And if that means they pulp the first edition, so be it." On his YouTube show Piers Morgan Uncensored, he read the disputed section aloud and pressed his case: if Spencer truly values historical accuracy, why would he allow false claims about a public figure to remain in circulation?
Morgan has also announced on social media that he is pursuing legal damages, directing any settlement toward the King's Trust. Spencer's camp has maintained that the core of his account—that Morgan was "surly and annoyed" when Spencer called to tell him he was not welcome at Diana's funeral—remains accurate. The statement emphasizes that Spencer's recollection of the conversation itself stands, even as the factual detail about Morgan's employer at the time of the gym photographs does not.
The dispute is one thread in a larger controversy surrounding Spencer's memoir. The book contains other contested claims, most notably an allegation that King Charles, then Prince of Wales, said "we'll forget her soon enough" during a disagreement over whether Princes William and Harry should walk in Diana's funeral procession. Buckingham Palace responded with a carefully worded statement suggesting that grief can "cloud reason, affect judgement and colour memory in ways others do not recognise, even many years after such a loss." The book has already sparked what Spencer's critics describe as a war of words with the Palace, and the Morgan dispute adds another layer of tension to what has become a contentious reckoning with Diana's death and its aftermath.
Notable Quotes
He's a historian. He should want it removed from the shelves. Why, if you're doing this for historical record, would you want such a completely untrue series of claims over several pages about a public figure to still be in that book?— Piers Morgan to the BBC
As an historian, accuracy is important to Earl Spencer. He therefore wishes to clarify that his assumption was incorrect. Earl Spencer apologises to Mr Morgan for this error.— Statement from Earl Spencer's spokesperson
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