Nearly three decades after Princess Diana’s death, the British monarchy remains confronted by the emotional and institutional consequences of a tragedy that exposed the distance between royal protocol and public sentiment. The latest dispute surrounding Earl Spencer’s forthcoming memoir demonstrates that the past cannot necessarily be settled by the passage of time or the authority of the Crown.

Spencer alleges that, during a telephone conversation following Diana’s death in August 1997, the then-Prince Charles responded to an argument over whether Princes William and Harry should walk behind their mother’s coffin by suggesting that she would soon be forgotten. He insists that he remembers the exchange precisely. Buckingham Palace has questioned the reliability of his recollection, pointing to the effects of grief on memory. The allegation remains disputed, but its significance extends beyond the precise words exchanged. Diana’s funeral was a defining moment in modern British history.

The sight of her two young sons walking behind her coffin, accompanied by their father and uncle, became an enduring image of private bereavement transformed into a public spectacle. Prince Harry has since........

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