Piers Morgan seeks withdrawal of Earl Spencer's Diana book

What happened

Piers Morgan is calling for Earl Spencer's memoir about Diana, Princess of Wales, to be withdrawn from sale after the author acknowledged wrongly linking him to the publication of photographs taken inside a gym. Morgan has accepted Spencer's apology but is continuing to seek legal action against him and publisher Penguin.

The dispute concerns Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, published on Tuesday, 22 September 2026. Charles Spencer, Diana's brother, used an account of a telephone conversation before her funeral to suggest that Morgan felt guilty about his involvement in publishing the pictures several years earlier.

That connection rested on a mistaken employment timeline. The Sunday Mirror printed the photographs on 7 November 1993. Morgan was then a showbusiness columnist at The Sun, not the editor of the Daily Mirror, a position he took up in October 1995.

Penguin will correct the error in future editions. Morgan wants the disputed material removed from the book already on sale, however, and has said his lawyers will seek the removal of the relevant pages, even if that requires destroying copies of the first edition.

Spencer's apology does not extend to his description of Morgan's manner during their telephone conversation. Through a spokesperson, he maintained that the broadcaster had reacted with irritation when told he would not be attending Diana's funeral. The correction therefore addresses the suggested reason for that reaction, rather than withdrawing the account of the call.

The background

The funeral anecdote describes Spencer personally contacting national newspaper editors after deciding to rescind their invitations. Morgan, who was editing the Daily Mirror by then, was among those called. In the memoir, Spencer singles out his response as more hostile than those of other editors, whom he describes as embarrassed or puzzled.

Spencer then connects that response to the earlier gym photographs. His account attributes their publication to Morgan and his opposite number at the Sunday Mirror, using that supposed involvement to explain why Morgan might have felt especially uncomfortable about being excluded from the funeral.

The photographs showed Diana exercising in a leotard. In the book's account, a gym owner obtained them using concealed cameras, and Diana instructed lawyers to take action against the Mirror Group and prevent the images from being used again.

The distinction between the two newspapers is central to the correction. The images appeared in the Sunday Mirror, while the editorship wrongly attributed to Morgan at that time was at the Daily Mirror. His employment at a rival newspaper also contradicts the memoir's explanation of his responsibility.

Morgan remained editor of the Daily Mirror from 1995 until 2004. His public challenge to Spencer began on Monday on his YouTube programme, Piers Morgan Uncensored, where he read the disputed passages and contrasted their account with the dates of the photographs and his appointment.

The memoir had already attracted attention before publication through serialisation in the Daily Mail. Its account of Diana's death and funeral arrangements includes allegations about King Charles III, then the Prince of Wales, which have prompted a separate public disagreement between Spencer and Buckingham Palace.

What people are saying

Spencer's spokesperson presented the apology as a correction of an erroneous assumption, stressing the importance the author places on accuracy as a historian. The statement accepted Morgan's employment dates while continuing to defend Spencer's recollection of how the editor sounded during their exchange.

Morgan has argued that acknowledging the mistake should lead to action over copies already in circulation. In an interview, he said an author presenting a book as a historical record should want the offending material taken off the shelves after accepting that it was wrong.

The broadcaster has also challenged the wider credibility of the memoir. On his programme, he argued that an error involving readily checked facts about his career raised questions about Spencer's other accounts. That criticism goes beyond the specific point covered by the apology and Penguin's planned amendment.

Morgan also described his own contact with Diana during his editorship. He said he had attended lunch with her and Prince William at Kensington Palace, and that she subsequently sometimes telephoned his office. He said he would also discuss proposed stories with her, presenting those exchanges as part of their working relationship.

A separate passage alleges that Charles suggested Diana would soon fade from memory during an argument about whether Prince William and Prince Harry should join her funeral procession. Spencer has continued to defend that account; it is not part of the factual correction concerning Morgan's newspaper career.

Buckingham Palace responded by invoking the lasting effects of losing a sibling. Its statement suggested that grief could affect judgement and recollection long after a death, challenging Spencer's account through a criticism of the reliability of memory rather than accepting his description of the conversation.

What happens next

Morgan said on social media on Tuesday that he was pursuing action against both Spencer and Penguin. He wants the disputed passages removed and damages directed to the King's Trust. His acceptance of the personal apology has therefore not brought his demands against the author and publisher to an end.

The practical difference between the two positions concerns existing stock. An amendment in a later edition changes what subsequent readers receive; Morgan's demand would also require action over the first edition. His lawyers are to set out his request concerning the pages he disputes.

The book entered shops with a cover price of £28, although some retailers offered substantial discounts on publication day. Copies were marked at half price at Waterstones' flagship shop in Piccadilly, London, and the retailer's website also listed the memoir at half its cover price.

Attention to Diana's life will extend beyond the memoir as the 30th anniversary of her death approaches next year. Prince Harry has discussed several possible projects to commemorate the anniversary and is considering how best to honour her legacy, including discussions about a documentary.

Spencer's book refers to a nephew who wanted him to participate in a documentary about Diana. That passage does not name the nephew. It sits alongside the separate discussions involving Harry, whose consideration of anniversary projects concerns a future commemoration rather than the correction now being made to Swan Song.

Why this matters

For UK book buyers, the distinction between editions has a direct consequence: Penguin's planned correction means later copies will differ on the point at the centre of Morgan's complaint. The wider withdrawal he is seeking concerns the version offered for sale at the memoir's launch.

For readers assessing the family history, the apology has a specific scope. Spencer has conceded the employment error underpinning his explanation of Morgan's reaction, while defending his memory of the call. His allegations about the King remain a separate dispute, addressed by the palace's response rather than by this correction.