Britain's royal family has taken the unusual step of publicly challenging claims made by Princess Diana's brother, Earl Spencer, in his upcoming memoir, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, excerpts of which were published by Britain's Daily Mail,

Departing from the monarchy's traditional "never complain, never explain" approach, Buckingham Palace responded Wednesday to Spencer's recollection of phone calls between himself and King Charles in the wake of Diana's death in 1997

According to Spencer, Charles "sounded giddily elated — like a lottery winner" in a call immediately following her passing.

"He let me know he had informed William and Harry of their mother's death, first thing th...