Molly McPhersonCrisis and Reputation Strategist | Creator of Mollyfi | Host of The PR Breakdown

King Charles Statement about Charles Spencer's Swan Song

26 Sept 2026 · 2 min

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2:26

In this YouTube commentary, Molly McPherson dissects a Buckingham Palace statement responding to Charles Spencer's book, which alleges that King Charles sounded "giddily elated" after Princess Diana's death. She points out that the Palace claims a principle of not commenting on books, yet immediately comments, creating a self‑contradiction. McPherson identifies three rhetorical "tells": (1) the contradictory clause, (2) the use of compassionate language ("mindful", "pain", "loss") that serves to undermine Spencer, and (3) the absence of an explicit denial of the accusation. She labels this pattern a "pat on the head" form of gaslighting, where a powerful figure (the king) subtly dismisses criticism by framing the accuser’s memory as flawed, leveraging a hierarchical power dynamic. McPherson explains how to spot this tactic by looking for missing denials and counting kind words that do unkind work, relating it to broader interpersonal power relations.

Chapters

Buckingham Palace says they do not comment on books. Yet we have a comment on a book. So this is Charles Spencer. This is Diana's— Princess Diana's younger brother, who wrote that after Diana died, Charles sounded, quote, giddily elated on the phone. 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 color memory in ways others do not recognize, even many years after such a loss. I found 3 tells. Here they are. 1, the first clause claims the rule and the same sentence breaks it. 2, every word doing the damage is a kind one, mindful, Pain, such a loss. The compassion is the delivery system. And 3, there is no denial. It never says he didn't do it. So let's call this, if we were to visualize it, pat on the head. King Charles is patting Charles Spencer on the head. You answer an accusation by going after the person's memory. Instead of denying the claim. And you do it with the language of sympathy, like, oh, you poor thing. You're just remembering it all wrong. You were upset. Spencer called it exactly what it is. It's condescending. That's exactly what this statement is. And here's how you spot it. Read it for a denial. There isn't one. Then count the kind words doing unkind work. Think of your personal life. When has someone denied doing something wrong that they so clearly did and then made you the problem? It doesn't work with you either, right? Because people can feel that pat on the head, you know, and, and because King Charles is the king and he's patting down to an earl, this is where a powerful person in a relationship, even a personal relationship, a boss. A parent. That power dynamic is what adds into this pat on the head gaslighting. People can feel the pat on the head.