Copies of Charles Spencer’s Princess Diana memoir 'Swan Song' stolen ahead of publication

Copies of Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, a memoir written by Charles Spencer, the 9th Earl Spencer and younger brother of Britain’s late Princess Diana, were stolen from a delivery truck in the Netherlands ahead of its global release on Sept. 22.

​According to reports, the truck transporting thousands of books from a printing house in Central Europe to a warehouse in the Netherlands was broken into while the driver was sleeping at a rest stop.

The thieves took only four copies wrapped in a protective black plastic. ​Publishing insiders have called the break-in “extremely suspicious,” sparking speculation that the theft was an intentional attempt to leak or sell details of the book prior to its official release.

An official investigation into the incident is currently underway.

Just after news of the theft broke, the Daily Mail published an exclusive preview of the memoir on Sept. 16. In the excerpt, Spencer recalls a heated phone call with now-King Charles regarding whether Prince William and Prince Harry, then aged 15 and 12, should walk behind their mother’s coffin during her funeral procession. Spencer claims the royal coldly remarked, “Rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough.”

In a statement to major media outlets, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said, “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 colour memory in ways others do not recognise, even many years after such a loss.”

In Swan Song, Spencer promises a deeply personal account of his sister's life, childhood, unhappy marriage to then-Prince Charles, and the immediate aftermath of her tragic death in 1997. Spencer previously stated he wrote the book to set the record straight and correct long-standing “untruths” about Diana.

​Published by Penguin Press in the U.S., the book is set to be translated into 12 languages worldwide.