Tea, Titles & Tiaras: The Fallout from Swan Song, Windsor Castle Tea and Harry Jumps Out of a Plane

Charles Spencer’s book has reopened old royal arguments, Kate has welcomed fellow mountain climbers to Windsor Castle, and Harry has kept a promise to a 102-year-old veteran. Princess Anne found a way to support a marathon effort without running one herself, while a Bentley used by Queen Elizabeth is heading to auction. Let’s get into it.

The fallout from Swan Song

Charles Spencer has spent the week discussing Swan Song, his memoir about his sister Diana, and one detail has added to the debate around its publication: neither William nor Harry was involved in the book before its release.
Spencer has said he told Harry shortly before excerpts appeared. Harry wanted to know whether the book contained anything embarrassing about him, and Spencer says he assured his nephew that he had respected his privacy.

William, Spencer has indicated, was not told in advance.

That decision matters because the book makes claims about the princes’ father, including Spencer’s recollection that Charles said, “Rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough,” after Diana’s death. Buckingham Palace has challenged Spencer’s account, suggesting that grief can affect memory and judgment. Spencer stands by what he says he heard.

Neither William nor Harry has publicly responded to the book’s claims. Reports about William’s private reaction should be treated for what they are: accounts attributed to unnamed sources, rather than a statement from the Prince of Wales. Whatever either brother thinks of his uncle’s decision, both must now contend with another public argument about one of the most painful periods of their lives.

Spencer says he wrote the book to honour Diana and set down his account of her life. Readers may accept that intention while still questioning individual recollections, particularly those involving conversations from almost three decades ago. Grief can preserve certain moments with extraordinary clarity, but two people can also emerge from the same conversation with different memories of it.

That is where I find myself with Swan Song. Spencer’s loss is not in doubt, and his closeness to Diana gives him a perspective few others could offer. His account also asks readers to form judgments about people and exchanges that cannot all be independently tested. As the late Queen’s well-known phrase reminds us, recollections may vary.

Kate brings the Three Peaks climbers to Windsor

On 15 September, Kate, Princess of Wales, welcomed participants in the National Three Peaks Challenge and their families to Windsor Castle for tea. The photographs were shared later, giving the public a glimpse of a gathering that brought together people whose reasons for taking on the mountains were every bit as compelling as the climbs themselves.

Kate had completed the challenge in June, climbing the highest peaks in Scotland, England and Wales within 24 hours to support the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity and reflect on life after her own cancer diagnosis. She had met some of the guests along the way, including 11 year old Ted Haslam, who completed the challenge with the help of family and friends who pushed and carried his wheelchair.

At Windsor, Kate heard more about the people behind those efforts and the families who supported them. In a message signed “C”, she wrote that behind every summit was a personal story of resilience, determination and hope, adding that recovery is rarely a journey anyone makes alone.

The tea service offered another lovely detail. Its botanical design was inspired by the Queen Mother’s collection of Chelsea Porcelain, bringing a piece of royal history to a gathering centred on the guests and their stories. Kate wore a plum toned Burberry dress, but it was the chance to reconnect with the climbers that gave the occasion its meaning.

There is something fitting about a tea party following an endurance challenge. The photographs from the mountains show the physical effort; the conversation at Windsor offered space to talk about why each person had set out in the first place, and who had helped them reach the finish.

Harry keeps his promise to Ed and jumps out of a plane

Harry’s skydive began with a conversation in Toronto in November 2025, when he met Ed Marshall at Sunnybrook Hospital’s veterans centre. Ed, a former paratrooper who is now 102, had celebrated his 100th birthday with a parachute jump. Harry agreed to join him for another one.

Ed’s doctor later advised him against jumping because of reduced heart function, but that did not keep him on the ground. He went up in the plane wearing a parachute and watched as his grandson Bailey jumped alongside Harry north of Toronto. The event supported Sunnybrook and the True Patriot Love Foundation, both of which work with Canadian veterans.

Harry landed safely and called Meghan afterwards. Her reaction was captured on camera, although the exchange hardly needs polishing into a scripted punchline. A conversation with Ed had become a promise, and Ed was there to see Harry and Bailey follow through on it.

Princess Anne sticks with horses

Princess Anne met Sir Kevin Sinfield at the University of York athletics track on 28 September, during the second day of his 7 in 7: The Grand Finale challenge for motor neurone disease charities. Sinfield is running an ultra marathon each day for seven days, adding to years of fundraising inspired by his former Leeds Rhinos teammate Rob Burrow.

As they talked, Anne agreed that calling such an effort a “fun run” was a contradiction. She said she could run but did not do it for fun, prompting Sinfield to invite her to join him at any point. Anne had a more appealing mode of transport in mind: “I’ll stick with horses.”

It was a very Anne response, delivered by someone whose Olympic equestrian career gives her every right to favour a saddle over running shoes. She watched Sinfield complete laps with supporters, met people living with motor neurone disease and beat a drum seven times to send the runners on their way. Sinfield and his team have raised more than £11 million for the MND community since his first challenge in 2020.

Queen Elizabeth’s Bentley goes to auction

A Bentley that carried Queen Elizabeth II on official engagements is heading to auction on 14 October, and it has a considerably more interesting history than the average luxury car.

The vehicle is a 2016 Bentley Mulsanne Extended Wheelbase, one of two made for the late Queen. It entered royal service that year and was photographed carrying her to engagements including London Fashion Week in 2018. A custom tray was originally fitted between the front seats to hold one of her Launer handbags, although that fitting and the Royal Coat of Arms inside the car were removed when it left royal service.

It has covered approximately 6,000 miles and is being offered by Broad Arrow Auctions with an estimate of €400,000 to €450,000. That price buys a substantial Bentley, certainly, but its connection to a monarch who spent seven decades in public life is what makes this car stand apart.

Spencer’s book has left the family facing difficult questions about Diana once again. Elsewhere this week, Kate shared tea with people she had met on the mountains, Harry jumped for a promise made to Ed, and Anne decided that if she joined Sinfield’s challenge, she would prefer to do it on horseback. Until next week, keep the tea piping hot and the tiaras polished.