How British media reacted to Buckingham Palace’s response to Charles Spencer’s claims

King Charles is facing a trying few days, from screaming headlines raking over reportedly cruel comments about his late ex-wife Diana to his son Harry re-entering public life at an event in London.

Britain's monarch was hosting some of the world's biggest ‌names in artificial intelligence in Scotland on Thursday, urging them to find a way forward that would protect humanity.

But nearly all Britain's newspapers splashed their front pages with details from a soon-to-be-released book by Diana's brother that quotes Charles as saying in the days after her death in 1997: "Rest assured, we'll forget her soon enough".

In response, Buckingham Palace issued an unusually pointed statement: "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."

The Daily Mail, which is serialising the book, said on ⁠its website: "King at war". The Daily Telegraph said "Palace hits back at Diana's brother," on its front page, while the Sun said: "Recollections may vary... again," in reference to a previous royal response to criticism from Harry and his American wife Meghan.

The book, written by Earl Charles Spencer about his sister Diana, who died aged 36 in a Paris car crash, pursued by photographers, is being published next Tuesday.

Reactions from the public ranged from apathy to outrage.

"You can't give oxygen to an argument that ultimately is non-provable," said James Taylor, a 41-year-old sales executive in London, adding that Spencer's claims could be viewed cynically as being about selling copies of the book.

But Terrie Sechrist, a 68-year-old attorney, felt the reported remarks reflected badly on the king: "(Diana) was his wife and the mother of his children. I just don't know anyone with a heart that would say that."

The publication comes as Harry, and possibly Meghan, prepare to attend a ‌number of ⁠charitable events in the coming weeks.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex and their two children returned to live in Britain last month, six years after stepping down from royal duties and moving to the US, from where they regularly criticised the royal family.

The return was a surprise even to close family, with Harry's father, the king, only being told days before the news became public. Harry and his brother, heir-to-the-throne Prince William, are also barely on speaking terms.