Earl Spencer has issued a public apology to Piers Morgan after his new memoir, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, incorrectly linked the broadcaster to the publication of secretly taken photographs of Princess Diana exercising at a London gym in 1993. The controversy erupted in a single day: Morgan threatened legal action on September 21, 2026, calling the claim in the book “very, very easy bullshit for me to prove,” and Spencer’s representatives issued an apology on September 22, the book’s official publication date.
The core dispute centers on a simple factual error. Spencer wrote in his memoir that Morgan, as editor of the Daily Mirror, bore responsibility for publishing the invasive 1993 gym photos. Morgan pointed out that the photos were published by the Sunday Mirror on November 7, 1993, nearly two full years before he joined the Daily Mirror as editor in October 1995. At the time of the photographs, Morgan was working as a showbiz columnist at The Sun, the Mirror’s direct competitor.
The Piers Morgan Diana gym photos dispute has attracted widespread attention not only because of the participants involved but also because Spencer is positioning himself as a historian and guardian of his sister’s legacy. Morgan’s argument is straightforward: if the book gets this fact wrong, what else might it get wrong?
What the 1993 Princess Diana Gym Photos Actually Were
In 1993, Bryce Taylor, the New Zealand-born owner of the LA Fitness gym in west London, secretly photographed Princess Diana while she exercised at his facility. Taylor hid a camera in a ceiling panel above the workout area. Diana was photographed in a leotard and cycling shorts while using exercise equipment.
Taylor had previously provided Diana with a written guarantee that her privacy would be respected at the gym.
He sold the photographs to Mirror Group Newspapers for a sum reported to be in excess of £100,000 (approximately $155,000 at the time). The images were first published by the Sunday Mirror on November 7, 1993, and subsequently by the Daily Mirror.
Sales of both newspapers rose by more than 100,000 copies on the days the photos ran, demonstrating the commercial appetite for images of Diana, even those obtained under ethically questionable circumstances.
Diana’s Legal Battle and the 1995 Settlement
The publication of the gym photos triggered one of the most significant privacy lawsuits involving a member of the Royal Family.
On November 8, 1993, one day after the Sunday Mirror published the images, Diana’s legal team secured an emergency injunction during an 80-minute closed court hearing, preventing further publication. Her solicitor, Anthony Julius of Mishcon de Reya, filed writs against Mirror Group Newspapers, LA Fitness, and Bryce Taylor.
Diana sued Taylor for breach of confidence and Mirror Group Newspapers for inducement to breach of contract. The lawsuit sought a permanent ban on future publication and the handover of all negatives and copies of the photographs.
The Press Complaints Commission criticized the use of the photographs, and the case became a landmark moment in the debate over newspaper self-regulation and the right to privacy in the United Kingdom.
The dispute was settled out of court on February 8, 1995, less than a week before Diana would have been required to give evidence in the High Court, which would have been the first royal court appearance in more than a century.
The settlement terms included:
- A formal apology from both Bryce Taylor and Mirror Group Newspapers
- Destruction of all copies and negatives of the photographs
- A permanent ban on reprints
- Mirror Group reportedly paid approximately £1 million (around $1.3 million) toward Diana’s legal costs
- A charitable donation of approximately £200,000 (around $267,000) to a charity of Diana’s choosing
- Taylor surrendered the profits he had made from selling the images, estimated at £300,000
Diana’s office released a statement saying: “Her Royal Highness is pleased that her determined stance in defence of her right to privacy has been so completely vindicated.”
The emotional toll of the controversy was significant. In December 1993, one month after the photos were published, Diana delivered what became known as her “Time and Space” speech at a charity luncheon, announcing that she was withdrawing from most of her public duties.
What Earl Spencer Wrote in Swan Song
In his memoir Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, published by Penguin on September 22, 2026, Earl Spencer revisits the period surrounding Diana’s death in August 1997 and the preparations for her funeral.
In the disputed passage, Spencer recalls calling senior newspaper editors to inform them that they were not welcome at the funeral. He describes reaching “Piers Morgan of The Mirror” and says Morgan “sounded surly, as opposed to merely confused or embarrassed” and “snarled with annoyance before he hung up.”
Spencer then wrote: “I assumed Morgan must be feeling particular guilt because, four years earlier, he and his Sunday Mirror counterpart had published photographs taken with hidden cameras by a gym owner. They were of Diana working out in a leotard.”
He continued by referencing the privacy controversy: “This was such an intolerable invasion of her privacy that Diana instructed lawyers to sue the Mirror Group and to block further use of the images.”
The passage links two events: the phone call (which took place in 1997) and the gym photo controversy (which took place in 1993). Spencer’s assumption was that Morgan’s hostile reaction to being disinvited from the funeral was driven by guilt over the gym photographs.
Piers Morgan’s Response: “Very, Very Easy Bullshit to Prove”
On September 21, 2026, the day before the book’s official publication, Morgan addressed the claim during an episode of his YouTube show Piers Morgan Uncensored.
Morgan read the disputed passage aloud and then dismantled it with a simple timeline.
“The photographs, which he says that I published, were printed by The Sunday Mirror on November 7, 1993,” Morgan said. “I joined The Daily Mirror in October 1995. In fact, at the time of the gym pictures, I was doing a showbiz column on The Mirror’s arch rival, The Sun.”
He called the passage “very, very easy bullshit for me to prove” and described the claims as “fabricated inaccuracies” that strike “at the heart of his credibility.”
Morgan then directed his comments at Spencer: “If Earl Spencer can be so incredibly defamatorily wrong about such basic facts involving me, well why should we believe anything else that he puts in this book?”
He also addressed Spencer’s broader credibility. Morgan claimed that by the time of Diana’s death, Spencer was “living in South Africa and was estranged from his sister,” while Morgan himself had developed a professional relationship with the Princess. “After that, it wasn’t uncommon for her to call my office or for me to run stories by her,” he said. “Ironically, by that time in her life, I think I was probably talking to her more often than he was.”
Morgan demanded that the disputed passage be removed from the book and called for a donation to be made to the King’s Trust. He also announced that he was pursuing legal action against Spencer and the book’s publisher.
On X (formerly Twitter), he wrote: “I am taking legal action against Earl Spencer and his publishers over demonstrable lies he has written about me in his new book, which call into question his credibility as a supposed ‘historian’.”
Earl Spencer’s Apology: What It Covers and What It Does Not
On September 22, 2026, Spencer’s representatives issued a statement that was carefully worded to acknowledge the factual error while maintaining other aspects of the book’s account.
The statement said: “Earl Spencer’s account of his conversation with Piers Morgan is accurate. Mr Morgan was surly and annoyed when Earl Spencer called personally to tell him that he was not welcome at his sister’s funeral.”
It continued: “The book then records Earl Spencer’s assumption that Mr Morgan’s response was because he was editor of the Daily Mirror when the Mirror Group had published highly intrusive photographs of Princess Diana at the gym.”
It then acknowledged the error: “The photographs were published by the Sunday Mirror on 7 November 1993. Mr Morgan has pointed out that he did not join the Daily Mirror until October 1995.”
The apology concluded: “As an historian, accuracy is important to Earl Spencer. He therefore wishes to clarify that his assumption was incorrect. Earl Spencer apologises to Mr Morgan for this error.”
Notably, the apology covers only the factual claim linking Morgan to the gym photos. Spencer’s account of the phone conversation, in which he described Morgan as surly and annoyed, was not retracted. Spencer’s team explicitly stated that his recollection of the phone call itself “is accurate.”
The Broader Context: Swan Song and Its Other Controversies
The Piers Morgan Diana gym photos dispute is only one of several controversies surrounding Swan Song. The book has generated significant public discussion for other claims Spencer makes about prominent figures.
The most widely reported allegation involves King Charles. According to excerpts published in advance by the Daily Mail, Spencer claims that Charles told him, regarding Diana’s death: “We’ll forget her soon enough.” Buckingham Palace has not issued a formal public response to this claim.
Royal historian Hugo Vickers reportedly characterized the memoir as “tawdry,” and reports emerged that Prince William was unhappy with his uncle’s decision to publish it. The memoir has been framed by Spencer as a deeply personal account of growing up with Diana and witnessing her treatment by the press and the Royal Family.
Piers Morgan’s Career Timeline: Where He Actually Was
The entire dispute turns on a verifiable timeline. Here is where Piers Morgan was working during the key dates:
| Period | Morgan’s Position |
|---|---|
| 1989 to 1994 | Reporter and showbiz columnist at The Sun |
| November 7, 1993 | Working at The Sun (Diana gym photos published by Sunday Mirror) |
| January 1994 | Became editor of the News of the World at age 28 |
| October 1995 | Joined the Daily Mirror as editor |
| 1995 to 2004 | Editor of the Daily Mirror |
| 2011 to 2014 | CNN host (Piers Morgan Live) |
| 2015 to 2021 | Good Morning Britain co-host and MailOnline editor-at-large |
| 2022 to 2024 | TalkTV host |
| 2024 to present | Host of Piers Morgan Uncensored (YouTube and The Sun) |
The timeline is unambiguous. Morgan was not at the Daily Mirror when the gym photos were published. He was nearly two years away from joining the paper. The Sunday Mirror, which first published the images, was a separate title within Mirror Group Newspapers, and Morgan never edited it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What were the Princess Diana gym photos?
In 1993, Bryce Taylor, the owner of the LA Fitness gym in west London, secretly photographed Princess Diana exercising in a leotard and cycling shorts using a camera hidden in the ceiling. He sold the images to Mirror Group Newspapers for over £100,000. The photos were published by the Sunday Mirror on November 7, 1993. Diana sued and the case was settled in February 1995, with an apology, destruction of all copies, and reported payments totaling approximately £1.2 million.
Why did Earl Spencer apologize to Piers Morgan?
Spencer’s memoir, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, incorrectly stated that Morgan was editor of the Daily Mirror when the gym photos were published. Morgan pointed out that the photos were published in November 1993 and that he did not join the Daily Mirror until October 1995. Spencer acknowledged the factual error and apologized.
Did Earl Spencer retract everything he wrote about Piers Morgan?
No. Spencer’s apology was specifically about the incorrect claim linking Morgan to the gym photos. He maintained that his account of calling Morgan to disinvite him from Diana’s funeral was accurate and that Morgan was “surly and annoyed” during the conversation.
Was Piers Morgan editor of the Daily Mirror when Diana’s gym photos were published?
No. The photos were published by the Sunday Mirror on November 7, 1993. Morgan joined the Daily Mirror as editor in October 1995, nearly two years later. At the time of the photos, he was a showbiz columnist at The Sun.
What is Swan Song: Diana, My Sister?
Swan Song is a memoir by Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, published by Penguin on September 22, 2026. It covers his relationship with his sister Princess Diana, his memories of her treatment by the press and the Royal Family, and the period surrounding her death and funeral in 1997.
Is Piers Morgan suing Earl Spencer?
Morgan announced on September 21, 2026, that he was pursuing legal action against Spencer and the book’s publisher. He demanded that the disputed passage be removed from the book and that a donation be made to the King’s Trust. Spencer apologized the following day, but it is not yet clear whether Morgan will still proceed with legal action.
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Last Updated on September 22, 2026 by 247 News Around The World
