Many of Saturday's papers continue their coverage of the fallout from Earl Spencer's book about his sister Diana, Princess of Wales. In an interview with the BBC, Earl Spencer said he was telling the truth about the nature of a phone call he had after his sister's death with the then Prince Charles. In excerpts published by the Daily Mail, the earl claimed King Charles III told him "we'll forget her soon enough", but Buckingham Palace said in a statement that fraternal grief could "colour memory". The Mail says Earl Spencer hit back at the King in a "defiant" interview.
The Daily Star also leads with Earl Spencer's interview with Laura Kuenssberg. "Monstrous", is the paper's one-word headline in reference to how the earl characterised the King's words.
The Sun says the earl has been branded a "hypocrite", reporting that in a 1998 interview he claimed he would "never profit from my sister's life" but now "rakes in [a] fortune" from her death.
The Daily Express leads with claims from author Tom Bower that the earl is "undoubtedly" working with his nephew, the Duke of Sussex, to "damage" King Charles. The paper dubs the alleged pairing the "Spencer alliance".
The front page of the Times carries a photo of Earl Spencer, captioned "I don't hear denial from the King". It also reports that the Treasury is considering lowering the "mansion tax" threshold to £1.5m ahead of next month's Budget, citing unnamed government sources. The paper says if Chancellor John Healey announces the change, thousands more homes will be hit by the tax.
"Russia prepares to ramp up war" is the main headline on the front page of the Daily Telegraph. It says Western intelligence officials believe Russian President Vladimir Putin is "laying the ground for a 'stealth mobilisation' over this weekend, in which thousands of Russians could be drafted".
According to the i Paper, the British Army "secretly relaxed security checks", claiming this led to "letting in far-right extremists who backed Russia" over the course of two years.
Leading the Guardian is an investigation revealing that "sensitive" police data is being held on a "vulnerable" cloud platform. New Great British Bake Off presenter Nigella Lawson is also on the front page alongside a chocolate cake, as she says "eating is my superpower."
The founder of Betfred "attacks high taxes" in Britain in the Financial Times's lead story. Fred Done, who according to the paper is "Britain's biggest taxpayer", says at aged 83 he is "too old" to leave the country for tax purposes as others have done.
"My dear friend Ann" is the headline of the Daily Mirror, as Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood describes the late politician as "an amazing human being, and brave." He tells the paper he spoke to her six days before her death.
BBC
