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Portraits of a Princess: Travels with Diana
The dramatic public life of Diana, Princess of Wales was enacted against a backdrop of exciting foreign destinations.
These are inextricably linked to some of the most significant events in her own journey. Who can forget the lonely Princess at the Taj Mahal, the "War of the Waleses" in South Korea, the glamorous Diana, darling of Manhattan fundraisers, or the Queen of Hearts in an African refugee camp? These are just some of the unforgettable images revisited in Portraits of a Princess--Travels with Diana .
Patrick Jephson, Diana's private secretary for many years, gives his unique perspective of his time spent with the Princess. As the man who organized nearly all of her foreign travel and accompanied her on most of it, his viewpoint provides the book with a unique sense of authority.
For Portraits of a Princess Jephson reassembles the core team that worked with him on orchestrating Diana's worldwide the press secretary, the security chief and the Princess's personal assistant.
From this unmatched archive of experience came candid and entertaining anecdotes which add colour to fascinating behind-the-scenes details of the logistics of a royal superstar on how the press coverage was organized and orchestrated, how the protocol experts were kept happy and how transport and security requirements were adapted to suit Diana's revolutionary royal style.
Other experts comment on the Princess's changing fashion tastes as her wardrobe evolved from the "Shy Di" of the joint tours to the confident glamour icon of Washington society balls or the hands-on charity leader in Africa.
Again and again, as we retrace the Princess's footstep, Jephson asks, " Did she make a difference? "
These striking portraits answer that question.
These are inextricably linked to some of the most significant events in her own journey. Who can forget the lonely Princess at the Taj Mahal, the "War of the Waleses" in South Korea, the glamorous Diana, darling of Manhattan fundraisers, or the Queen of Hearts in an African refugee camp? These are just some of the unforgettable images revisited in Portraits of a Princess--Travels with Diana .
Patrick Jephson, Diana's private secretary for many years, gives his unique perspective of his time spent with the Princess. As the man who organized nearly all of her foreign travel and accompanied her on most of it, his viewpoint provides the book with a unique sense of authority.
For Portraits of a Princess Jephson reassembles the core team that worked with him on orchestrating Diana's worldwide the press secretary, the security chief and the Princess's personal assistant.
From this unmatched archive of experience came candid and entertaining anecdotes which add colour to fascinating behind-the-scenes details of the logistics of a royal superstar on how the press coverage was organized and orchestrated, how the protocol experts were kept happy and how transport and security requirements were adapted to suit Diana's revolutionary royal style.
Other experts comment on the Princess's changing fashion tastes as her wardrobe evolved from the "Shy Di" of the joint tours to the confident glamour icon of Washington society balls or the hands-on charity leader in Africa.
Again and again, as we retrace the Princess's footstep, Jephson asks, " Did she make a difference? "
These striking portraits answer that question.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published October 15, 2004
86 people want to read
About the author
Patrick Jephson
3 books8 followersPatrick is a consultant, journalist, broadcaster and New York Times and London Sunday Times bestselling author, based in Washington DC.
His byline has appeared in every major UK newspaper and international titles as varied as TIME magazine, Vanity Fair, People, The Spectator, Paris Match, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and the National Catholic Reporter. He is a published authority on corporate and personal branding, addressing conference audiences worldwide as well as events at the US State Department, the American University and the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. He also writes, presents and advises on factual and drama programs, appearing on every major US network as well as British and international platforms. Patrick is a consultant to the award-winning Netflix series The Crown.
Patrick owes much of his practical communications experience to Princess Diana, who chose him to be her equerry and only private secretary/chief of staff. He served the Princess for eight years (1988-96), responsible for every aspect of her public life, charitable initiatives, and private organization. He travelled with her to five continents, working with government officials up to head of state. Under relentless media scrutiny, his tenure covered the period of Princess Diana’s greatest popularity as well as the constitutional controversy of her separation from Prince Charles.
Patrick was born and raised in Ireland and holds a Masters degree in Political Science from Cambridge University. As an officer in the British Navy he served all over the world before being selected for royal duty. A naturalized US citizen based in Washington DC, he is founding partner in the specialist communications consultancy JephsonBeaman LLC (www.jephsonbeaman.com).
Born and raised in Ireland, Jephson studied a Masters degree in political science at Cambridge before becoming an officer in the Royal Navy.
After ten years of service, he was selected to join the Royal Household serving eight years as an equerry.
Jephson was private secretary to Princess Diana for more than seven years and travelled the world with her on Royal duties.
Part of his job involved writing speeches and public correspondence, as well as handling her relations with the media.
Jephson also witnessed the breakdown of her marriage to Prince Charles and was instrumental in handling it.
He has written two books about his time working with Princess Diana and is a TV writer and presenter now based in America.
Jephson is one of the people providing an interview in the controversial Channel 4 show Diana: In Her Own words.
His byline has appeared in every major UK newspaper and international titles as varied as TIME magazine, Vanity Fair, People, The Spectator, Paris Match, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and the National Catholic Reporter. He is a published authority on corporate and personal branding, addressing conference audiences worldwide as well as events at the US State Department, the American University and the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. He also writes, presents and advises on factual and drama programs, appearing on every major US network as well as British and international platforms. Patrick is a consultant to the award-winning Netflix series The Crown.
Patrick owes much of his practical communications experience to Princess Diana, who chose him to be her equerry and only private secretary/chief of staff. He served the Princess for eight years (1988-96), responsible for every aspect of her public life, charitable initiatives, and private organization. He travelled with her to five continents, working with government officials up to head of state. Under relentless media scrutiny, his tenure covered the period of Princess Diana’s greatest popularity as well as the constitutional controversy of her separation from Prince Charles.
Patrick was born and raised in Ireland and holds a Masters degree in Political Science from Cambridge University. As an officer in the British Navy he served all over the world before being selected for royal duty. A naturalized US citizen based in Washington DC, he is founding partner in the specialist communications consultancy JephsonBeaman LLC (www.jephsonbeaman.com).
Born and raised in Ireland, Jephson studied a Masters degree in political science at Cambridge before becoming an officer in the Royal Navy.
After ten years of service, he was selected to join the Royal Household serving eight years as an equerry.
Jephson was private secretary to Princess Diana for more than seven years and travelled the world with her on Royal duties.
Part of his job involved writing speeches and public correspondence, as well as handling her relations with the media.
Jephson also witnessed the breakdown of her marriage to Prince Charles and was instrumental in handling it.
He has written two books about his time working with Princess Diana and is a TV writer and presenter now based in America.
Jephson is one of the people providing an interview in the controversial Channel 4 show Diana: In Her Own words.
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September 25, 2020A judicious account of Princess Diana's public life, spotlighting her innate kindness, natural empathy, and diplomatic stardom, from the perspective of a companion photographer.
September 29, 2017
I think this book should get about a 3.5. It's written by Princess Diana's private secretary who planned her trips abroad as well as helped shape her public image, so it's s unique look at her life. The photos are fun, although they look dated.
January 4, 2022
A lovely look at Princess Diana's travels around the world and home in England. Lots of photos of her changing style.
May 28, 2022
More Jephson and a few more inside details on royal travel, which is always interesting, but this felt poorly organized and the new pics weren't much to write home about. That said, for those who couldn't deal with his attitude and the dense prose in his more official memoir this would be a good abridged alternative.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews