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Ever After: Diana and the Life She Led
"This is the stuff of fairy tales," said the Archbishop of Canterbury on July 23, 1981, after the 20-year-old Lady Diana Spencer arrived in a glass coach for her wedding to Prince Charles. But everyone knows how that fairy tale ended.
Drawing upon intensive research and interviews, acclaimed biographer Anne Edwards, well-known for her revelatory and incisive books on members of Britain's royal family, here uncovers new details of Diana's life and her search for love; of her family background; and of a betrayal, historic in its outcome. What the public did not know at the time of her storybook wedding was the true story of Diana's troubled childhood-of the cold, autocratic grandfather who disdained her father, who was himself an abusive husband obsessed with having a son to inherit the Spencer wealth and title.
When Diana married Prince Charles, she joined the equally troubled House of Windsor, and was caught up in a plot Shakespearean in its deception and eventual tragic ending. Anne Edwards paints a vivid portrait of a woman desperate in her marriage, fearful of her life, who became devious-and often brilliant-in the moves she played in a treacherous royal chess game.
As in her superb biographies of other royal and celebrated women, Anne Edwards's Ever After transcends the one-sided views of Diana in a work that must be called definitive. At long last, and with all of the insight and narrative drama that have marked her previous bestsellers, Edwards brings us the first full-scale, authoritative portrait of a more intelligent, more resourceful, and sometimes more ruthless woman than we have seen before.
"Diana's many fans are sure to be delighted by Edwards's intimate prose and detailed descriptions." - Publishers Weekly
Drawing upon intensive research and interviews, acclaimed biographer Anne Edwards, well-known for her revelatory and incisive books on members of Britain's royal family, here uncovers new details of Diana's life and her search for love; of her family background; and of a betrayal, historic in its outcome. What the public did not know at the time of her storybook wedding was the true story of Diana's troubled childhood-of the cold, autocratic grandfather who disdained her father, who was himself an abusive husband obsessed with having a son to inherit the Spencer wealth and title.
When Diana married Prince Charles, she joined the equally troubled House of Windsor, and was caught up in a plot Shakespearean in its deception and eventual tragic ending. Anne Edwards paints a vivid portrait of a woman desperate in her marriage, fearful of her life, who became devious-and often brilliant-in the moves she played in a treacherous royal chess game.
As in her superb biographies of other royal and celebrated women, Anne Edwards's Ever After transcends the one-sided views of Diana in a work that must be called definitive. At long last, and with all of the insight and narrative drama that have marked her previous bestsellers, Edwards brings us the first full-scale, authoritative portrait of a more intelligent, more resourceful, and sometimes more ruthless woman than we have seen before.
"Diana's many fans are sure to be delighted by Edwards's intimate prose and detailed descriptions." - Publishers Weekly
372 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
April 8, 2013
This book is exquisite - Anne Edwards has created a poignant, deeply touching, and well-rounded portrait of the late Princess of Wales and everyone who was important to her life.
And a highly-readable one: in one day, I went from page 19, in the morning, to page 224 before I went to bed. The edition I read had 342 pages of pure text, not counting picture pages, the bibliography, or the index, and I flew through them - until I realised what end I was actually racing towards, and then I slowed, considerably, not wanting the book to end. The author did the same, I felt, slowing down time with overwhelmingly precise detail.
It is the second book about Diana that I've finished in the past week, the first being Diana Her True Story by Andrew Morton. I found that reading that one first gave me a foundation of knowledge, a framework of sorts, about the chronology of Diana's life, a sort of outline which this one then filled out with a full and greater richness. And as I read, I noticed myself noting similarities and divergences of the two, until it became clear to me how much weaker the other is - and how much this one sings - in comparison. Where that one was biased, this strove to remain impartial, and to maintain fairness to all persons being described (i.e., where Morton's book vilified Prince Charles, Edwards's book presented him as misunderstood and, rightfully, flawed, but also as endearing and pitiable in his own right). But I was most definitely tickled and amused at the page-and-a-half-long description of the publication of the Morton book that Edwards included in hers, which underscored its significance nonetheless.
I then went on to watch the Academy Award-winning film, The Queen, and got actual chills to see the events described in the book play out before me in visual form. When they showed video of the actual Princess, I shivered.
And although I did find a mistake - at the occasion of Prince Harry's birth, Edwards states that it happened on the 12th of September, 1984, when it was actually on the 15th - the book was very wonderful, and it did Princess Diana true justice.
And a highly-readable one: in one day, I went from page 19, in the morning, to page 224 before I went to bed. The edition I read had 342 pages of pure text, not counting picture pages, the bibliography, or the index, and I flew through them - until I realised what end I was actually racing towards, and then I slowed, considerably, not wanting the book to end. The author did the same, I felt, slowing down time with overwhelmingly precise detail.
It is the second book about Diana that I've finished in the past week, the first being Diana Her True Story by Andrew Morton. I found that reading that one first gave me a foundation of knowledge, a framework of sorts, about the chronology of Diana's life, a sort of outline which this one then filled out with a full and greater richness. And as I read, I noticed myself noting similarities and divergences of the two, until it became clear to me how much weaker the other is - and how much this one sings - in comparison. Where that one was biased, this strove to remain impartial, and to maintain fairness to all persons being described (i.e., where Morton's book vilified Prince Charles, Edwards's book presented him as misunderstood and, rightfully, flawed, but also as endearing and pitiable in his own right). But I was most definitely tickled and amused at the page-and-a-half-long description of the publication of the Morton book that Edwards included in hers, which underscored its significance nonetheless.
I then went on to watch the Academy Award-winning film, The Queen, and got actual chills to see the events described in the book play out before me in visual form. When they showed video of the actual Princess, I shivered.
And although I did find a mistake - at the occasion of Prince Harry's birth, Edwards states that it happened on the 12th of September, 1984, when it was actually on the 15th - the book was very wonderful, and it did Princess Diana true justice.
[Princess Diana's] story was an amazing welding of fairytale and soap opera....There is an amazing duality about Diana: she was a saint with mortal passions, a fairytale princess who encapsulated all the problems faced by women of her time. She was the most famous woman in the world who publicly confessed to adultery, attempted suicide, an eating disorder, and was loved even more for doing so. She died young, at the height of her beauty and popularity in a ghastly car crash. The tragedy was of ancient Greek dimension.
February 5, 2018
This book reads like the fairytale life that Princess Diana lead. But it doesn't do her the injustice of glossing over the hard times in her life that helped her become the amazing person that she was.
After reading this I realized that she had the type of lifestyle most people dream of and she left all of that for self-love and spent most of her adult life genuinely fighting for those who were too weak to speak for themselves.
By the end I had begun to adore the imperfectly perfect Princess that had lived and died long before I ever knew who she was.
Honestly I think the British Monarchy is still benefiting from the image of royalty that Diana created more than 20 years ago.
After reading this I realized that she had the type of lifestyle most people dream of and she left all of that for self-love and spent most of her adult life genuinely fighting for those who were too weak to speak for themselves.
By the end I had begun to adore the imperfectly perfect Princess that had lived and died long before I ever knew who she was.
Honestly I think the British Monarchy is still benefiting from the image of royalty that Diana created more than 20 years ago.
June 28, 2021
A well researched biography focusing on Diana's life as she transforms from shy girl to the "People's Princess." The author does well with presenting information in a non-biased away and keeping the flow of information going smoothly, making it hard to put the book down (regardless of you already know what comes next). Excellent choice for any fan of British royalty, whether it's Diana herself or any of the others she had connections with.
November 4, 2018
This is one of my favorite biographies of Princess Diana. Extremely thorough, well researched and fair to all parties, it gives a very well-balanced view of the marriage, affairs, divorce, etc. If you want the whole story with an unbiased voice, Ever After is your choice for a Princess Diana read!
December 11, 2012
First and foremost, no book about Diana, Princess of Wales gets more than three stars from me, precisely because, well, its' a biography about Diana, Princess of Wales. Three stars for me is as much as a book about a privileged princess deserves, basically. (Unless it's Tina Brown's biography of the late princess, which I gave five stars, because, well, it's Tina Brown, people.) So: I give this book the highest mark it deserves for its subject matter. Three stars, Anne Edwards, job well done! I loved this book precisely because Diana's bulimia and depression is given SO MUCH thought and consideration, and no other book I know of about Diana does this. I believe Diana's bulimia and depression are paramount in discussing her life. She was a woman driven by inner needs - not wants - needs. Her needs consisted of love, and this love - for Charles - never fully got reciprocated, which is not only devastating, but her love then turned into hatred for herself (hence bulimia and depression), and Anne Edwards makes this clear. Diana's love for things like sex and food were what she ultimately hated most about herself, precisely because she was trapped into a loveless marriage where her image was of utmost importance to her, and her complete hatred of herself manifested itself in the inverse: she gorged and then purged, fought and then cried with Charles. So, she basically led the most depressing life ever, and that's what I like about Diana, and this book: it makes the depressing stuff SO clear-cut. It was, after all, what Diana's entire life in the public eye consisted of. So. Hooray! A biography about Diana that actually addresses these issues. Three stars, Anne Edwards, three stars: a solid book. If only because Diana's bulimia and depression were actually discussed on a more than extremely superficial level.
July 18, 2019
The writing style of the biography particularly annoyed me, which made the book a bit difficult to read. I was not really surprised by any of the content, except perhaps at how immature both Diana and Charles were at the time of their marriage. Her dramatics which were never-ending, eating disorder coupled with her incredible NEED for love and her lack of preparation for the role she most covets were sad, but something we all knew. Charles’s rigidity, his ego bolstered by sport & Camilla, and his blatant need for an heir is both pathetic and tragic.
The only real information I gleaned from this book is the rationale for the Royal Family’s & the Queen’s “Loosening” of decorum and acceptance for human character traits in most recent years. Of course, they were losing their popularity contest. Diana showed them in death, more elegance, and maturity through the love of the subjects of the kingdom, than perhaps she did in life. An “OKAY” accounting of the life of England’s Rose.
The only real information I gleaned from this book is the rationale for the Royal Family’s & the Queen’s “Loosening” of decorum and acceptance for human character traits in most recent years. Of course, they were losing their popularity contest. Diana showed them in death, more elegance, and maturity through the love of the subjects of the kingdom, than perhaps she did in life. An “OKAY” accounting of the life of England’s Rose.
August 6, 2013
I'm not sure how this compares to other biographies of Diana, but I was fascinated by the history and traditions of the Royal Family. It was especially interesting to read how things changed after the Princess's death and in light of Will and Kate.
July 22, 2026
"The manner of Diana's death was so terrible that it will not be forgotten, but her person and life will be immortalized" (p. 341).
Twenty-nine years later, I still find myself fascinated by Diana and her struggles. I know I am not the only one. I think we want the ending to change somehow. To me, it's similar to the Titanic where I want to see if this tragedy could have been avoided. It's a futile attempt, but I keep finding myself drawn to her life. Many of us can relate to her struggles, and that's what gave Diana universal appeal. We all felt we understood her.
While this was written only two years after her death and is not as current with all of its information, I still think this is a well-researched biography. Edwards conducted many interviews and used high-quality sources to write this book, so don't let the older publishing date discourage you from reading this. I found Edwards narrative to be very engaging, and as a result, this book feels more like a novel at times where I am experiencing the trials simultaneously with Diana. Reading about her last few days alive and the accident, in particular, had me feeling as if these events just happened. However, I did notice a few mistakes in the editing and the wedding section was only one chapter, so I think this should have been combined into another section since they were all several chapters long.
Even though I have read other books about Diana, I still learned new information.
-Charles also loved another woman besides Camilla- Dale (he nicknamed Kanga), who he claimed "was the one woman who truly understood him" (p. 67). However, he was not ready for marriage so she married someone else. How many times can Charles make that same mistake?
-"Diana's need to give love was even greater than her need to receive it" (p. 69). Very true!
-I already knew this but I can never get over how Diana's grandmother (her mom's mom) sided with her dad instead of her daughter during the divorce. To top it off, her grandmother sided with Charles and "visited Charles just three days after the separation was announced... and to agonize with him over her granddaughter's ingratitude" (p. 235). I would never trust that Lady Fermoy! Sadly though, even Diana's dad said he would side with Charles if they divorced (he passed away before they separated).
-Diana eerily predicted her father would have a stroke.
-Diana's wedding dress was copied from one of her ancestors, Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire. (Keira Knightley played her in the movie, The Duchess.) Diana was "unaware that the Duchess had entered into a marriage crossed by infidelity, illness and emotional breakdown" (p. 128).
-Kanga and Camilla made a list of potential brides for Charles, and Diana was at the top of their list because "she would do nothing, the pair decided, to upset their position with Charles- Camilla as his mistress, Kanga as his 'best, good friend'" (p. 93).
-Andrew Parker Bowles, known as 'Old Roaming Hands' himself, joked about being willing to lay down his wife for his country (p. 146).
-Charles and Diana were only together for 38 days in 1987 (p. 207).
-I can't understand how the Queen blamed Diana for her husband's unfaithfulness when they all knew about Charles's relationships before they got married; Diana didn't!
-The Queen never allowed Margaret to marry Peter Townsend because he was divorced and as a result "the wrecked marriages of her three older children, along with Princess Margaret's to Lord Snowdon, seemed a revenge of biblical proportions" (p. 245).
-"On her divorce, Diana had insisted on forfeiting the twenty-four-hour security she had previously received from the Royal Protection Squad, although... it was not long before she realized that this had been a grave error of judgment" (p. 271).
-Dodi's staff recommended they reroute the plane to London and skip going to Paris, but Dodi and Diana did not want their plans changed because of the paparazzi even though Diana feared the Paris paparazzi the most (p. 293). Henri Paul, the driver, also decided to change their route on the drive home from using Champs Elysees to the Alma tunnel. The car he was driving supposedly had brake problems and "had been stolen in April and discovered... stripped and requiring $20,000 worth of repairs" (p. 307).
-The crash was at 12:24, but Diana did not arrive at the hospital until 2:05 am, an hour and forty minutes after the crash even though the hospital was less than five minutes away. This is partially because the rescue workers had to cut through metal to get her out, but also because in France they do not do the 'scoop and run' approach but try to give medical care on the scene first (p. 311).
-It's hard to measure the amount of grief caused by Diana's death, but this number gives light to the tragedy: 47 condolence books were filled out at St. James's Palace (p. 325).
I keep asking myself: If only they had worn their seatbelts, would Dodi and Diana still be alive? Similar to how after the Titanic tragedy I continue to wonder, if only they had enough lifeboats for everyone?
Perhaps, this is why we keep going back to these tragedies, and I will always be fascinated by Diana and the legacy she left behind.
Twenty-nine years later, I still find myself fascinated by Diana and her struggles. I know I am not the only one. I think we want the ending to change somehow. To me, it's similar to the Titanic where I want to see if this tragedy could have been avoided. It's a futile attempt, but I keep finding myself drawn to her life. Many of us can relate to her struggles, and that's what gave Diana universal appeal. We all felt we understood her.
While this was written only two years after her death and is not as current with all of its information, I still think this is a well-researched biography. Edwards conducted many interviews and used high-quality sources to write this book, so don't let the older publishing date discourage you from reading this. I found Edwards narrative to be very engaging, and as a result, this book feels more like a novel at times where I am experiencing the trials simultaneously with Diana. Reading about her last few days alive and the accident, in particular, had me feeling as if these events just happened. However, I did notice a few mistakes in the editing and the wedding section was only one chapter, so I think this should have been combined into another section since they were all several chapters long.
Even though I have read other books about Diana, I still learned new information.
-Charles also loved another woman besides Camilla- Dale (he nicknamed Kanga), who he claimed "was the one woman who truly understood him" (p. 67). However, he was not ready for marriage so she married someone else. How many times can Charles make that same mistake?
-"Diana's need to give love was even greater than her need to receive it" (p. 69). Very true!
-I already knew this but I can never get over how Diana's grandmother (her mom's mom) sided with her dad instead of her daughter during the divorce. To top it off, her grandmother sided with Charles and "visited Charles just three days after the separation was announced... and to agonize with him over her granddaughter's ingratitude" (p. 235). I would never trust that Lady Fermoy! Sadly though, even Diana's dad said he would side with Charles if they divorced (he passed away before they separated).
-Diana eerily predicted her father would have a stroke.
-Diana's wedding dress was copied from one of her ancestors, Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire. (Keira Knightley played her in the movie, The Duchess.) Diana was "unaware that the Duchess had entered into a marriage crossed by infidelity, illness and emotional breakdown" (p. 128).
-Kanga and Camilla made a list of potential brides for Charles, and Diana was at the top of their list because "she would do nothing, the pair decided, to upset their position with Charles- Camilla as his mistress, Kanga as his 'best, good friend'" (p. 93).
-Andrew Parker Bowles, known as 'Old Roaming Hands' himself, joked about being willing to lay down his wife for his country (p. 146).
-Charles and Diana were only together for 38 days in 1987 (p. 207).
-I can't understand how the Queen blamed Diana for her husband's unfaithfulness when they all knew about Charles's relationships before they got married; Diana didn't!
-The Queen never allowed Margaret to marry Peter Townsend because he was divorced and as a result "the wrecked marriages of her three older children, along with Princess Margaret's to Lord Snowdon, seemed a revenge of biblical proportions" (p. 245).
-"On her divorce, Diana had insisted on forfeiting the twenty-four-hour security she had previously received from the Royal Protection Squad, although... it was not long before she realized that this had been a grave error of judgment" (p. 271).
-Dodi's staff recommended they reroute the plane to London and skip going to Paris, but Dodi and Diana did not want their plans changed because of the paparazzi even though Diana feared the Paris paparazzi the most (p. 293). Henri Paul, the driver, also decided to change their route on the drive home from using Champs Elysees to the Alma tunnel. The car he was driving supposedly had brake problems and "had been stolen in April and discovered... stripped and requiring $20,000 worth of repairs" (p. 307).
-The crash was at 12:24, but Diana did not arrive at the hospital until 2:05 am, an hour and forty minutes after the crash even though the hospital was less than five minutes away. This is partially because the rescue workers had to cut through metal to get her out, but also because in France they do not do the 'scoop and run' approach but try to give medical care on the scene first (p. 311).
-It's hard to measure the amount of grief caused by Diana's death, but this number gives light to the tragedy: 47 condolence books were filled out at St. James's Palace (p. 325).
I keep asking myself: If only they had worn their seatbelts, would Dodi and Diana still be alive? Similar to how after the Titanic tragedy I continue to wonder, if only they had enough lifeboats for everyone?
Perhaps, this is why we keep going back to these tragedies, and I will always be fascinated by Diana and the legacy she left behind.
December 21, 2017
Wealth and happiness are not directly proportional but inversely proportional.
August 26, 2026
Liked this book
May 14, 2024
Just started today.
December 31, 2008
I shouldn't read books about people when I know they are going to die in the end. I cried and cried.
March 2, 2009
found out a few things that i didn't know.good information.
October 20, 2013
Had a historical tone to it
February 25, 2016
I learned so many more details surrounding Diana than I had previously known. I don't think I will ever be able to look at the older royals the same way again.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews