Diana: Story of a Princess

by Tim Clayton, Phil Craig

The life story of Diana, Princess of Wales, at last is told in full. Here is the first complete, honest, and objective biography that shows all facets of this fascinating and enigmatic her magic, her manipulations, her dazzling public persona, and her role inside the world's most exposed marriage. Drawn from years of research and dozens of interviews with friends and associates speaking on the record for the first time, and based on the groundbreaking four-hour ITV/The Learning Channel documentary series, Diana contains never-before-revealed detailed accounts and stunning insights, including Diana's closest friends and colleagues as they refute the suggestion that she was "unbalanced" before she met her future husband confirmation by a family member that Diana wanted to withdraw from the wedding only weeks before, as she learned more of her husband-to-be's secret relationships with other women the loaded implications of Diana's pre-wedding lunch with Camilla Parker Bowles, held, ironically, at the Ménage à Trois restaurant new witnesses to the traumatic early years of Charles and Diana's marriage, and the loneliness that lay behind Diana's spectacular public success interviews with senior royal officials, men and women who have never before shared their unique and objective views on the failure of the marriage the truth, at last, about the allegation that Diana suffered from borderline personality disorderthe shocking story of a smear campaign a world-exclusive interview with both James Hewitt and his mother, Shirley, including touching accounts of Hewitt's affair with Diana -- and why his family believed that the romance was considered "authorized" never-before-told details about Diana's "alternative family life" during the late 1980s -- the weekends she spent with the Hewitts even when James was away, and heartwarming stories of the close friendship she established with her surrogate mother-in-law, Shirley Hewitt completely new details of the "arrangement," widely accepted inside the royal household, between two couples -- Charles and Camilla, James and Diana -- and their week-on, week-off sharing of their country home the gruesome tactics of the paparazzi -- and the Palace's refusal to bar the "paps" from royal functions confirmation from her closest confidantes that Diana made nuisance phone calls to a married art dealer surprising revelations from those closely involved with Diana's charity work about how vindictive and spiteful she could be in her final years -- contrasted with a powerful account of her land mine crusade and her tender ministrations to victims the real reason the royal family remained at Balmoral after Diana's death -- and how the fear of angry mobs may have prompted a warning from Scotland their safety in London could not be guaranteed. Featuring thirty-two rare and unfamiliar photographsincluding seven never before published -- Diana not only captures the princess as she was, but also places her story in the context of twenty years of frantic social and economic change. It will stand as the ultimate, and ultimately most enlightening, telling of Diana's extraordinary life.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Royalty, History, Biography Memoir, British Literature

416 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[L'aura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been dreading Diana biographies for years because they were usually either from the pitiful, Andrew-Morton inspired “poor little angel” camp or from the Palace-backed, monarchy-stanning “crazy bitch” one. Indeed, the reason I decided to read this one was a goodreads comment saying it would destroy the saintly image of the princess for those who still had it. And boy aren’t they so many.
Clayton and Craig worked on a documentary I’m now desperately looking for and used the information they found to also write this book, just one of the many on the lady Diana Spencer but possibly the only one that’s inherently journalistic, and not in a tabloid nor a Vanity Fair way. The thing about Diana is, especially after Morton published his hardly fact-checked interview disguised as a biography, everything she ever said was pretty much the “she said” part of the inevitable “he said, she said” shitstorm that stems from any divorce. And who would believe the version of an ugly old prince over the one of the shiny beautiful princess who went to national television to avenge herself along with every scorned woman on the planet?
The book doesn’t simply try to debunk the many myths Diana built for herself, however. When the prince’s version isn’t convincing, you will know it. There is no illusion here that Charles and his family never rang a PR or tried to make Camilla Parker Bowles more tolerable for the broken-hearted Di fans. The portrait of the princess turns out to be sympathetic if at times a little frustrated.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I grew up watching Princess Diana and Prince Charles. I watched their wedding. I watched her funeral. I read her book. I didn’t read his. I was pro-Diana, all the way. After reading this book, I see just how manipulative she was and found, in fact, not be a very nice person. She was a complicated woman who wanted things her way, when she wanted them. She seemed demanding and very needy, dependent on others. My heart breaks for her because she was in a bad marriage from the start since Charles couldn’t let go of Camilla. That’s hard. But two wrongs never make a right. We will never know the truth of their marriage. Only Charles and Diana know that. But I found this book interesting because it seemed unbiased; it shows good and bad sides of both parties.

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the latest title I've read in the ever-growing list of Diana biographies. This account initially starts out as a rebuttal of the Diana-was-crazy theme, an approach that was later sketched out quite persuasively by Sally Bedell Smith's book. The authors tend to downplay Diana's bulemia, and claim that her tumble-down-the-stairs incident during her first pregnancy was just a slight slip down three stairs, not a full-fledged suicide attempt. I think they do succeed in showing Diana in the first years of the relationship as a somewhat naive and unsophisticated girl, not properly coached for royal duties. Prince Charles comes across mostly as a self-centered cad. However, in later years, as Diana recognized the power she could wield through the mass media, she became shrewd and calculating, picking charity visits mostly for their photogenic value. So the reader ends up not having much sympathy for either her or Charles, nor for the Queen and Prince Philip for that matter. The book tends to be anthology of lengthy quotes from friends and acquaintances of Di. It is sort of a mishmash. The authors don't explain who should be considered the most reliable sources, and who are basically covering their rears for posterity. So we are left with a "she said, he said" murkiness. Another quibble: the authors don't make clear their own role as journalists covering Diana. I did enjoy the many details given about the affair with James Hewitt, who ended up being treated rather shabbily by Diana. I wish the book had more material about Diana's relationship with her sons, and how she balanced maternal duties against her busy schedule of celebrity appearances. I also would have liked more about the viewpoint of the Royal Family, especially Charles' siblings. Particularly now, as UK is caught up in Diamond Jubilee fever, and Charles and Camilla seemingly have grown in popularity, it would be timely to consider whether really all-is-forgiven among the British subjects.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I felt this was a pretty balanced look at Diana's life. Of course I had always seen her on the tabloids and knew of her beauty and good works, but this was an interesting side I had never known. I also didn't realize how brutal the Brit tabloids are. Very interesting history of her and Chrales from the get-go. So many events, people, and incidents seemed to collide to ruin what could have been a real fairy-tale. Let us hope that the world treats Kate Middleton with much more kindness!

[John Yelverton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Typical biography that fed on the complete madness following her death.

[Della Tingle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, but it also made me sad. I remember the wedding. I watched coverage on tv. When I married, I had read in a magazine to send an invitation to Princess Di and she would write back. I did send her an invitation; she did not write back. 🤪 I also remember the night Diana died. My ex-husband had set my best friend up on a blind date with a guy who wanted to build his own house out of recycled tires. 🛞 I remember thinking, “What in the world?!” 😯 We were on a double date just hanging out and talking when it was made known Diana had died.

The scrutiny…I don’t think I would handle such a life well. One tabloid actually “hired a professional lip-reader” to be sure they knew exactly what the conversation was between royals (86). Later, “the News of the World hired an expert in body language to study” Charles and Diana (161). My mind isn’t devious enough to even think of such! 😮

What life could Diana have led had she not died so young and in such a needlessly tragic way?

[Mara · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I wasn't overall very impressed with the cut-and-paste feel of this book, I have come away from it with a deeper respect for Prince Charles, who while he wasn't always very good to her in life, seems to have tried his hardest to do the very best he could for her in death.

[Jackie Latham · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it. I don't remember the special but I'm sure I saw it. The Youtubers I watch have been raving about this book. Its kinda hard to read some of these bio's now no matter how good and well researched they are, specifically regarding her last year. Now that we now that Bashir manipulated information so she would believe she was being spied on by the palace its hard to read to take it completely serious. Was she paranoid? I don't know but I do believe that she would of had the proper protection if she had not believed Bashir. I also believe that summer was a summer of fun not a serious relationship & she would of gone on to help more people and find her self a nice man be it Hasnet Kahn or some other man.

[Charlotte Foxell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must for Diana fans

A readable account of the late Diana Princess of Wales. I enjoyed this because it was a balanced view of the events surrounding the Princess.

[fiona wilde · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great unbiased read

Nicely weighted for and against the most talked about and photographed icon of the Modern Age.... HRH Diana, Princess of Wales

[Autumn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Arguably my favorite biography of Princess Di, a somewhat balanced account of her life.

[Marie]

I own this book and I'm not entirely sure when or where I picked it up. I'm sure it was because of my interest in Princess Diana and the monarchy as a whole that first drew me to the title. However, this book took me a full year to read. I would pick it up and then put it down for months at a time, which should probably be an indication of how I feel about the book overall.

My opinion is pretty ambivalent. I didn't hate this book, but I didn't love it either. I appreciated that the authors tried to highlight Princess Diana from the view of friends and colleagues who knew her in her lifetime to paint a more complex picture of the woman that she was. Learning about her relationships with people she met through her work was interesting information and painted a picture of Princess Diana's complex human nature.

However, there were instances throughout the book that I didn't think were necessary. For example, in the last chapter detailing how she died. That felt really unnecessary. That chapter simply could have focused on Prince Charles and the Royal family without going into any other details about the crash.

I also didn't enjoy the parts of the book that I felt were a bit psycho-analytical of the Princess. I think the goal of this book was to discuss that she was not perfect, because she was in fact, human. A fair thing to do given that her tragic death did give her a bit of a sainted image in the media and hearts and minds of the people. I fully agree with the authors that by erasing any wrongs or mistakes Princess Diana may have made is also erasing her humanity. However, in many instances throughout the book, it felt a bit like the authors were looking for a psychological diagnosis for why she behaved the way she did. They say there is little evidence to suggest she had Borderline Personality Disorder, but then spend great parts of the book saying that there is evidence of depression and anxiety and maybe an eating disorder, but wait there are other first-hand accounts that refute this. First, you never met the woman so you can't use other people's perceptions to diagnose her. Second, neither of you is a clinical psychologist so you are not using science to back your claims just what you think the disease is supposed to look like based on, I would assume, portrayal in culture or perhaps something they read in a book. Third and most irritatingly it could have been several psychological disorders or none of them. It doesn't matter as those cannot be taken in isolation from her whole life/personality.

This book is very middle of the road. I learned some interesting things about Princess Diana's early life, charity work, and relationship with James Hewitt. However, I think that this book only examines certain aspects of her life. Not everyone interviewed was that close to her and it's clear the biases of the interviewees were integrated into the overall narrative. This book can be summed up by saying Princess Diana was kind, friendly, loving, and had a quality that brought great comfort to people, but she also had flaws where she snapped at people, cut them off if she felt slighted, and changed her mind frequently. In other words, she was a complex human just like the non-gentry and royals among us.

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cancer, Cursing, Eating disorder, Self-harm, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Colonisation

The last chapter of this book goes into a lot of detail about how Princess Diana died. Likely the authors obtained a medical report of some kind.

[Paige · Rating 3 out of 5]

”Diana, whose voice could be piercingly loud, was frequently heard berating Charles for some supposedly selfish act...”

There were times when I felt like the authors of this book were offering a balanced look at different points in Diana’s life, especially when they would quote the people who knew her personally. However, there were instances where she was portrayed as “unstable”, especially in terms of her supposed behavior disorder (and mental health in general), that contributed to what I felt was an unfair approach. There’s a part in the book that explicitly quotes someone who points out that there was a clear double standard in how Diana and Charles were covered by the media, and therefore how they were treated by people in general. Diana’s story and public reception is a good example of media framing and agenda setting, and could easily be studied in that manner. I’d be interested in reading accounts of how female writers view Diana’s life, and specifically how she was treated by the public.

[Claire Binkley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book says the obvious. Americans love Diana. I can see that. But it doesn't explain why. Then again, am I asking for a psychology or psychiatry inquiry from some arbitrary book I found in the stacks last week? What does that say about me?

This book does have plenty of interesting things to consider about Diana Spencer and some tasteful pictures of her, so I can't fault the authors for any of the rest. You may want to look at it when you have a moment.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Detailed look inside the late Princess Diana's world. Well-researched with first- hand accounts by reliable sources inside the royal circle's of Diana's and Prince Charles' worlds. Reading this book, I got a better sense of how multi-faceted Diana was; her compassionate, vulnerable side and her manipulative, insecure side.

[Ketsia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like that this book was not to acuse The Royal Family or favor the one over the other, but it's a story. I liked that Diana's story was told truthfully ; even though certain people adored her, she still had her flaws and that Diana was not necessarily adored by others for specific reasons.
This book told both sides of the truth.
Including Charles's opinions and thoughts.

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought I had read everything available on this subject. I haven't. There is material in this book I've never read before. I think the authors try to be balanced by being very hard on Princess Diana.

[Reda Marozienė · Rating 4 out of 5]

Princesės Dianos biografija. Patiko tai, kad Dianos asmenybė nėra idealizuota, aprašytos tiek jos teigiamos, tiek ir neigiamos savybės. Norėjosi daugiau pasakojimo apie jos santykius su vaikais. Įdomu buvo skaityti, kaip žiniasklaida gali manipuliuoti ir parodyti žmogų iš gerosios arba blogosios pusės, kaip ji pati nori (vaikus abu mylėjo vienodai, bet Diana buvo rodoma kaip pavyzdinga motina, o princas Čarlzas kaip neatsakingas tėvas, nerodantis vaikams dėmesio. O tai buvo netiesa).

[Tyra Warrington · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book.

[Sue Whiting · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read

Informative and interesting read. This book neither condemns or makes its subject out to be a saint. Pretty balanced account.

[Kate Faas · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up. This was fun to read alongside watching “The Crown.”

[Luka Onee-san · Rating 5 out of 5]

Keista, kad tiek žmonių stovėjo Princo pusėje ir nematė jo elgesyje nieko blogo ☹️

[Abel Lima · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read, getting the perspective of both Princess Diana and Prince Charles.

[Stacie C · Rating 4 out of 5]

For my birthday in 1997, I had a sleepover in a tent in my backyard. I remember waking up very early in the morning, it was still dark out, going into the house and seeing my mother awake on the couch watching Princess Diana’s funeral. I knew then that she was beautiful, royalty and had died tragically in a car crash. I also knew that she had been married to Prince Charles and had two sons. I remember the purple Beanie Baby that was released in honor of Princess Di. I remember everyone had great things to say about her. I have always been fascinated by her because so many people said they loved or admired her. Diana: Story of a Princess was a very interesting biography. Interesting because it takes into account not only the life of Diana but the way she was portrayed in the media. It answered the questions I had regarding the woman I witnessed my mother crying over.

So what did I learn about Princess Diana? I learned that she wasn’t born royalty but she became a lady when her father inherited the title of Earl. Her parents divorced when she was young and she spent time in a boarding school. She wasn’t the smartest girl in class and had regular issues with testing. She worked at a kindergarten and as a nanny. She married at 20 years old after dreaming for years about marrying Prince Charles. She was aware that Charles had in some way been involved with Camilla before they were ever married. She felt underappreciated by Charles’ family and as the marriage deteriorated so did her relationship with her in laws. Diana too had an affair while married to Charles. She had been planning to divorce Charles for years before it finally happened. She also struggled with bulimia before and during the marriage. She seemed to have a love/hate relationship with the media, and was well aware of how to use it to her advantage. Diana was a humanitarian who believed in the power of physically touching and embracing others. She wasn’t perfect but no one is.

Tim Clayton and Phil Craig took a very practical route in creating this biography. They relayed information in an unbiased way, relaying more than one side to each story allowing the reader to come to their own conclusion. They included the perspective of the media and how a personality like Diana was constantly in front of and scrutinized by the public eye. There are numerous statements throughout by various people in Diana’s life they give this story a great amount of intimacy, making her story more personable and relatable. Clayton and Craig didn’t shy away from the negative aspects of her personality. I wanted to learn about who Diana was and I feel like I have a better understanding of her after reading this biography. What I’ve listed above about her is just a sketch of the information provided in this almost 400 page biography. I would definitely recommend this biography and give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Full review and many more reviews available at The Next Book On My List

[Cronache di Betelgeuse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recensione pubblicata su Cronache di Betelgeuse

Questo libro rappresenta una ricostruzione della vita di Diana, con spezzoni di interviste ai suoi amici e collaboratori. L’idea è affascinante ma troppo asettica, con un susseguirsi di dichiarazioni che non suscitano molte emozioni. Non c’è nessuna riflessione critica su Diana, sui suoi errori e sulle sue qualità.

Percorriamo la sua vita come se fossimo un giornalista a caccia di informazioni, cercando amici e parenti che la conoscevano già in tenera età. Nell’insieme di voci raccolte si fatica, però, a capire chi la conoscesse veramente e chi invece riporta informazioni solo “per sentito dire”. Diana è così raffigurata come una ragazzina romantica e generosa, ma anche come una fredda calcolatrice alla ricerca della fama e della gloria.

Non mancano alcune curiosità sulla sua vita, come per esempio la sua relazione con i giornalisti e le telecamere. Diana attraversava dei periodi in cui provava un odio profondo per l’assedio che i media le davano, ma allo stesso tempo era in grado di sfruttarli per promuovere la sua immagine.

I rapporti con i reali e suoi mariti sono riportati attraverso le dichiarazioni dei rispettivi collaboratori, in un gioco di potere che mira a risaltare i difetti degli opponenti rispetto alle qualità eccelse del proprio protetto. Sta a noi scegliere a quale delle due teorie credere: quella in cui Diana è riportata come una povera ragazza che soffriva di disturbi psichici o quella in cui il suo grande sogno romantico si sia infranto contro un muro di burocrati e tradimento.

Sulla rapporto con i figli non sono spese molte parole. E’ un peccato perché avrebbe potuto mostrare un lato diverso rispetto alla figura pubblica di Diana, per avvicinarla più a una persona normale e non all’idea mitica che ormai la gente si è fatta di lei.

[Georgiana R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Diana: Story of a Princess was very intriguing to read. I have read other books about Diana and all of them seemed to be quite unbiased in their views of not only Diana, but of the relationships she had with Charles her husband and the British Royal Family, otherwise known as the "firm". This book was extremely biased in Diana's direction, but in my opinion it was cleverly written to appear biased when in fact it left me for once genuinely questioning whether she did things for the sake of others or for the sake of self. I doubt we will ever know the real truth about this remarkable and yet to me, clearly disturbed woman.

The pivotal point for me came when Diana dumped 100 charities because she lost her HRH title. In my opinion this, like the Morton book and the Panorama interview was an act of revenge. But did this diminish her capacity for caring for others? No. Regardless of her motives, people did benefit enormously from what she accomplished, and for that I applaud her.

Do I think she was an innocent Saint? Not a hope, but which of us is?

Most enjoyable read!

[Barb Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought this woman had class! But after reading this book have mixed feelings about how she handled her personal life. Unfortunately she had personal problems which were not helped by marring Charles.To her credit, she was a devoted Mother and loved children.Her public life ....she devoted to helping the underprivlidged. I think Charles is a poor excuse for a royal........a person who behaves badly and gets away with it because he has power and money.


Jacket
Diana contains information and insights about the beloved -- and largely misunderstood -- Princess of Wales.
From claims that Diana was ready to leave Charles just weeks before the wedding to her lifelong battle against depression, from world-exclusive interviews with Diana's beau James Hewitt and her "surrogate mother-in-law" Shirley Hewitt to details about the unconventional "arrangements" in the royal household -- between Diana and James, Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles -- Diana is an honest, objective biography.

[Julianne Buterbaugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Diana: Story of a Princess was very insightful. Surprisingly, it wasn't biased toward her or toward the royal family; it was simply informational. I learned so much from this book and through Diana's experience with eating disorders, the media (very heavily, the media), and the grey areas of love. I saw from someone else's eyes how much the media effects us every single day. Not only did I learn so much about the life of Diana Spencer, but I also learned about British culture and the monarchy. Moreover, I really enjoyed reading this book. However, there are some place names and people that aren't explained, like the name of small cities in Great Britain and past Monarchs which I didn't understand.

[Safra Ducreay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did like this book. Again, I read it during a time when I was coming into myself - in my early twenties. I'd never paid much attention to Princess Diana as a little girl - but I remember her death, actually I remember precisely where I was and the reaction it stirred from my family. She was a human, with human problems and under a tremendous amount of pressure. She did not have the life anyone would want - and that's not from the glamorous perspective of wearing a tiara and sequinned embellished gowns. She suffered greatly. And I did appreciate this book considering I didn't read-up about this wonderful lady in the past.

[Tricia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hard copy, checked out from library.
There were a few things I learned from this book, although I already had learned much of it.
There were many interviews and quotes from Diana herself and many people who interacted with her. The whole story is just so sad. I don't blame either Diana or Charles. It was a terrible situation. If the royal family would have let Charles marry Camilla in the beginning, this would have saved a lot of heartache for a lot of people.
I will always wonder about her "accident".