Diana: Her True Story--in Her Own Words

After watching The Crown last winter, I wanted to learn more about Princess Diana beyond the dramatized version on television, and this book was exactly what I was looking for. It provides a much more detailed account of her life, relationships, and the pressures she faced as a member of the royal family. The writing is engaging and easy to follow, making it difficult to put down. While it's important to remember that biographies often rely on available sources and perspectives, this edition offers a thoughtful and comprehensive look at Diana's life. The large-print format is also a nice bonus, making it comfortable to read for extended periods. If The Crown sparked your curiosity about Princess Diana and you'd like to separate historical events from dramatization, this is an excellent place to start.

Princess Diana is one of the world’s most beloved princesses. Even twenty years after her death, she is still one of the world’s most prolific royals. Her legacy for humanitarian work still continues to fascinate and inspire millions. In this biography of Princess Diana, Mr. Morton gives an insight into this tragic but fascinating woman. He chronicles her tribulations as well as the legacy she leaves behind. He portrays Diana as a woman who felt the pressure of being royal and always sought to find her freedom and happiness. After reading Diana: Her True Story in Her Own Words, Diana seemed real and very human. Her life was not as glamorous as the photographs made her out to be. I could empathize with her on the problems she faced, such as her parent’s divorce, her struggles with bulimia, her reactions to Camilla, and her unhappy marriage with Charles. This biography also showed Diana’s flaws; she was idealistic, naive, rebellious, and temperamental. However, she was determined, hard-working, and a loving individual. She was a woman who battled with mental illness, the pressure of the press and the royal family, and with her unhappiness. Diana had very low-self-esteem. Throughout her life, her truest enemy was herself and she always strove to find confidence. Therefore, this biography shows a very intimate portrait of the “People’s Princess”. The biography is well-written. I was so enthralled by Princess Diana’s story that I read it in one sitting. I also liked how the author put together a collection of interviews that Diana had recorded. I loved that because it is like Diana’s autobiography and it gives us more of an insight into the princess. Therefore, I highly recommend Diana: Her True Story in Her Own Words. Mr. Morton not only shows Princess Diana as a complex individual, but also why Diana has captured the hearts of millions. You can see why Diana’s long-lasting legacy still carries on to this day.

If any thinking person suffered the illusion that the British monarchy was anything other than a kind of cheap floor show at a gambling casino to sucker foreign tourists into supporting the island's Gross National Product (GNP), Andrew Morton dispels it in "Diana, Her True Story," based largely on the confessions of Lady Diana Spencer herself to the author. Morton makes clear that Diana indeed was part of one of the greatest love stories ever told. Unfortunately it was the love story between Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles, with Diana in a supporting role as an unintended voyeur. Morton also makes clear that the Prince's love for and relationship with Camilla Parker-Bowles was constant, without interruption, and his courtship of Diana, their royal marriage, and the birth of their sons William and Harry, were merely sideshows for public consumption, while in his real life he snuck out to see Camilla, hunted, played polo, and went on about his royal rounds. The book's only weakness, in my judgment, is its slim size. I was taken aback to find it merely 160 pages, astonishingly slender, for such an interesting subject. And nearly 30 of those pages is occupied by photographs of Diana. Yet the photographs, many taken by Diana and her friends, turns out to be the truest picture of the late Princess, as it shows her in friendly and intimate moments and not posing at royal occasions. This is, of course, Diana's side of the story, but Morton makes a compelling case that Charles was a mean cad who ridiculed Diana at every turn, had no patience for the pains of her bulimia, although he did send her to an army of psychiatrists after she attempted suicide at least five times, constantly criticized what clothes she wore, and consistently admonished whatever she said in public. Like most people who eventually succeed at speaking and appearing in public, Diana was in truth very shy. Yet when she mastered the art, the diminutive Prince Charles, who stands around 5 feet four, was jealous that his much taller Princess, who stood more than 5 feet ten, became far more popular. Indeed, left alone essentially without a husband, Diana turned to her public. Diana, Morton vividly illustrates, was loved by the public because she truly loved people. Long before she was dragged out of obscurity to serve as the birther of a royal heir, she had dropped out of high school to take care of children, had a particular affinity with the sick which would reach its crescendo of public attention with dying AIDS patients and victims of land mine accidents. Because of her genuine kindness and affinity for public duty, Princess Lady Diana Spencer, Princess of Wales to her death after her divorce from Charles, emerges from these pages as a kind of champion of the egalitarian Britain of the Greatest Generation, and a contrast to the greedy English speaking world policies launched by Margaret Thatcher, which slashed the safety net for most working people, while it increased the billion dollar holdings of the wealthy, such as the royal family. It led to the greatest concentration of income at the top in modern history, and the after effects still paralyze the international banking system and the retirement security of the English, Americans, Australians, and to a lesser extent, the Canadians. But what the heck. Princess Diana is dead and Prince Charles still hunts and plays polo. [Hansen Alexander is author of "The Death of Chauvinism," a comic novel, and "An Introduction to the Laws of the United States in the 21rst Century," an Amazon, e-book exclusive.]

A good read

I was born in 1979, so there's a lot I remember about Princess Diana. I remember the divorce and all that being in the news and the covers of just about every magazine. My dad always spoke about her very highly and had so much respect for her and the charity work she did. I was almost 18 when the tv broke through the night of the accident when she died. Even though I never knew her or even met her, I cried a lot. We all did. My brother was away at college and asked me to record the funeral coverage on tv, which meant that I had to get up early around 4am to get a tape and hit record on the vcr (yes, it was that long ago). When I saw this book and learned how it was basically written in her words and was truly her story, I had to get it. I think it is so sad how the royal family treated her. There were a few times that I found myself crying while reading this, especially when it came to her feelings about herself and her eating disorder. She had so much class you could practically see it radiating from her. And she was so very pretty, especially as she got a little older and cut her hair. I can only hope that she was truly happy and content during the last week of her life. She definitely deserved all the happiness that life could bring her. But the fact that her life was cut short so suddenly and that she had to miss seeing her boys get married and become fathers just breaks my heart. I lost my dad when I was 18 and my mom just 5 years later, before I became a parent so I know exactly how her kids feel. It's not anything I would want for anyone to endure. This book was absolutely amazing and I learned so much about Diana and everything she went through and accomplished. Even though I don't have a high opinion of Charles, I still wish him the best and I hope he's happy with who he's with now. If you want to know more about the princess and the indelible mark she made throughout the world, I definitely recommend this book!! Reading the words and knowing that they are actually from her mouth makes it all the more special. Regardless of how much time has passed, I don't think that Diana will ever be forgotten. At least I hope that she's not. Five stars all the way!!!

I don’t read many biographies but this one really interested me. I was a teenager when most of this occurred so I have memories of when Princess Diana and Prince Charles got married. I remember there being some issues with their marriage and I specifically remember watching on tv the accident and how long it took them to get her out of the car. I chose not to believe that she was dead. There had to be hope but the reality was that she would’ve been taken much faster than she was. I didn’t know much about the monarchy. I didn’t know if she and prince Charles were in love or was the marriage arranged. I assumed arranged because the whole Camilla nugget. What a horrible horrible thing to do. Why marry someone when you are clearly in love with someone else!?!? Horrible. It made me incredibly sad to read what she felt in her heart about herself. I just wanted to grab her and hug her and become her confidant. She needed one. I would’ve loved to be that for her. I enjoyed this book very much. I wanted to know more about her and her work. Mission accomplished! It makes me proud that Princes Harry and William remember her and carry on her legacy. I’m also proud that the traits that she felt were so important were indeed passed on. She would be so incredibly proud of her boys. I can see her holding a grand baby up in the air with a huge smile on her face. You did good Princess. You did good. Warning... ugly tears will happen when reading this book. There were some really tough moments. But so so worth it.

It's hard to understand how so many readers have not noticed the red flags about Diana's personality in this book. Some things sound like blatant lies, others, half-truths. I will cite the most glaring behaviors and claims that caught my attention. 1. Her bulimia started at the age of 19, when Charles (allegedly) made an insensitive comment about her having a little extra flesh around her waist? Not buying it. Eating disorders usually manifest much earlier in life. 2. She threw up every day, several times a day, for approximately 10 years, but that didn't affect her teeth or her skin making it obvious to friends and family? And most importantly, she still managed to carry 2 pregnancies to term? 3. She hired astrologists and clairvoyants? Spare me! What did she need them for if she had premonitions herself? 4. Diana worked as a cleaning lady? She grew up with a staff! She probably did not even know what a vacuum cleaner was. 5. Diana was cleaning her kitchen floor on her hands and knees when she told her friend about an invitation from Charles? She was a millionaire but she didn't hire a maid? 6. Diana doesn't mention to Charles that there is a crowd of photographers outside her house after she had contacted the Palace for help on the matter? 7. Diana grew up a millionaire, attending parties regularly, but only has one long dress, one silk shirt, and one pair of fancy shoes? Imagine the poor thing inside a gigantic semi-empty closet with a thermometer in her mouth and an ice bag on her head. 8. She moves into the Palace and is not assigned a team? (no publicist, fashion consultant, assistant, hairdresser, makeup artist, bodyguard, personal trainer, vocal coach, etc.). And she was not presented with the Order of Precedence? - a document that outlines royal etiquette and protocol). 9. She couldn't confide in her closest friends about how miserable she was, to avoid demystifying the fairy tale they had on their minds? How close were they? 10. Charles told Diana that his father "had agreed that if, after five years, his marriage was not working he could go back to his bachelor habits." When did he ever abandon his bachelor habits anyway? 11. "Her greatest luxury in life was to sit down with baked beans on toast and watch television." Right. 12. Except that she really didn't have time for baked beans on toast and TV with such a hectic schedule: massage, aromatherapy, acupuncture, swimming at the Palace, workout with the London City Ballet, personal trainer, tai chi lessons, therapists, concerts, operas, skiing holidays, lunches and dinners with friends. 13. After the separation, she had the Kensington Palace redecorated. Her day started at 7 a.m. with breakfast, followed by a workout at the gym. At 9 a.m. she had her hair done, and at 10 she made phone calls to friends and family. Later she went shopping as an antidote for boredom and depression. After she felt all better, she answered letters from the public, had lunch with friends, went to watch her sons play sports at school, and read novels in the garden, but through it all, she felt imprisoned. It sounds suffocating. 14. "She missed her children badly." So much that when they came to stay with her every other weekend, she couldn't make an exception and skip the gym to have breakfast with them. Instead, she kept her usual schedule while the boys had breakfast with the nanny, who also supervised their dressing. 15. When a close friend of Diana's who was dying from aids had to be transferred to another hospital because his condition worsened, she could not keep her promise of being by his side because she HAD to go on a holiday cruise on the Mediterranean aboard a yacht owned by a millionaire friend. Clearly, the friend who offered the best deal got precedence. 16. Prince Charles borrowed a bed from William after breaking his arm playing polo and refused to give the bed back when William asked for it? How many bedrooms and beds are there in those houses again? And why would someone need to borrow somebody else's bed because of a fractured arm? 17. "Her psychic abilities and uncanny empathy with those making their last spiritual journey strengthened her conviction that in another existence she had been a nun." Why not the Buddha or Cleopatra? 18. "After a day watching native dancers in unbearable humidity or sipping a cup of some foul-tasting liquid, she often telephoned her friends to regale them with the latest absurdities.`The things I do for England,' was her favourite phrase." The superior being who could see the inside of people's souls in a spectacular display of lack of respect for other cultures and peoples! Ah! The empathy of an amoeba! 19. "Why don't you rape someone else?" So, it's OK to rape someone as long as it's not her?! Tsk, tsk, tsk... 20. Whether or not it is true that Charles was disappointed when he found out that Harry was a boy (Charles allegedly wanted a girl), it takes a horribly narcissistic mother to splash that information on the newspapers to attack her husband, disregarding the pain that would cause her son. I'm glad I have read the book to learn about the other side of Diana. This was certainly not the effect she expected when she had it written. Christopher Hitchens was right when he called her a ”disco-loving airhead.”

Half way through. Good read

Livro apaixonante de uma pessoa que mesmo estando no mais alto nível, tinha a simplicidade de uma pessoa comum, com suas qualidade e defeitos ela se mostrou tão humana como qualquer um demais, sem aquele perfil da alta corte de frieza e padrões estereotipado. Diana foi perfeita, um ensinamento pro mundo!

It's a good book .l

Fast delivery and a book worth reading.

The book shows the inner turmoil and struggles of the princess. Heart well up quite a number of times reading about her ordeal, how she was treated in the royal family and what she endured on her and own and finally when she was beginning to find some consistent happiness it was time for her to go. Her kindness and compassion is overwhelming the qualities she instilled in her children is exemplary. Loved reading and knowing her. Such a great and beautiful soul.

The book is so old. The pages are so yellow.