It is extremely rare for a single book, even a book about Diana, to make worldwide headlines, set off a furore of angry debate and put a formerly revered institution such as the British Royal Family into the firing line.
Shocking Royal Revelations
Yet this is precisely what happened when Diana; Her True story made its appearance in the bookshops. Written by a skilful journalist who was no rumor-mongering hack, the book was dynamite.
It revealed what some had long suspected, others had energetically denied and many had feared: that the marriage of the Prince and Princess of Wales was a sham. Morton claimed there was no great love-match, no wedded bliss, not even a measure of rub-along contentment.
The outward happiness and accord that Charles and Diana had shown to the world for nearly eleven years was exposed as deliberate camouflage. Behind the façade; Morton asserted, Diana was miserable. Charles did not love her, but was besotted with a long-standing mistress, Camilla Parker-Bowles.
A Damning Portrait of Prince Charles
The author painted a picture of a cold, arrogant royal husband, jealous of Diana’s success and contemptuous of her supposed lack of intellect and “trivial” interests. In the background, the unfeeling, hidebound Royal Family saw Diana as a “problem” and sought to sideline her and stifle her individuality. Behind them lay the courtiers whose job it as to whip Diana into line.
If the general message of Diana, Her True Story was shocking, the details were nothing short of appalling. Diana, Morton wrote, had attempted suicide five or six times and on one occasion threw herself down the stairs while pregnant.
On the very day she and Charles were married, Morton wrote, Diana discovered a bracelet in Charles” possession which was inscribed “Fred to Gladys”, Fred supposedly being Charles and Gladys, Camilla. On the honeymoon, photographs of Camilla were said to have fallen out of Charles’ diary and Diana noticed her new husband was wearing cufflinks inscribed with two intertwined Cs for Charles.and Camilla.
Camilla Parker-Bowles, the Mistress in the Background
The revelations carried on into 1982. Shortly after the birth of Prince William on June 21 of that year, Diana apparently overheard a conversation, presumably with Camilla, in which Charles said “Whatever happens, I will always love you.”
Later, it seemed that every time Diana pressed the “last number re-dial” button on Charles’ telephone, it rang in Camilla’s house and sometimes Camilla answered.
Diana as victim, Charles as blackguard
One-sided though Morton’s book obviously was, its effect was to iconize the princess and demonize Charles. In addition, it upended all previous notions of the Royal Family as exemplars of dignity, probity and even honor. The speed with which so many readers appeared willing to ditch their regard for the royals was one of the book’s most alarming outcomes.
Diana was presented as much more than an unhappy wife. Many were ready to believe that she was a martyr to her royal destiny and a sacrifice on the altar of the cruel Windsor dynasty.
Since 1981, Diana had built up a perception of sweetness, compassion, motherly devotion and beauty which held her legions of admirers in thrall. However, excessive public devotion to this image may have appeared, it was a predictable reaction.
Charles Caught in a No-Win Situation
Prince Charles, the ostensible villain of the piece, was completely outmaneuvered. Unfortunately, this added to the “oddball” image the Press had already given him as a devotee of alternative medicine, mystic religions and other cerebral interests which rang no bells with the general public.
On the other hand, Diana was far better suited to be the people’s darling and attract both sympathy and support as an appealing but misused young wife and mother. Charles was in an inescapable no-win situation which served to deepen his sense of fury and betrayal.
The Veracity of Morton’s Book
As Sarah, Duchess of York later wrote in her 1996 autobiography, there were some things for which no apology can be adequate and no recompense can be made. Diana, Her True Story was undoubtedly one of them. All the more so because of its air of authenticity which for many readers meant that it could not be dismissed as a piece of grubby gossip.
Andrew Morton had used the established method for royal biographies - talking to people who spent time with his subject such as friends, aides, servants, or at least those willing to reveal information. However, there was another, less common ingredient in Diana, Her True Story which suggested insider involvement.
Which of Morton’s informants could have been acquainted with such intimate detail? Who knew the anatomy of the royal marriage so well? Although the idea was consistently denied, the only possible answer was the Princess of Wales herself.
Sources
Morton, Andrew: DIANA HER TRUE STORY (Riverside, New Jersey: Simon and Schuster,1992) ASIN: B001MAZZW0
Hoey, Brian: CHARLES & DIANA: THE TENTH ANNIVERSARY( New York, NY: Viking Studio Books, 1991) ASIN: B002JMT9L8
Timeline: Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles
Brenda Ralph Lewis - My interest in history dates from childhood. I am presently the author of 120 books and hundreds of articles, all on historical ...
