biography of princess diana pdf

Princess Diana

Princess Diana was Princess of Wales while married to Prince Charles. One of the most adored members of the British royal family, she died in a 1997 car crash.

We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back.

Who Was Princess Diana?

Quick facts, early life and family, relationship with prince charles, divorce from prince charles, post-divorce life, funeral, gravesite, and legacy, portrayals in pop culture.

Diana, Princess of Wales, was the first wife of Prince Charles , the future king of the United Kingdom, and was the mother of Prince William and Prince Harry . Born Diana Frances Spencer, she became Lady Diana Spencer after her father inherited the title of Earl Spencer in 1975. She married Charles on July 29, 1981, and after a largely unhappy union under constant scrutiny from the media, they divorced in 1996. Diana died on August 31, 1997, from injuries she sustained in a car crash in Paris. She is remembered as the “People’s Princess” because of her widespread popularity and global humanitarian efforts.

FULL NAME: Diana Frances Spencer BORN: July 1, 1961 DIED: August 31, 1997 BIRTHPLACE: Sandringham, England, United Kingdom SPOUSE: King Charles III (1981-1996) CHILDREN: Prince William and Prince Harry ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Cancer

Diana was born on July 1, 1961, near Sandringham, England. Diana was the daughter of Edward John Spencer, the Viscount Althorp, and Frances Ruth Burke Roche, who was later known as the Honorable Frances Shand Kydd. Diana had two older sisters, Jane Fellowes and Sarah McCorquodale, and a younger brother, Charles Spencer, 9 th Earl Spencer. Another brother, John, died in infancy a year before Diana was born. Her grandmothers Cynthia Spencer and Ruth Roche were both ladies-in-waiting to Queen Mother Elizabeth .

When Diana was young, her parents divorced. There had been great strain on their marriage due to the pressure to produce a male heir prior to Charles’ birth, with Diana’s mother being sent to clinics to determine why she had not yet delivered a boy. Charles later said he believed this strain was “the root of their divorce,” according to Andrew Morton’s book Diana: Her True Story . Diana’s father won custody of the children following the divorce. He later married Raine, Countess of Dartmouth, with whom Diana had a poor relationship. Diana described her childhood as “very unhappy” and “very unstable,” according to Morton.

Following her initial education at home, Diana attended Riddlesworth Hall School and then West Heath School. Although she was known for her shyness while growing up, she showed an interest in music and dancing. She became Lady Diana Spencer after her father inherited the title of Earl Spencer in 1975. Diana had a great fondness for children. After attending finishing school at Institut Alpin Videmanette in Switzerland, she moved to London. She began working with children, eventually becoming an assistant at Young England Kindergarten.

Diana met Prince Charles in 1977, when he was dating her older sister Sarah. Although 13 years her senior, Charles first took interest in her as a potential bride when they reconnected at a mutual friend’s home during the summer of 1980. Charles was usually the subject of media attention, and his courtship of Diana was no exception. The press and the public were fascinated by this seemingly odd couple—the reserved, garden-loving prince and the shy young woman with an interest in fashion and popular culture. Diana met Charles’ family during a visit to Balmoral Castle in Scotland and was well received by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip , according to the Tina Brown book The Diana Chronicles .

Charles and Diana had been dating for just a few months when he proposed in Windsor Castle on February 3, 1981. She was so surprised that she initially thought it was a joke, according to Morton. On February 6, 1981, Prince Charles proposed to Diana with an 18-karat white gold ring topped with a 12-carat oval Ceylon sapphire surrounded by 14 solitaire diamonds. It was made by the crown jeweler Garrard and reportedly inspired by a brooch Prince Albert had created in 1840 as a wedding present for Queen Victoria . The ring reportedly cost Charles £28,000 at the time (about $35,000).

Charles and Diana made headlines during a television interview following their engagement when Charles was asked if they were in love. Diane responded, “Of course,” while Charles added, “Whatever ‘in love’ means,” adding that the phrase “in love” is open to “your own interpretation.”

Princess Diane and Prince Charles’ Royal Wedding

Diana Spencer became Diana, Princess of Wales, when she married Charles on July 29, 1981. Their wedding took place at St. Paul’s Cathedral in the presence of 2,650 guests. The couple arrived separately and departed together by a carriage ride through the streets of London.

Diana wore a taffeta wedding dress made with silk and antique lace and 10,000 pearls , created by husband-and-wife design team David and Elizabeth Emanuel. She donned an 18 th century Spencer family tiara with a 25-foot veil. Her ensemble barely fit in the carriage, and it took Diana 3 and a half minutes to walk down the aisle.

The royal wedding ceremony was broadcast on television around the world; nearly one billion people from 74 countries tuned in to see what many considered to be the wedding of the century. Diana broke tradition during the wedding by omitting the word “obey” from her vows when she promised to “love him, comfort him, honor him, and keep him, in sickness and in health.” The omission generated some attention and criticism from the media at the time.

After the couple’s fairy tale wedding, Diana felt overwhelmed by her royal duties and the intense media coverage of nearly every aspect of her life. She began to develop and pursue her own interests, serving as a strong supporter of many charities and worked to help the homeless, people living with HIV and AIDS and children in need.

Diana and Charles had two sons together: Prince William Arthur Philip Louis , born on June 21, 1982, and Prince Henry Charles Albert David—known widely as Prince Harry —born on September 15, 1984. In January 1982, 12 weeks into her pregnancy with William, Diana deliberately threw herself down the stairs at the Sandringham House royal residence in Norfolk, because she was feeling so despondent and inadequate in her marriage to Charles, according to Morton. The baby, however, was unharmed.

Diana experienced postpartum depression after her pregnancy with William and found the intense media attention surrounding her pregnancy difficult to bear. In 1983, when William was 9 months old, Diana could not bear to part with him during a planned six-week tour of Australia and New Zealand, so she broke royal tradition and brought the baby along with her, according to the book William by Tim Graham and Peter Archer . Although the decision drew some criticism, the appearance of Diana and the baby on the tour was largely applauded by the public, according to the book.

Diana said her relationship was Charles was “the closest we’ve ever, ever been” during her pregnancy with Harry, according to Morton’s book. Charles had hoped their second child would be a girl, and when Diana learned it would be a boy, she kept it from Charles so as to run their newly-found closeness. When Harry was born, Charles’ first words were, “Oh God, it’s a boy,” and Diana was so hurt that said it was the moment she knew their marriage had “gone down the drain,” according to Morton.

Diana and Charles became estranged over the years, and Diana struggled with depression and bulimia. During their union, there were reports of infidelities from both parties. Most notably, Diana was said to have been in a relationship with Mayor James Hewitt from 1986 to 1991, while Charles resumed his relationship with his ex-girlfriend and future wife Queen Camilla . By the early 1990s, Diana and Charles were so visibly unhappy together that the media dubbed them “The Glums.”

Diana’s separation from Charles was announced in December 1992 by British Prime Minister John Major , who read a statement from the royal family to the House of Commons. During an infamous 1995 interview with the BBC program Panorama , Diana questioned whether Charles could handle becoming king one day and said of his relationship with Camilla: “Well, there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.” The interview proved to be the final straw, and shortly afterward, Queen Elizabeth urged Diana and Charles to officially end their marriage.

Their divorce was finalized in August 1996. Diana was allowed to keep her apartment at Kensington Palace, as well as other apartments she could use with permission in advance, according to The New York Times . She was provided access to jets used by the royal family. Charles ceased to pay her bills after the divorce, significantly altering her lifestyle and financial control. Although she retained her title as Princess of Wales, Diana was stripped of the title Her Royal Highness, without which she was forced to curtsy to all her former family members, including her ex-husband and children. Queen Elizabeth II was reportedly willing to let her keep the title, but Charles adamantly insisted she lose it. Additionally, Diana gave up any claim to the British throne.

Following her divorce, Diana devoted herself to her sons and charitable efforts, including raising awareness about the dangers of leftover landmines in war-torn Angola. She maintained a high level of popularity with the public. She also continued her royal duties and was offered continued security by Royalty Protection officers, though she refused such protection except when she travelled with her sons.

Diana had several romantic relationships after her divorce. She dated the British-Pakistani heart surgeon Hasnat Khan—who has been described as the “love of her life” —from 1995 to 1997, and started dating the Egyptian film producer and playboy Dodi Fayed in 1997. It was reported that some members of the royal family and former Prime Minister Tony Blair did not approve of the relationship between Diana and Fayed.

While visiting Paris, Diana and Fayed were involved in a car crash early in the morning of August 31, 1997, reportedly after trying to escape from members of the paparazzi. Fayed and the driver were pronounced dead at the scene. Diana initially survived the crash but died from her injuries at a Paris hospital a few hours later. She was 36 years old.

News of her sudden, senseless death shocked the world and sparked a global outpouring of public grief. Queen Elizabeth II, who was criticized for not immediately responding publicly to Diana’s death, made a televised address from Buckingham Palace on September 5, in which she said: “No one who knew Diana will ever forget her. Millions of others who never met her, but felt they knew her, will remember her. I, for one, believe there are lessons to be drawn from her life and from the extraordinary and moving reaction to her death. I share in your determination to cherish her memory.”

Following an investigation into Diana’s fatal car accident, a report released in 1999 determined that the driver was at fault for driving at a high speed while under the influence of alcohol and antidepressant drugs. Charges were dropped against several photographers who were initially blamed for causing the crash. Despite the report, rumors persisted for years about alternative reasons for the accident.

On the morning of September 6, 1997, Diana’s funeral procession commenced from Kensington Palace with her coffin resting on a gun carriage drawn by six black horses. Thousands of mourners packed the street to watch, with 15-year-old William and 12-year-old Harry joining the final stretch of the four-mile procession for their mother.

An estimated 2.5 billion people tuned in on television to watch the ceremony at Westminster Abbey, which featured a powerful eulogy from Diana’s brother, Earl Charles Spencer, and a performance from Elton John , who rewrote the lyrics to his song “Candle in the Wind” in her honor. Diana’s body was laid to rest at a gravesite on a small island at her family’s estate, Althorp.

To continue her charitable efforts, the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund was founded after her death to provide resources for palliative care, penal reform, asylum, and other issues. The fund is no longer actively fundraising, but any new donations are split between the charitable endeavors of Prince William of Wales and Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex. In 2007, just before the 10 th anniversary of her death, William and Harry honored their beloved mother with a special concert that took place on what would have been her 46 th birthday. The proceeds of the event went to charities supported by Diana and her sons.

Both William and Harry have honored Diana through their daughters’ names. Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana was born on May 2, 2015, to William and his wife, Princess Kate . Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle , welcomed their daughter Princess Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor on June 6, 2021.

Diana has been portrayed by a large number of actors in film, television, and other works of media. Among them were Serena Scott Thomas in Diana: Her True Story (1993), Genevieve O’Reilly in Diana: Last Days of a Princess (2007), Naomi Watts in Diana (2013), and Kristin Stewart in Spencer (2021) . Stewart received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for portraying Diana in the film.

In the Netflix series The Crown , Diana has been portrayed in different seasons by Emma Corrin and Elizabeth Debicki. Corrin was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for the role and won the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series (Drama). Debicki also received Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for her performance.

• They say it is better to be poor and happy than rich and miserable, but how about a compromise like moderately rich and just moody?
• Helping people in need is a good and essential part of my life, a kind of destiny.
• Everyone needs to be valued. Everyone has the potential to give something back.
• I’d like people to think of me as someone who cares about them.
• [A] voice said to me inside: ‘You won’t be Queen, but you’ll have a tough role.’
• The higher the media put you, place you, is the bigger the drop.
• Here was a fairy story that everybody wanted to work.
• When people are dying, they’re much more open and more vulnerable and much more real than other people.
• I’d like to be a queen of people’s hearts, in people’s hearts, but I don’t see myself being queen of this country. I don’t think many people will want me to be queen.
• Well, there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.
• If you find someone you love in life, you must hang on to it and look after it.
• You know, people think that at the end of the day a man is the only answer. Actually, a fulfilling job is better for me.
• I am a free spirit—unfortunately for some.
• I think the biggest disease this world suffers from, in this day and age, is the disease of people feeling unloved, and I know that I can give love for a minute, for half an hour, for a day, for a month, but I can give—I’m very happy to do that, and I want to do that.

Fact Check: We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn’t look right, contact us !

The Biography.com staff is a team of people-obsessed and news-hungry editors with decades of collective experience. We have worked as daily newspaper reporters, major national magazine editors, and as editors-in-chief of regional media publications. Among our ranks are book authors and award-winning journalists. Our staff also works with freelance writers, researchers, and other contributors to produce the smart, compelling profiles and articles you see on our site. To meet the team, visit our About Us page: https://www.biography.com/about/a43602329/about-us

Colin McEvoy joined the Biography.com staff in 2023, and before that had spent 16 years as a journalist, writer, and communications professional. He is the author of two true crime books: Love Me or Else and Fatal Jealousy . He is also an avid film buff, reader, and lover of great stories.

British Royal Family

14 Royals Who Have Competed in the Olympics

Prince Andrew’s ‘Scoop’ Interview, Explained

Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales

Kensington Palace Shares an Update on Kate

Prince William

Where in the World Is Kate Middleton?

Princess Kate Is Seen for First Time Since Surgery

King Charles III

Who’s Who in the British Line of Succession

How King Charles Reacted to Prince Harry’s Visit

The True Story of Princess Margaret’s Death

Prince Harry

• Sign up and get a free ebook!
• Don't miss our ebook deals!

Free shipping when you spend $40. Terms apply.

• Avoid Publishing Scams. Learn More.

Her True Story--in Her Own Words

• Unabridged Audio Download

Trade Paperback

LIST PRICE $20.00

Buy from Other Retailers

• Amazon logo
• Bookshop logo

Table of Contents

About the book, about the author.

Andrew Morton is one of the world’s best-known biographers and a leading authority on modern celebrity and royalty. His groundbreaking 1992 biography of Diana, Princess of Wales—written with her full, though then secret, cooperation—changed the way the world looked at the British royal family. Since then, he has gone on to write New York Times and Sunday Times (UK) bestsellers on Monica Lewinsky, Madonna, David and Victoria Beckham, Tom Cruise, Angelina Jolie, and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The winner of numerous awards, he divides his time between London and Los Angeles.

Product Details

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (June 27, 2017)
• Length: 448 pages
• ISBN13: 9781501169731

Browse Related Books

• History > Great Britain
• Biography & Autobiography > Royalty
• Biography & Autobiography > Women

Related Articles

• 7 Books About Princesses to Read While You Wait for Season 4 of The Crown - Off the Shelf
• Our Gift to You: 13 of Off the Shelf’s Favorite Book Recommendations - Off the Shelf
• Bop It, Pull It, Read It: 9 Essential Books on the ‘90s - Off the Shelf
• Remembering the People’s Princess - Off the Shelf

Resources and Downloads

High resolution images.

• Book Cover Image (jpg): Diana Trade Paperback 9781501169731

Get a FREE ebook by joining our mailing list today!

Plus, receive recommendations and exclusive offers on all of your favorite books and authors from Simon & Schuster.

More books from this author: Andrew Morton

You may also like: Thriller and Mystery Staff Picks

More to Explore

Limited Time eBook Deals

Check out this month's discounted reads.

Our Summer Reading Recommendations

Red-hot romances, poolside fiction, and blockbuster picks, oh my! Start reading the hottest books of the summer.

This Month's New Releases

From heart-pounding thrillers to poignant memoirs and everything in between, check out what's new this month.

Tell us what you like and we'll recommend books you'll love.

Biography Online

Princess Diana Biography

After her divorce, officially, she was called Diana, Princess of Wales.

Diana was often called Princess Diana by the media and the public, but she did not possess such a title and was not personally a princess, a point Diana herself made to people who referred to her as such. Contrary to belief, being Princess of Wales does not make one a princess in one’s own right. It merely indicates that one was married to a Prince of Wales.

From the time of her engagement to the Prince of Wales in 1981 until her death in a car accident in 1997, the Princess was arguably the most famous woman in the world, the pre-eminent female celebrity of her generation: a fashion icon, an image of feminine beauty, admired and emulated for her high-profile involvement in AIDS issues, and the international campaign against landmines. During her lifetime, she was often referred to as the most photographed person in the world.

Early years of Princess Diana

See: Childhood photos

Diana Frances Spencer was born as the youngest daughter of Edward Spencer, Viscount Althorp, and his first wife, Frances Spencer, at Park House on the Sandringham estate. On the death of her paternal grandfather, Albert Spencer, 7th Earl Spencer, in 1975, Diana’s father became the 8th Earl Spencer, and she acquired the courtesy title of The Lady Diana Spencer and moved from her childhood home at Park House to her family’s sixteenth-century ancestral home of Althorp. A year later, Lord Spencer married Raine, Countess of Dartmouth, the only daughter of the romance novelist Barbara Cartland, after being named as the “other party” in the Earl and Countess of Dartmouth’s divorce.

Diana was educated at Riddlesworth Hall in Norfolk and at West Heath Girls’ School (later reorganized as the New School at West Heath, a special school for boys and girls) in Sevenoaks, Kent, where she was regarded as an academically below-average student, having failed all of her O-level examinations. In 1977, aged 16, she left West Heath and briefly attended Institut Alpin Videmanette, a finishing school in Rougemont, Switzerland (Diana’s future husband was also dating her sister, Lady Sarah at that time). Diana was a talented amateur singer, excelled in sports and reportedly longed to be a ballerina.

Diana’s family, the Spencers, had been close to the British Royal Family for decades. Her maternal grandmother, Ruth, Lady Fermoy, was a longtime friend of, and a lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.

The Prince’s love life had always been the subject of press speculation, and he was linked to numerous women. Nearing his mid-thirties, he was under increasing pressure to marry. In order to gain the approval of his family and their advisors, including his great-uncle Lord Mountbatten of Burma, any potential bride had to have an aristocratic background, could not have been previously married, should be Protestant and, preferably, a virgin. Diana fulfilled all of these qualifications.

Reportedly, the Prince’s former girlfriend (and, eventually, his second wife) Camilla Parker Bowles helped him select the 19-year-old Lady Diana Spencer as a potential bride, who was working as an assistant at the Young England kindergarten in Pimlico. It was at this kindergarten school that the famous iconic snap of a 19-year-old Lady Diana Spencer was taken by John Minihan with the morning sun to her back, her legs in silhouette through her skirt.

Buckingham Palace announced the engagement on 24 February 1981. Mrs Parker Bowles had been dismissed by Lord Mountbatten of Burma as a potential spouse for the heir to throne some years before, reportedly due to her age (16 months the Prince’s senior), her sexual experience, and her lack of suitably aristocratic lineage.

Wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana

The wedding took place at St Paul’s Cathedral in London on Wednesday 29 July 1981 before 3,500 invited guests (including Mrs Parker Bowles and her husband, a godson of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother) and an estimated 1 billion television viewers around the world.

Diana was the first Englishwoman to marry the heir to the throne since 1659 when Lady Anne Hyde married the Duke of York and Albany, the future King James II (although, unlike Charles, James was heir presumptive and not the heir apparent). Upon her marriage, Diana became Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales and was ranked as the third most senior royal woman in the United Kingdom after the Queen and the Queen Mother.

The Prince and Princess of Wales had two children, Prince William of Wales on 21 June 1982 and Prince Henry of Wales (commonly called Prince Harry) on 15 September 1984.

Princess Diana – Break up of Marriage with Prince Charles

In the mid-1980s her marriage fell apart, an event at first suppressed, but then sensationalised, by the world media. Both the Prince and Princess of Wales allegedly spoke to the press through friends, accusing each other of the blame for the marriage’s demise. Charles resumed his relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles, whilst Diana became involved with James Hewitt and possibly later with James Gilbey, with whom she was involved in the so-called Squidgygate affair. She later confirmed (in a television interview with Martin Bashir) the affair with her riding instructor, James Hewitt. Another alleged lover was a bodyguard assigned to the Princess’s security detail, although the Princess adamantly denied a sexual relationship with him. After her separation from Prince Charles, Diana was allegedly involved with married art dealer Oliver Hoare and rugby player Will Carling. She did publicly date heart surgeon Hasnat Khan before becoming involved with Dodi Fayed.

The Prince and Princess of Wales were separated on 9 December 1992; their divorce was finalised on 28 August 1996. The Princess lost the style Her Royal Highness and instead was styled as Diana, Princess of Wales. However, since the divorce, Buckingham Palace has maintained that Diana was officially a member of the Royal Family since she was the mother of the second and third in line to the throne.

Princess Diana Charity work

Starting in the mid-to-late 1980s, the Princess of Wales became well known for her support of charity projects , and is credited with considerable influence for her campaigns against the use of landmines and helping the victims of AIDS.

In April 1987, the Princess of Wales was the first high-profile celebrity to be photographed knowingly touching a person infected with the HIV virus. Her contribution to changing the public opinion of AIDS sufferers was summarised in December 2001 by Bill Clinton at the ‘Diana, Princess of Wales Lecture on AIDS’, when he said:

“ In 1987, when so many still believed that AIDS could be contracted through casual contact, Princess Diana sat on the sickbed of a man with AIDS and held his hand. She showed the world that people with AIDS deserve no isolation, but compassion and kindness. It helped change world opinion, and gave hope to people with AIDS with an outcome of saved lives of people at risk. “

Princess Diana also made clandestine visits to show kindness to terminally ill AIDS patients. According to nurses, she would turn up unannounced, for example, at the Mildmay Hospice in London, with specific instructions that these visits were to be concealed from the media.

Princess Diana and Landmines Campaign

Perhaps her most widely publicised charity appearance was her visit to Angola in January 1997, when, serving as an International Red Cross VIP volunteer [1], she visited landmine survivors in hospitals, toured de-mining projects run by the HALO Trust, and attended mine awareness education classes about the dangers of mines immediately surrounding homes and villages.

The pictures of Diana touring a minefield, in a ballistic helmet and flak jacket, were seen worldwide. (In fact, mine-clearance experts had already cleared the pre-planned walk that Diana took wearing the protective equipment.) In August that year, she visited Bosnia with the Landmine Survivors Network. Her interest in landmines was focused on the injuries they create, often to children, long after the conflict has finished.

She is widely acclaimed for her influence on the signing by the governments of the UK and other nations of the Ottawa Treaty in December 1997, after her death, which created an international ban on the use of anti-personnel landmines. Introducing the Second Reading of the Landmines Bill 1998 to the British House of Commons, the Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook, paid tribute to Diana’s work on landmines:

“ All Honourable Members will be aware from their postbags of the immense contribution made by Diana, Princess of Wales to bringing home to many of our constituents the human costs of landmines. The best way in which to record our appreciation of her work, and the work of NGOs that have campaigned against landmines, is to pass the Bill, and to pave the way towards a global ban on landmines. “

As of January 2005, Diana’s legacy on landmines remained unfulfilled. The United Nations appealed to the nations which produced and stockpiled the largest numbers of landmines (China, India, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia and the United States) to sign the Ottawa Treaty forbidding their production and use, for which Diana had campaigned. Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), said that landmines remained “a deadly attraction for children, whose innate curiosity and need for play often lure them directly into harm’s way”.

Death of Princess Diana

On 31 August 1997, Diana was involved in a car accident in the Pont de l’Alma road tunnel in Paris, along with her friend and lover Dodi Al-Fayed, and their driver Henri Paul. Fayed’s bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones is the only person who survived the wreckage. The death of the Princess has been widely blamed on reporters who were reportedly hounding the Princess and were following the vehicle at a high speed. Ever since the word paparazzi has been associated with the death of the Princess.

Citation: Tejvan Pettinger , Oxford, UK. www. Biography Online  Published 01/06/2006. Updated 22 Feb 2018.

Diana: Princess of Wales by Mario Testino

Diana: Princess of Wales by Mario Testino at Amazon.

Princess Diana: Her Life Story, 1961-1997

Princess Diana: Her Life Story, 1961-1997 at Amazon

Related pages

• Charity Work Princess Diana
• Short Biography Princess Diana
• Timeline of Princess Diana
• Quotes of Princess Diana
• Pictures Princess Diana
• Childhood Of Diana, Princess of Wales

6 Books About Princess Diana If You’re Obsessed With the Royals

Read all about everything that didn't make it into The Crown .

Every item on this page was chosen by a Town & Country editor. We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy.

In memory of the 26th anniversary of Princess Diana's death, royal fans may want to dive into books about the late princess. From biographies about the late Princess of Wales told (allegedly) in her own words to a tell-all investigation into the House of Windsor, here are six books about Princess Diana that are worth your time—and a solid addition to your bookshelf.

The Diana Chronicles by Tina Brown

This exhaustively researched, exhilaratingly dishy telling of Diana's life story is a must-read for anyone interested in how she became an icon, and the battles she endured to ensure her legacy. It's no quick read—Brown, a former editor of The New Yorker and Vanity Fair did serious research—but there's more than enough personality and insider intelligence to make it a page turner.

Simon & Schuster Diana: Her True Story--in Her Own Words

Andrew Morton's blockbuster biography was first published in 1992 and caused a stir with its revelations about Diana's unhappy union with Prince Charles, her complicated relationship with the Queen, and a slew of other secrets that kept the tabloids buzzing. The source of Morton's devastating information? The Princess herself. An updated version of the book is out now, with even more pulled from recordings Morton and Diana made during their long, frank, and still-shocking conversations.

Remembering Diana: A Life in Photographs

For the visual learners among us, this coffee-table book compiles more than 100 images of Princess Diana from throughout her life and also includes remembrances of her from famous admirers including Bill Clinton, Mother Teresa, and Elton John. A foreword by Tina Brown—who wrote The Diana Chronicles —helps put the tribute in context.

Diana in Private: The Princess Nobody Knows

Written by the troublemaker British aristocrat Lady Colin Campbell—who has also penned books on the Queen Mother and Prince Harry—this 1992 bestseller was initially dismissed as being too gossipy to be true, but has seen some of its claims proven over the years. It's not the book we'd turn to for a definitive take on the late Princess's life, but it's a fun, racy read, and a fine way to round out your royal reading list.

The Royals by Kitty Kelley

Biographer Kitty Kelley has unleashed her occasionally poisonous pen on a wide variety of boldfaced names, from Frank Sinatra to Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. In this tell-all investigation into the House of Windsor, which was published in 1997, she turns her eye to Britain's royal family and dishes serious dirt on Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip, and, of course, Princess Diana. The book wasn't released in England because of strict libel laws (and in the U.S., its release just after the death of Diana earned it a mixed reception), but it became a bestseller and remains one of the most talked-about royal books of all time.

A Real Life Fairy Tale Princess Diana

Searching for a more kid-friendly version of Diana's story? Consider this picture book about the late Princess of Wales, which tells the story of her life from childhood through her marriage to Prince Charles, with a specific focus on her philanthropy.

Adam Rathe is Town & Country 's Deputy Features Director, covering arts and culture and a range of other subjects. 

Best Books of 2024

Netflix's 'East of Eden' TV Show News

The Secrets Of Shirley MacLaine's Walls

21 Classic Murder Mystery Books

The Secret History of Dorothy Parker's Life in LA

How to Read the 'Throne of Glass' Books in Order

25 Best Ghost Books to Read in 2024

30 Best Book-to-Screen Adaptations This Year

27 Best Vampire Books to Read

20 Best Books to Read Like 'Heartstopper'

Read the 'Heartstopper' Books in Order

It's the Perfect Time to Curl Up with a Cozy Book

The Best Books to Read This October

• Biographies & Memoirs

Enjoy fast, free delivery, exclusive deals, and award-winning movies & TV shows with Prime Try Prime and start saving today with fast, free delivery

Amazon Prime includes:

Fast, FREE Delivery is available to Prime members. To join, select "Try Amazon Prime and start saving today with Fast, FREE Delivery" below the Add to Cart button.

• Cardmembers earn 5% Back at Amazon.com with a Prime Credit Card.
• Unlimited Free Two-Day Delivery
• Streaming of thousands of movies and TV shows with limited ads on Prime Video.
• A Kindle book to borrow for free each month - with no due dates
• Listen to over 2 million songs and hundreds of playlists
• Unlimited photo storage with anywhere access

Important:  Your credit card will NOT be charged when you start your free trial or if you cancel during the trial period. If you're happy with Amazon Prime, do nothing. At the end of the free trial, your membership will automatically upgrade to a monthly membership.

Buy new: .savingPriceOverride { color:#CC0C39!important; font-weight: 300!important; } .reinventMobileHeaderPrice { font-weight: 400; } #apex_offerDisplay_mobile_feature_div .reinventPriceSavingsPercentageMargin, #apex_offerDisplay_mobile_feature_div .reinventPricePriceToPayMargin { margin-right: 4px; } -45% $10.99 $ 10 . 99 FREE delivery Tuesday, October 29 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35 Ships from: Amazon.com Sold by: Amazon.com

Return this item for free.

We offer easy, convenient returns with at least one free return option: no shipping charges. All returns must comply with our returns policy.

• Go to your orders and start the return
• Select your preferred free shipping option
• Drop off and leave!

Save with Used - Good .savingPriceOverride { color:#CC0C39!important; font-weight: 300!important; } .reinventMobileHeaderPrice { font-weight: 400; } #apex_offerDisplay_mobile_feature_div .reinventPriceSavingsPercentageMargin, #apex_offerDisplay_mobile_feature_div .reinventPricePriceToPayMargin { margin-right: 4px; } $9.49 $ 9 . 49 FREE delivery Tuesday, October 29 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35 Ships from: Amazon Sold by: ZBK Wholesale

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required .

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

Image Unavailable

• To view this video download Flash Player

Follow the author

Diana: Her True Story--in Her Own Words Paperback – June 27, 2017

Purchase options and add-ons.

• Print length 448 pages
• Language English
• Publication date June 27, 2017
• Dimensions 1.22 x 5.98 x 9.02 inches
• ISBN-10 9781501169731
• ISBN-13 978-1501169731
• See all details

Frequently bought together

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Editorial Reviews

About the author, excerpt. © reprinted by permission. all rights reserved., product details.

• ASIN ‏ : ‎ 1501169734
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Simon & Schuster; Anniversary edition (June 27, 2017)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 448 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9781501169731
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1501169731
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.04 pounds
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 1.22 x 5.98 x 9.02 inches
• #1 in Welsh History
• #13 in Royalty Biographies
• #162 in Women's Biographies

Videos for this product

Click to play video

Controversial and Shocking True Story - From Diana Herself

View intimate pictures of Diana and pages from the book. #princessdiana #novelreview

Monika Reviews

Customer Review: Beautiful Book

Cydni Perkins

Diana: Her True Story, Fully Revised 25th Anniversary Edition (Thorndike Press Large Print Biogra...

Amazon Videos

About the author

Andrew morton.

ANDREW MORTON is one of the world's best-known biographers and a leading authority on modern celebrity. His groundbreaking 1992 biography revealed the secret world of Princess Diana, prompting Tina Brown to declare in The Diana Chronicles, "The journalist Morton most reminds me of is Bob Woodward." Diana: Her True Story became a #1 New York Times bestseller, as did Monica's Story, Morton's portrait of the young woman behind the blue dress in the Clinton White House.

The winner of numerous awards, including Author of the Year by the British Book Awards and Scoop of the Year by the London Press Club, he lives in London and has traveled extensively in the U.S., Canada, and Europe in his research for this biography.

Customer reviews

• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 5 star 74% 15% 7% 2% 2% 74%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 4 star 74% 15% 7% 2% 2% 15%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 3 star 74% 15% 7% 2% 2% 7%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 2 star 74% 15% 7% 2% 2% 2%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 1 star 74% 15% 7% 2% 2% 2%

Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.

Customers say

Customers find the book interesting and enjoyable to read. They also appreciate the good insight into life inside the monarchy. Readers describe the story as heartbreaking, poignant, and tragic. However, some find the writing repetitive and boring. Opinions are mixed on the writing quality and photo quality.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

Customers find the book interesting, fabulous, and enjoyable to read. They say it gives a good insight into life inside the monarchy. Readers also mention it's entertaining.

"There’s three parts to this book. All are good , in their own respect. There’s also photos too, of Diana, at different stages of her life...." Read more

"...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..." Read more

" Very interesting read . Her life as a princess was no fairytale! Well written and interesting." Read more

"...The biography is well-written . I was so enthralled by Princess Diana’s story that I read it in one sitting...." Read more

Customers find the book filled with plenty of good insight. They say it has much updated information since Princess Diana's death in 1997. Readers also mention the story is timeless fascinating and full of everything you can imagine.

"...am glad l read this, because the author's additional comments were very helpful and insightful." Read more

"...However, the writing wasn’t the greatest, but the information in the book is valuable if you want to know about royalty." Read more

"...However, she was determined , hard-working, and a loving individual...." Read more

"...This book provides good insight directly from Diana’s own words. Highly recommended" Read more

Customers find the story heartbreaking, poignant, and inspiring. They say the author successfully captures their empathetic attention in explaining the plights of the Princess. Readers also mention the book is touching and real.

" Sad story but with much detail . It was good to see Diana loving her sons a well as becoming the people’s princess." Read more

"...Therefore, this biography shows a very intimate portrait of the “People’s Princess”. The biography is well-written...." Read more

"...Just WAY too many details and too much sentimentality ...." Read more

"...I'll keep my little kid's perspective of Diana: Beautiful, tragic , princess...." Read more

Customers find the character development in the book very human, loving, and honest. They also say the author is poignant, insightful, and inspiring. Readers also mention Diana is beautiful inside and out, unselfish, and compassionate.

"...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...." Read more

"...She really is an amazing woman who was a truly wonderful, kind-hearted person who touched the world...." Read more

"...and even now, I have admired her because of her strength, love, compassion and most of all her love for her children...." Read more

"...They are both uncaring and unfeeling -- especially where Princess Diana, William and Harry were concerned...." Read more

Customers have mixed opinions about the writing quality of the book. Some mention it's well-written and easy to read, while others say the style is repetitive and hard to read in places.

"Very interesting read. Her life as a princess was no fairytale! Well written and interesting." Read more

"I found this book very educational. However, the writing wasn’t the greatest , but the information in the book is valuable if you want to know about..." Read more

"...Things I never knew about Diana the person. Wonderfully written and beautifully told by you." Read more

"I loved this book. The second part (biography) is extremely well written . I was very impressed with the style of writing. It suited me...." Read more

Customers have mixed opinions about the photo quality of the book. Some mention it has beautiful pictures and provides a clear and balanced view of Diana's life. Others say there are no photos at all in the book, which is obviously a counterfeit.

"...And she was so very pretty , especially as she got a little older and cut her hair...." Read more

"...there is a Photograph Acknowledgment page, there are no photos in the paperback edition . I will keep this one, but will search for an original" Read more

"...I'll keep my little kid's perspective of Diana: Beautiful , tragic, princess...." Read more

"...The pictures in it are beautiful and one thing about Diana that I have always loved is how stunningly gorgeous she was when the caterpillar emerged..." Read more

Customers find the book repetitive. They say it's boring, disappointing, and tedious.

"...Though at times I felt the book was a bit repetitive and that’s why I gave it a 4 start and not a 5...." Read more

" Very boring . Not sure those are her actual words." Read more

"...She was so miserable, not incredibly intelligent and married into a rigid, weird ass family that had no idea how to welcome her...." Read more

"...only issue was that, at times, the book seemed rather drawn out and repetitive . I don't feel it necessary for the book to be this long...." Read more

Reviews with images

• Sort reviews by Top reviews Most recent Top reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. please try again later..

Top reviews from other countries

• Amazon Newsletter
• About Amazon
• Accessibility
• Sustainability
• Press Center
• Investor Relations
• Amazon Devices
• Amazon Science
• Sell on Amazon
• Sell apps on Amazon
• Supply to Amazon
• Protect & Build Your Brand
• Become an Affiliate
• Become a Delivery Driver
• Start a Package Delivery Business
• Advertise Your Products
• Self-Publish with Us
• Become an Amazon Hub Partner
• › See More Ways to Make Money
• Amazon Visa
• Amazon Store Card
• Amazon Secured Card
• Amazon Business Card
• Shop with Points
• Credit Card Marketplace
• Reload Your Balance
• Amazon Currency Converter
• Your Account
• Your Orders
• Shipping Rates & Policies
• Amazon Prime
• Returns & Replacements
• Manage Your Content and Devices
• Recalls and Product Safety Alerts
• Registry & Gift List
• Conditions of Use
• Privacy Notice
• Consumer Health Data Privacy Disclosure
• Your Ads Privacy Choices