Ken Wharfe - Diana--Remembering the Princess: Reflections on her life, twenty-five years on from her death

Inspector Ken Wharfe, MVO, was personal protection officer to the late Diana, Princess of Wales, in charge of round-the-clock security at home and abroad, from 1987 until 1993. His memoir, Diana: Closely Guarded Secret, was a bestseller on its first publication, and again when it was reissued in a revised edition in 2016.

Ros Coward is a writer and journalist, and the author of a number of well-received books on subjects ranging from feminism to environmental issues. She was chosen by the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund and the estate to write Diana: The Portrait, published in 2004, a book which was based on over 400 interviews with those who knew Diana well.

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First published in hardback and paperback in 2022

Hardback ISBN: 978-1-78946-636-2

Paperback ISBN: 978-1-78946-665-2

Trade paperback: 978-1-78946-635-5

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-78946-637-9

Audiobook ISBN: 978-1-78946-640-9

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Text copyright Ken Wharfe and Ros Coward 2022

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John Blake Publishing is an imprint of Bonnier Books UK

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D IANA , P RINCESS OF W ALES (196197)

D IANA WAS BORN on 1 July 1961, the third daughter of John Spencer, Viscount Althorp, and his wife Frances. Park House, where she spent her early years, was on the royal Sandringham Estate in Norfolk and rented from the Queen. When Diana was six, her parents separated and divorced two years later. Her mother married Peter Shand Kydd, heir to a fortune made from wallpaper manufacturing and who for a while was living in Australia as a sheep farmer. In 1975, Diana became Lady Diana Spencer when her grandfather died and her father succeeded to his title as the eighth Earl Spencer. The family then moved to the family seat, Althorp House in Northamptonshire. Diana and her younger brother, Charles, initially went to live with their mother in London but in a bitter battle in which her own mother testified against her, Frances lost custody of her children to her husband. Charles and Diana returned to live at Althorp and in 1976 Earl Spencer married Raine, Countess of Dartmouth, who was also daughter of the romantic novelist, Dame Barbara Cartland. All the Spencer children disliked her intensely and called her acid Raine.

Diana went to West Heath Girls School in Kent but was not academic and followed a typical English upper-class route of leaving early and attending a finishing school in Switzerland for a year before beginning work at a London kindergarten. Her older sister, Sarah, had previously been romantically linked with the Prince of Wales, but it was Diana who became engaged to Charles in 1981 when she was only nineteen years old. After an exceptionally brief courtship, Diana then moved to Clarence House, the home of the Queen Mother, where she lived until her marriage on 29 July 1981 at St Pauls Cathedral. The wedding was watched by 750 million people across the globe and represented a highpoint in the popularity of the British monarchy. The couple honeymooned in Gibraltar, followed by a cruise through the Mediterranean. On 21 June 1982, their son, William, was born, to be followed on 15 September 1984, by their second son, Harry.

After Harrys birth, Diana began making solo royal trips abroad and, in a visit to the White House in Washington DC, was pictured dancing with John Travolta and Clint Eastwood. Trips to Canada, Japan, China and Australia followed, with media interest gaining even more traction. In 1987, Diana visited Middlesex Hospital, London, where she first shook hands with an AIDS patient. Palace advisors had initially tried to dissuade her from doing so, but she was determined to break the stigma which surrounded the condition at the time.

Her international trips continued, as did her humanitarian work, but Dianas private life was unravelling. The Prince of Wales was continuing his relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles, a liaison which many of their friends colluded with, leading to Diana feeling ostracised and betrayed. Her work with those suffering from HIV/ AIDS, cancer and leprosy increased, and she continued to work with many other charities.

In 1992, a sensational book was published by the journalist, Andrew Morton Diana, Her True Story which was based on tape-recordings made by Diana and given to him in secret. The book laid bare her life with Charles and the troubles she faced in her royal role. In November of that year, Diana and Charles took their last trip together abroad. The following month, the Prime Minister, John Major, announced the official separation of Charles and Diana. During the ensuing year, Diana continued her charity and humanitarian work, visiting Red Cross relief projects including the site in Nepal of the Pakistani International Airline plane crash, and also the refugee camp at Tongorara in Zimbabwe, where her caring side was more obvious than ever. Soon after these trips, she pleaded for some time and space after thirteen years in the spotlight. She cut down her number of official engagements, but after a lengthy break did continue to do more work for the charities she supported. In 1994, she was named International Humanitarian of the Year in the USA. In June of that year, Prince Charles admitted his infidelity with Camilla in a TV interview with Jonathan Dimbleby. That same night, Diana attended dinner at the Serpentine Gallery dressed in a beautiful off-the-shoulder black silk evening gown. The gown was designed by Christina Stambolian and resulted in one of the most instantly definable images of Dianas life as a royal figure. In November 1995, Diana appeared in the infamous Martin Bashir Panorama interview, in which she made her memorable comment, There were three of us in this marriage so it was a bit crowded.