Customer Reviews

Diana, Princess of Wales: How Sexual Politics Shook the Monarchy

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I'm not quite sure why I decided to purchase this book; ...I thought this would provide a different look at an exhaustively covered subject.

First, I would not recommend this book to a "casual fan" of Diana. There is some deep reading here, it's not a book that can be skimmed and understood. You have to *read* it. ...

Ms. Campbell seems to pull much of her book from other sources, with extensive quoting being quite a bit of what you are reading. She then takes these quotes and excerpts and adds her interpretations and opinions. Sometimes these were spot on, other times I felt that she was stretching a bit to prove her point. I also feel that the title is somewhat misleading; the book wasn't entirely what I expected. The author's repetitive claims of Diana being "penetrated" by the media's cameras, the world's eyes get rather boring and made for some eye-rolling on my part. There is no doubt that the media were invasive to Diana, but I also believe she played them at times--it was a give and take. Maybe if I were a "feminist" I would be more inclined to agree with this observation.

There is some fascinating history in regards to past Princes of Wales, their behaviours and relationships, in particular that of George IV and Princess Caroline of Brunswick. Ms. Campbell points out amazing similarities between Caroline and Diana, and for that alone this book is worth delving into. Although I am reasonably well-versed in the recent past and current happenings of the House of Windsor, what I read was news to me, and sheds some light on the Royal Family, Prince Charles, and a marriage that was, unfortunately, doomed from the start.