Customer Reviews

Diana in Private: The Princess Nobody Knows

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Where was Lady Colin Campbell, under the bed? Why is it that this "book" only gained notoriety after Diana's death? It was written in 1992! Diana wasn't perfect, she didn't claim to be. She herself admitted to having committed very human sins. Was this right! Of course not, but does Lady Colin Campbell live in a glass house?

Diana was not raised royal. The stiff upper lip, don't let anyone see you hurting, I'm a royal therefore I will be miserable in silence was missing. I don't see it as such a great loss. I feel incredibly sad for Charles. His royal upbringing not only made him feel lousy but it denied him the tools to nurture an attractive, frightened, YOUNG woman. Diana entered the royal family with the maturity of a 19 year old. Perhaps Lady Colin Campbell had already attained her incredible insight, wisdom and compassion at 19 but most humans still have some maturing to do. To feel alone and desperately need positive support is a human characteristic. When Charles married Diana he vowed to love, cherish and comfort. By far the elder of the pair Charles needed a few lessons on the meaning of the vows he was taking. Diana was not a saint in any sense of the word but she reached out to people and gave of herself despite her own unhappiness. Right or wrong many, many people love her for her humanitarian qualities. Lady Colin Campbell, what have you done for people recently?

This book, while not always pleasant, gives yet another dimension to the story of Charles and Diana. Before her death, Diana was perceived as a saint, and Charles, the devil. This book presents them as what they actually were: HUMAN.

Despite the book's title, this is NOT an "all Diana" book. There's quite a bit of text on Charles and the Royal Famliy.

The photo section is a strange mixture of what seems to be photos left over from old shoots (odd angles, the back of Di's head, or her face in shadow) as if the author could only afford second-rate photos. It's a very strange selection of (photo) subjects also. I wasn't sure why the author felt it was important to publish pictures of women Charles dated in the 70s.

I'll read everything about the royals I can get my hands on so even while I didn't totally agree with everything in this book, I did enjoy reading it. If you're a Di-aholic, you'll probably enjoy it too (especially for the price I just saw it listed for on Amazon!)

I read most royalty books I can get my hands on and I like this one. Why? It's not sensationalized, it's frank. The author is a peripheral part of the circles of people of whom she speaks. She is fairly even handed, without "poor princessing" as much as most other Diana books do... and she has marked compassion for the dubiously-perceived Prince of Wales. Maybe she doesn't get everything right -- who can say for sure? -- but I have the feeling she is much RIGHTER than wrong in this chronicle of Diana, and I think we readers owe it to Charles and to Diana herself to attempt to see them in a balanced perspective.

This book was published in 1992 at the time of the Waleses de facto separation (they separated formally in December of that year) and five years previous to the former late princess's death in a car crash in Paris (August, 1997).

I bought this book in 1994 when it first came out. Have just re-read it and find that it is mostly gossip. The author's annoying way of identifying her sources puts me off. Few are named by their real names. It's like reading a tabloid.

Diana comes across as a spoiled brat, but Charles leaves a lot to be desired also. At this point, do we really care? The Royal Family and their "toadies" in the UK seem so outdated. Their lives are very superficial and pointless according to this book.

Only a book written well BEFORE Diana's death by a true British aristocratic insider would dare to show the negative side (along with the positive side) of Diana's character. Refreshing, particularly after all the smoozzzzy stuff that came out after her death. This book truly paints a multi-facted portrait of Diana. If you want perspective, read this book.

Lady Colin Campbell plunges deeply into her task of gossip-biographer by talking to numerous Royal sources (sometimes unmentioned courtiers themselves), so that the layman can understand the reasoning and mechanics of Royalty. The book covers details from the Waleses everyday life to their most public appearances, and it is a deep study of their personalities. More than once, it is suggested that the institution of the Monarchy will not tolerate people who may put it in the merest of jeopardies, even if they do come from privileged backgrounds, have produced the "heir and the spare" and are the future consort. It opens up the layman's eyes as of how, in the end, such people are dealt with.

Throughout her life, Diana was surrounded by privilege. From her early childhood she used to play with the children of the Royal household, later on becoming a Lady herself when her father inherited Althorp House, possibly one of the greatest estate houses in the world; and crowning it all with her marriage to the Prince of Wales. She was the first Princess Wales had had in over 100 years, and throughout her life, she was as controversial as she was adored. The way this unusual woman developed from her childhood was marked by her parents' divorce. As the book explains in detail, the Spencers' divorce was a highly publicized scandal, and the fact that Diana's grandmother testified against her own daughter and in favor of her father, put the stigma of emotional depravity not only in Diana but in her siblings as well. Why, as a mother, one would take such a position is beyond me, but it certainly explains much of the behavior Diana exhibited as an adult. Her temper tantrums, her stubbornness, her need for being the centre of attention at all times, were obviously all borne out of the need to survive and to feel appreciated. That is how this extremely shrewd young woman emerged as the media darling that grew so much in people's hearts and in courtiers' bottoms. It was also how, a sensitive but very selfish man as the Prince of Wales, felt disenchanted about his wife from a very early stage in the marriage. Charles, himself a very deep thinker, could not comprehend how she was not interested in expanding her mind: "I don't understand it, she doesn't read. Can't you get her to read?" (Page 195). Later on she did, albeit too late for the marriage to survive. And that's when, following the advice of one of the most sensible astrologers of Britain by the name of Penny Junor, she took to charity work with enthusiasm and gusto. Birthright, Help the Aged and CRUSAID were some of the many charities she would champion during her short but intense life. The book comes to an end just before their divorce, stating, "Barring a calamity, she will remain a large part of our lives for the remainder of this century and well into the next." (Page 331) Funny how certain statements, mostly made for purposes of a mere comment, could come true with such boldness.

I have to give kudos to Lady Colin Campbell for her talent as a writer. She was born in Jamaica. The victim of fused labia and a deformed clitoris, she was registered as a boy and brought up like one. At 21 she had an operation to correct the deformities and married an English aristocrat called Lord Colin Campbell. Eventually they separated and she kept custody of their adoptive children. Nowadays, she makes her living as a writer from her London home just off Sloane Square, the place where Princess Diana used to live when she was single. In this book, she starts with one of the most eloquent portraits I have read about a person. It is indeed as if one was with the Princess face to face: "As she approaches, the first thing you notice is how tall she is..." The next thing that strikes you is how animated yet serene she is (...) she is warm, witty and down-to-earth: she is natural..." "Diana's mouth is non-descript. It neither enhances nor detracts from her face." "Her nose could never be called conventionally beautiful... [however] ... without it, her face would lose much of its impact and all of its uniqueness." (Pages 1 & 2).

This is indeed a good book for those who want to feel part of a Royal Family - without having been born into one. Because of an interest in learning more about the British aristocracy's ways and standards of living, I picked up this book which does have a lot of gossip, but one can tell right from the get go that it was written by a true insider in such circles. I did some research on the charities Diana championed. A good place to start is a website called "The Work Continues" ( []) It's the official site for the Princess of Wales Memorial Trust Fund, presided by her eldest sister, Lady Sarah McCorquodale.

"Diana in private: the Princess nobody knows" was as explosive as the Morton book "Diana: her true story", when it came out. The difference lays, mainly, in that the latter was evidently pro-Diana and anti-Charles; while Lady Colin's claimed to present an unbiased view of the relationship between them. Even though I wouldn't call this book `unbiased',it is presented as a recollection of many people who obviously were in close contact not only with the Royal Couple, but with the whole of the Royal Family.

Normally I find books devoted to airing out the dirty, personal details of a person's life, especially a recently dead person, repellant. However, the silly, maudlin spectacle put on by tens of millions vicarious women (and many feminized men) during Diana's funeral week makes this book the perfect antidote. This book rips the facade off an unintelligent and self-centered brat princess so well loved throughout Britain, America and the globe. It is a sign of a decadent age that the lovely but empty-headed Princess Diana is the most beloved modern British royal while the manly Prince Philip, who had two ships shot out from under him in the fight against Adolph Hitler, is the most despised modern royal.

I was required (really!) to read this book for a graduate class. This book is full of nothing but jealous ramblings. Lady Campbell seems to be dredging the bottom of the proverbial lake to find the nastiest details possible about Diana. Her personal comments dispersed throughout the book are not only unprofessional in the writing sense but also unnecessary. The storyline gets very confusing at times, jumping from one subject to another - a hard read. True, Diana was a spoiled brat, but let the woman rest in peace! Lady Campbell is no lady!

"Lady" Campbell seems to be promoting herself as a "friend" of the Princess of Wales. I find it very interesting that this is all coming out now after the Princess is no longer here to defend herself or to state whether this information is factual or not. There were many aspects of this book that were just a little hard to believe. This woman has made a living out of trashing the Princess and seems to have come into her own since her death.

The motivation for writing this book is to make Prince Charles a palatable figure. Everything that went wrong in the Wales' marriage is Diana's fault. The author glorifies people like Nicholas Sommes -- he was brilliant to discover that Diana had personality disorders. Poor Charles was only trying to define love when he said that he did not know what love is.

No good purpose is served by this book. The general public has no need to know the details Princess' private life. The so-called author has a need to delve into Diana's sex life too and makes judgments about her.

The author also thinks she knows more about Diana's relationship with her mother than Diana did.

The author touts herself as a lady. Not in my estimation. She does not mourn Diana's loss as stated on the jacket. Shame on the pain she has caused Diana's sons and supporters by this piece of trash.