Diana: the people's princess [Mass Market Paperback]

Nicholas Owen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 24, 1997

On 31 August 1997, the world was stunned by the tragic death of the most popular and photographed woman of the modern age: Diana, Princess of Wales. The outpouring of public grief at this tragically early death was unprecedented in modern times. Now, 10 years on, "Diana: The People's Princess" celebrates both her life and her legacy. A dignified and unexploitative celebration of Diana's life, from Britain's foremost newsgathering organization ITN, "Diana: The People's Princess" commemorates this remarkable woman's life from her childhood to her tragic premature death at the age of 36. With authoritative text and a vast array of photographs, this updated edition includes new material on the aftermath of her death, including controversy over the Memorial Fountain, the enquiry into her death, the achievements of the Memorial Fund and above all, her legacy as a mother - Princes William and Harry and their involvement in perpetuating and protecting her memory. "Diana: The People's Princess" is a respectful, sensitive and poignant tribute to this elegant, charming and sympathetic symbol of our times.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Nicholas Owen was ITN's Royal Correspondent from 1994 to 2000. He played a major part in reporting on Diana's funeral and the years immediately following her death. Sir Trevor McDonald OBE was ITN's anchorman at Diana's funeral. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 110 pages
• Publisher: Readers Digest (November 24, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0762100753
• ISBN-13: 978-0762100750
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,660,103 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A nice tribute, January 8, 2004

By 

FrKurt Messick "FrKurt Messick" (Bloomington, IN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Diana: the people's princess (Mass Market Paperback)

Like much of the rest of the world, I was captivated by then-Lady Diana Spencer as she became known to the world through her association with Prince Charles, and I followed the developments with interest through the build-up to the royal wedding, the early marriage, the difficult years, and finally, Diana's tragic death in Paris in 1997. Her death was a stunning blow to many; one is reminded of the song 'you don't know what you've got 'till it's gone', for the world seemed to stop for the tragedy, which is still being played out in various sectors to this day.

There really was a fairy-tale aspect to Diana's life - she was always larger than life, and being perhaps the most photogenic royal of all time, every newspaper, periodical and media outlet wanted to be on hand to document her every move. This was certainly no fairy-tale existence for her, as she recounted in various ways to her few friends; one will likely never know the complete story of her life and death, but there are enough strands about that one can piece together happy times and sad times.

This particular book is one of the many that appeared shortly after her death, as people everywhere scrambled to get a last remembrance or memorial of Diana, as if her death would stop the production and sale of her story and image. It has many of the 'standard' photographs one has come to expect in any royal-family or Diana book - pictures well known now around the world from her childhood, courtship, marriage, and funeral.

The book is divided into six primary sections: Diana's Early Life; Diana and Charles; Diana the Devoted Mother; Diana, Queen of Hearts; Diana and Friends; and finally, Goodbye England's Rose. Here there is a very basic history, essentially free of controversy and strife, recounting merely the basic facts with stoicism tinted with a bit of sadness of the break-up of the world's most famous marriage. The photographs include the famous balcony scenes after the wedding, Diana alone in front of the Taj Mahal (a symbol of great love from another royal husband), Diana with her sons, and finally, pictures of the funeral and the island in the Spencer estate.

It is sad to look back after these many years at the glamourous pictures, realising the back-story that was taking place at the time. I collected royal books for many years prior to this, and this is not an exceptional book either in content or in style, but is rather made exceptional by the subject, Diana herself, and the obvious care the author (a correspondent of Independent Television Network in Britain) and compilers devoted in bringing things so quickly to the public.

More will be written of Diana, surely, but the record of Diana must certainly be a visual one, complete with photographs, and this collection represents many of the best.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a great tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales., March 24, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Diana: the people's princess (Mass Market Paperback)

This was one of the first books which I purchased after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. This book has been read and appreciated many times by me. One is taken through Diana's childhood, through her teenage years, through her coursthip with Prince Charles, through her marriage, through her charities, through her untimely and tragic death, and through her funeral services. As far as I'm concerned, Dodi could have been omitted.

In the Foreward, Trevor McDonal, OBE, writes: "The sudden and tragic death of Diana, Princess of Wales affected the people of Britain and the world as perhaps no other event in modern times.

"...Her death seemed to touch the chord that unites us all as people, as members of the vast and disparate human race, as partners in the great of nations. I have come to believe that there are several reasons why this is so. Diana had become, by the time of her death, an international superstar like no other before her. Although she was no longer married to the Prince of Wales, the heir to the throne, her superstar status was underpinned by her royal connections. To all intent and purposes she was regarded by her millions of admirers as fully royal, touched by thr indescribable regal magic. Another reason is that she was stunningly beautiful, In an age when technology enables pictures to flatter their subject unashamedly, Diana's good looks outdid the photographer's art. As Shakespeare's Cleopatra was described, Diana's entrance into a room 'beggared all description.'...

"Many of us in the media knew the Princess well. She had a great sense of humor, laughed easily and was unfailingly charming. But she could also be wilful and manipulative and was always ambivalent about how much of her royal status she wanted to use and when. Diana was no saint. She made silly mistakes and even grosser misjudgements. She was not infallible. But then niether are we. Part of her charm was her vulnerability. She was very human and it is now obvious from her many tributes to her, that she was capable of showing great humanity. When it was clear that she would never be Queen of England, Diana said, with what seems like wonderful prescience, that she wanted to be Queen of People's Hearts, The People's Princess. The response by the pepople to her death suggests that she achieved, in overwhelming measure, everything that she wanted to be.

"The undoubted value of this book lies in the simple fact that the images it contains will never die...the pictures of the glamous Princess; the pictures of her with her boys, the young Princes, who she loved so much. And then there are those forever haunting images of her coffin arriving back from Paris and the panorama of scenes of her funeral on the day an entire nation stopped to pay its respects. These will be pointed at and talked about long into the twenty-first century.

"They show that in her short life, marked by pinnacles of joy and depths of despair, Diana, Princess of Wales, became an icon who captured the world's imagination as no other public figure of our time."

The above quote sums up this book. It is beautifully written and contains pictures both in color and in black and white. Anyone who collects books on Diana, Princess of Wales, will certainly want this book