Diana: Story of a Princess by Tim Clayton and Phil Craig

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Diana: Story of a Princess by Tim Clayton and Phil Craig 



                For my birthday in 1997, I had a sleepover in a tent in my backyard. I remember waking up very early in the morning, it was still dark out, going into the house and seeing my mother awake on the couch watching Princess Diana’s funeral. I knew then that she was beautiful, royalty and had died tragically in a car crash. I also knew that she had been married to Prince Charles and had two sons. I remember the purple Beanie Baby that was released in honor of Princess Di. I remember everyone had great things to say about her. I have always been fascinated by her because so many people said they loved or admired her. Diana: Story of a Princess was a very interesting biography. Interesting because it takes into account not only the life of Diana but the way she was portrayed in the media. It answered the questions I had regarding the woman I witnessed my mother crying over.
                So what did I learn about Princess Diana? I learned that she wasn’t born royalty but she became a lady when her father inherited the title of Earl. Her parents divorced when she was young and she spent time in a boarding school. She wasn’t the smartest girl in class and had regular issues with testing. She worked at a kindergarten and as a nanny. She married at 20 years old after dreaming for years about marrying Prince Charles. She was aware that Charles had in some way been involved with Camilla before they were ever married. She felt underappreciated by Charles’ family and as the marriage deteriorated so did her relationship with her in laws. Diana too had an affair while married to Charles. She had been planning to divorce Charles for years before it finally happened.  She also struggled with bulimia before and during the marriage. She seemed to have a love/hate relationship with the media, and was well aware of how to use it to her advantage. Diana was a humanitarian who believed in the power of physically touching and embracing others. She wasn’t perfect but no one is.

                Tim Clayton and Phil Craig took a very practical route in creating this biography. They relayed information in an unbiased way, relaying more than one side to each story allowing the reader to come to their own conclusion. They included the perspective of the media and how a personality like Diana was constantly in front of and scrutinized by the public eye. There are numerous statements throughout by various people in Diana’s life they give this story a great amount of intimacy, making her story more personable and relatable. Clayton and Craig didn’t shy away from the negative aspects of her personality. I wanted to learn about who Diana was and I feel like I have a better understanding of her after reading this biography. What I’ve listed above about her is just a sketch of the information provided in this almost 400 page biography. I would definitely recommend this biography and give it 4 out of 5 stars. 

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