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Even after all these years, the world is still obsessed with Princess Diana.
Luckily for her fans, season 4 of The Crown starts when Prince Charles meets Lady Diana Spencer. This season focuses on the time from 1979 to 1990. By episode 3, viewers see Diana get into her wedding gown and the rest of the royal family preparing for the big day. Season 5, which came out at the tail end of 2022, also features the troubled royal as it covers 1990 to 1997.
Related: Princess Diana On Screen: A Look at The Stars Who Have Attempted the Role
The Crown has become one of Netflix’s most popular shows, and critics have praised the show’s writing, cinematography, acting, and production values. Even still, it’s not exactly true. The show has received plenty of criticism over historical inaccuracies.
The series’ depiction of Princess Di, in particular, has seen a lot of scrutiny. One of the consultants for The Crown quit over the Princess Diana storyline. Jemima Khan, who joined the show because of her close relationship with Diana, didn’t agree with how the royal was being portrayed on the show.
According to Khan, she was involved because it was important that her friend “be portrayed accurately and with compassion,” something that she feels hasn’t always happened with past projects. But when she no longer felt like The Crown was portraying her friend with respect, she bowed out.
“When our co-writing agreement was not honored, and when I realized that particular storyline would not necessarily be told as respectfully or compassionately as I had hoped, I requested that all my contributions be removed from the series and I declined a credit,” Khan explained.
Of course, the Royal-obsessed still watched The Crown with enthusiasm. It’s just important to remember that the show takes plenty of artistic license with storylines.
If you’re a diehard Di fan, there are plenty of books that promise to paint a more accurate story. From painstakingly researched books from well-known biographers to the stories written by those closest to Diana during her life, these are the biographies to add to your bookshelf.
Ten years after Princess Diana’s death, Tina Brown gave us the definitive biography of her. Brown is the former editor-in-chief of Tatler, Vanity Fair, and The New Yorker. The book is exhaustively researched, pulling from hundreds of interviews with those who knew her best. It’s a delightful read, dishing Diana’s life story for anyone interested in how she became an icon and the battles she endured.
Those that love Princess Diana will also love a compilation of the most iconic images taken of her. This coffee table book features photos from throughout her life, from childhood to her days with Prince William and Prince Harry. Tina Brown (author of The Diana Chronicles) provides a foreword to help put the tribute in context. Remembering Diana: A Life in Photographs also features reflections from those who knew her best, like Bill Clinton, Mother Teresa, and Elton John.
British aristocrat Lady Colin Campbell has no problem dishing about the Royal Family. She has penned seven books about the fam so far, including biographies of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, and Meghan. She is also well known for Diana in Private: The Princess Nobody Knows by Lady Colin Cambell. When released in 1992, it was dismissed as gossip, but some claims were later vindicated. Expect a fun, racy read.
Ken Warfe served as Princess Diana’s bodyguard for five years, so he saw her through many highs and lows. That means that his book, Diana: A Closely Guarded Secret, gives you that “fly on the wall” perspective. His heartfelt and well-observed biography is a look into Diana and who she was. It reveals her personality and humanity in a way that most books don’t, as they often focus on her marriage, adultery, or death.
Mary Robertson first met Diana before she was a princess. Diana was living in London and working a variety of odd jobs, and one of those odd jobs was babysitting Robertson’s son. Robertson had no idea that Diana was an aristocrat at the time. The two ended up forming a friendship. That makes this story different from some of the other biographies out there. It comes from a person who genuinely cared for Diana and knew her before she took the world’s center stage.
As we all know now, Princess Diana was unable to truly speak her mind – both as a member of the Royal Family and as one of the most famous women in the world. This all changed when this book was published in 1992, forever altering the way the public saw Diana and the British monarchy. This book has something that the other titles on the list don’t have, too: Diana’s intimate involvement. She secretly recorded herself and her innermost thoughts on tapes and provided them to Andrew Morton.
If you have young readers in your home, you are likely already familiar with the Who Was… ? book series. In the event you haven’t heard of them yet, these are books geared at middle school and high school kids, and they aim to spotlight important and impactful historical figures. For younger readers with an interest in Princess Diana, this is a well-written and easy-to-read chapter book. Who Was Princess Diana? documents Diana learning to use her fame as a way to help charitable causes that were near to her heart.
DK Biography: Princess Diana: A Photographic Story of a Life is another excellent choice for younger readers. As part of DK’s acclaimed biography series, it is easy to read and understand. It features photos with informative captions that will help young readers get to know who Princess Di was. Don’t expect a wealth of information, but it’s a great choice for visual learners who would love a collection of important images.
Sarah Bradford is an English author who is most well-known for her royal biographies. She has written compelling profiles of some of the world’s most fascinating figures, such as Queen Elizabeth II, King George VI, and Princess Grace. She has also penned the stories of other fascinating figures, such as Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Lucrezia Borgia. In Diana: Finally, the Complete Story, Bradford gives us an informational chronological overview of Diana’s life.
A Royal Duty certainly gives a unique insight into Princess Di’s life. That’s because author Paul Burrell is a former servant of the British Royal Household and served as a butler to Diana for ten years. As you can imagine, Burrell is able to give us an insider’s view of Diana. Unlike other books that deliver commentary about Diana from people who didn’t actually know her, this comes from someone who spent tons of time with her and her family. It’s full of detailed first-person observations. This one might be a bit of a tear-jerker for Princess Di fans, so be prepared!
By now, most people are aware that Princess Diana’s life wasn’t exactly smooth sailing. If you have read the countless biographies out there, checked out any of the films made about her life, or watched series like The Crown, you’ve seen plenty of her struggles and triumphs – but most of these are limited to her adult life after marrying Charles III. Sally Bedell Smith’s book offers a portrait of the late princess that examines the events and relationships that shaped her and her life.
On August 31st, 1997, the world was shocked when Princess Diana died in a car accident in Paris, France. Since then, eyewitness testimonies have revealed endless details about her death The Day Diana Died is a painstaking overview of all the events that led up to her death and the aftermath. This book may answer your lingering questions about that fateful day and will likely bring back memories of where you were when the tragedy happened.
Have you ever wondered what might have become of Princess Diana had she not died in that fatal car accident in 1997? She was living a fairytale and a nightmare simultaneously – adored by millions but unable to live the life she wanted. Then everything was tragically cut short. With Untold Story, Monica Ali explores the what-ifs. The fictional heroine of the book, like Diana, touches millions of lives and hearts around the world, reaching out like no other royal before her. She’s troubled and on the brink of disaster, though. Does she find peace and happiness, or is the curse of fame too great? It’s a provocative and stimulating page-turner.
