Diana: Closely Guarded Secret (Diana Princess of Wales)
by Inspector Ken Wharfe

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Book Reviews of Diana: Closely Guarded Secret (Diana Princess of Wales)

Book Review: Until Paul Burrell write *his* book (and you know he will!)
Summary: 5 Stars

At times I found Wharfe to be somewhat condescending to his readers; the prelude of the book describes the day of Diana's funeral, and he speaks of the mourners who wept for her (myself included) and how they "had not known her", the implication being that the millions who grieved essentially had no right to do so. He rhetorically questions whether "....the people must also share some of that blame [for Diana's death]? After all, they had bought the newspapers, pored over the magazines, read the books, sat glued to the television coverage." It struck me that he was, in a manner, berating the people who he most certainly must have known would be the readers of his book.

That aside, this is a truly delightful book for the most part, as Wharfe shares his stories of Diana and the Princes William and Harry over the years that he was the Protection Officer for first the Princes and then Diana. I believe that it tells of a side of Diana we don't hear enough about; rather than concentrating on the misery of her marriage, her adultery, or her vindictive aspects, as others are wont to do, we can revel in the humanity of Diana. At times the reader can almost hear, as her brother Charles Spencer said in his eulogy,"...the laugh that bent you double..."; we get glimpses of the same's remark regarding "...[her] wonderfully mischievous sense of humor ...".

Naturally there are tales that show the "darker", if you will, side of Diana; sometimes she was petulant, ornery, and manipulative. However, I daresay that the entire human race possesses these same aspects! The trappings of royalty did not insulate her from sadness and disappointment, nor did they remove her innate responses to such. Until we have walked the proverbial mile in her shoes, we surely have no right to judge her actions.

This book nearly completes the puzzle that was Diana, Princess of Wales for those of us not in the position to personally know her. Certainly it is not all sunshine and roses, but it is what I feel to be a far more consumate picture of a Lady that became a Princess and ultimately, in her own words, the "queen of people's hearts".

Summary of Diana: Closely Guarded Secret (Diana Princess of Wales)

British Books

• Books > Subjects > Biographies & Memoirs > Historical
• Leaders & Notable People > Royalty > Princess Diana
• Specific Groups > Women
• Humor & Entertainment > Humor
• History > Europe > Wales