Diana Spencer was born in 1961. She had a somewhat tumultuous home life, as her parents were distraught over the death of one child and the lack of a male heir. (It is so annoying to me that male heirs are the most valuable.) Her parents divorced when she was seven. Her father gained custody, and remarried. Diana did not get along with her stepmother, Raine, Countess of Dartmouth. She met Prince Charles in 1977 while he was dating Diana's older sister, Sarah. (Gross.) He was 29 and Diana was 16. (Gross.) He proposed to her in 1981, to which her unfortunate reply was yes. Her introduction into royal life was depressing. She was alone, ridiculed for her behaviors that were not "proper" enough. Her future husband did not love her, just married her because she was a more acceptable bride than his skank of a mistress. She became pregnant with her first son, Prince William. She had another son, Prince Harry, after that. She did not defer to the royal family in choosing their names, which was a break from tradition that was not accepted happily. She also made decisions regarding their schools, nannies, outings, and other activities that were generally controlled by the royal family. She suffered from an eating disorder and depression, and none of her treatment by members of the royal family or her sorry husband helped that. She engaged in affairs, and that was just so terrible, but her sorry husband could and it was FINE. She was hounded by the media, especially once she started dating someone who wasn't white. She did a lot of charity work, and was generally seen as a very kind and loving person to children, women, all races, and those who had AIDS. It was so sad that her life was so sad and that it ended when she was so young.

I have several books by Andrew Morton, and I have enjoyed the ones that I have read. I enjoyed this book as well, even though it is not my favorite book of his. I've read a few reviews about how this is one side of the story and it is biased. Perhaps, but it is HER story. It's not the story that is presented by the palace or by the tabloids. It is HER story. Her voice was taken from her by being married into what she married into. Her voice was taken by gossip, speculation, and hounding. Her voice was taken away by her death at the hands of people who didn't care about the safety of others, but their own interests. What happened to this HUMAN BEING was disgusting. Just because people are celebrities or royals does not mean that they are not human beings, entitled to life. I liked this book well enough, and I am looking forward to reading the couple of other books that I own by him.