On 7 June 1992, The Sunday Times began serialising a new book by the journalist Andrew Morton. It was called Diana: Her True Story, and it shocked Britain.
The book described a princess who felt isolated, unhappy and unsupported inside the royal family. It described the long shadow of Camilla Parker Bowles over the marriage. It also revealed Diana’s private struggles with her health and her deep unhappiness in the years after her wedding.
The palace response was immediate. Senior courtiers assured the head of the newspaper regulator that Diana had not cooperated with the book. Many people assumed Morton had relied on gossip and second-hand stories.
But there were clues. Several of Diana’s closest friends had spoken to Morton. Days after the serialisation began, Diana visited one of them, Carolyn Bartholomew, in full view of the photographers. Many saw it as a quiet signal of approval.
The truth was far more remarkable. Diana had not simply approved the book. In a sense, she had written it. In the privacy of Kensington Palace, she recorded hours of answers on cassette tapes, responding to questions Morton sent through a trusted go-between, her friend Dr James Colthurst. Colthurst carried the tapes back and forth, reportedly by bicycle, so that Diana and Morton would never be seen together.
The book changed how the public saw the royal marriage. Within months, the relationship collapsed completely. In December 1992, the Prime Minister announced that Charles and Diana were to separate.
The revelation also caused deep embarrassment at the palace. The Queen’s private secretary, Sir Robert Fellowes, who was also Diana’s brother-in-law, had reportedly given assurances that she was not involved. He is said to have offered his resignation when he learned the truth. The Queen did not accept it.
Diana kept her secret for the rest of her life. Only after her death in August 1997 did Morton reveal the full story. He published a new edition that included transcripts of her own recorded words. Its new title said everything: Diana: Her True Story, In Her Own Words.
Today, the book is seen as one of the most important royal books ever published. It gave Diana a voice at a time when she felt she had none, and it changed the relationship between the royal family and the press forever.