- Warning, there are some spoilers ahead for season five, episode two, of “The Crown.”
- In 1992, Andrew Morton published “Diana: Her True Story,” with the cooperation of the Princess.
- Here are the most shocking revelations the book made about the late royal and her life.
In 1992, Andrew Morton shook the British monarchy to its core with the publication of “Diana: Her True Story,” which lifted a lid on the Princess of Wales’ unhappy marriage to the-then Prince of Wales and her deteriorating mental health.
As shown in season five of “The Crown,” the book wasn’t just a biography about the royal, who died at the age of 36 just four years after it hit shelves; it was actually written with her consent and with her own words.
“I’d love to have a book out there so everyone understands how difficult it’s been,” Diana (Elizabeth Debicki) remarks in episode two of “The Crown,” which prompts her friend James Colthurst (Oliver Chris) to reach out to the journalist Andrew Morton (Andrew Steele) to make it happen.
As it turned out, Morton was already writing a book on the royal, and eventually, Diana agreed to assist Morton in getting, as the title alludes to, her “true story.”
As shown in the episode, she really did secretly record her thoughts on a tape recorder before handing it over to Colthurst, who in turn gave it to Morton to transcribe and make it seem like it had come from other sources.
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The book was initially released under the pretense that Diana had no involvement whatsoever, yet it still became an instant publishing sensation, selling a reported five million copies worldwide.
However, following Diana’s death in 1997, Morton revealed the truth about how the book came about and published a new edition of the book titled, “Diana: Her True Story — In Her Own Words.”
It is not known if Diana ever wanted the part she played in bringing the bombshell book to life made public, but knowing that the revelations came from the Princess herself does make reading them all the more shocking.
Here are some most surprising and scandalous excerpts from the book.