Diana: Her True Story - In Her Own Words by Andrew Morton

  Probably Andrew Morton's most recognized work, Diana: Her True Story about the Princess of Wales was revolutionary on several levels. First of all, reporters didn't speak to members of the royal family. If they did, they spoke about their humanitarian or charitable accomplishments and was carefully scrutinized and many permissions would need to be given by several offices in Buckingham and Kensington Palace, as well as officials from both houses being present during the interview. This didn't happen for this book, the only permission that was given was Diana's, to speak to schoolfriends, Diana's family members, and her staff. 
    It all started innocently enough, there were always rumors about Diana being unhappy. She was crying in public. Charles and Diana were visibly distant in public. Prince Charles was known to spend weeks and months away from Kensington where Diana mostly was raising the young princes William and Harry. There were rumors of her being emotionally unstable. When Diana started her public speaking career after Prince Harry was born, she used an old family friend,James Colhurst, who was a radiologist at St. Thomas's Hospital and made a formal visit to the hospital. Of course, wherever the princess went, the press was there as well. Andrew Morton was there to represent The Star and Diana introduced  James and Andrew and they became friends.  Mr. Colhurst actually helped Mr. Morton with a very pleasurable book of mostly pictures of Diana called Diana's Diary in 1990.  The princess relayed to Andrew that she liked the book very much and asked him if he would like an actual interview. Of course, the answer was 'yes'. Such a very rare opportunity ever falls into a British reporter's lap! 
    Mr. Morton couldn't very well be seen talking to the princess inside Kensington Palace because everyone knew Andrew Morton as a royal reporter. So James Colhurst, a friend of Diana's whose presence wouldn't be questioned, had to be used with a tape recorder. And he would come into her wing of Kensington Palace and the door would be closed and locked. That's how the tappings happened.  Mr. Colhurst then would give the tapes to Mr. Morton and he would transcribe them, using Diana's friends and family as confirmation of her stories. The problem came when it came time to confirm the story about Camilla. If Diana can't confirm it, it would be unable to be used in the book.  When Diana was told this news, she was furious. So much of her unhappiness from being a royal princess with a story, Diana believed Camilla was largely responsible for it. She actually went home, rifled thru Charles briefcase and found a large stash of letters Camilla had written to Charles and gave them to Andrew Morton. But the letters hardly proved a sexual affair, but it clearly suggested a romantic relationship.  So the term 'secret friendship' had to be used.  
     Diana viewed this book as an opportunity to speak her mind and letting the public decide for themselves what to believe.  "Let them be my judge" was Diana's eventual response.  She wanted to speak candidly about her bulemia, her suicide attempts, and her husbands affair with Camilla Parker Bowles, and the treatment of Diana by the royal system.  Diana had asked for help in the early days. She had confronted Prince Charles about Camilla and been dismissed.  She had asked the Queen for advice on what to do about the Charles/Camilla situation and was merely told that 'Charles was hopeless'.  Diana was constantly told by servants close to the prince that Camilla was 'just a friend'. Her unhappiness and frustration was apparent many times but her behavior was passed on to the press by Buckingham Palace as being 'unstable'.   Diana felt her way was being blocked and her back was against the wall.  So her reasons for wanting this book was clear. 
     Diana: Her True Story was published in June of 1992 with much fanfare. Even though a lot of bookstores didn't carry the book initially, the ones that did carry it were sold out of the book by lunchtime.  There were even several calls to local police stations in London from these bookstores of theft of the much anticipated book of the princess' s view.  The monarchy would be happy to say that it was the most banned book in England of the 1990's. Once word that the book was being researched got to Buckingham Palace, Andrew Morton arrived to his office one morning to find that his office has been broken into and rifled thru.  There was even talk of locking Andrew Morton up in the Tower of London.  
     Most of the time, the princess dismissed her cooperation of the book.  "I really had nothing to do with that book being written," Diana would reply when asked.  This was a lie of course, but Diana had to have deniablilty. In truth, most of the facts of the book came from Diana herself, but friends and family were used as confirmation of said facts and had Diana's permission to do so.   
     It wasn't until after Diana passed away in 1997, that Andrew Morton was finally able to say that she was the 'Deep Throat' of the biography. He published a new version of the book with exclusive new material from Diana in 2017.