WhenAndrew Morton’s much-divisive bestseller,Diana: Her True Story, hit bookshelves in 1992, most people, excluding those afflicted by a rather rare case of reasonable doubt and a penchant for hearing two sides of the story, wrote it off as a pathos-packed money-grabber. And, since the unanimous verdict of the world at large, more often than not, is seen asthe word,Diana’s tumultuous story– a story that she reportedly had a hand in bringing to life on paper – sadly remained only an entertaining piece of fiction, with maybe some facts thrown into the well-crafted picture sporadically as a way of making the work seem credible.
After the death of the Princess of Wales in 1997, however, the author of the book that had caused so much fuss in both the literary and political spheres of Britain finally broke his silence regarding Diana’s involvement in the work. Not surprisingly, this granted the biography the credibility it needed – although it was also painted in a new light.
Related:Does ‘The Crown’ Season 5 Do Enough to Balance Diana and Charles?
What Happens in Season 5 of ‘The Crown’?
The second episode ofSeason 5 ofThe Crownfinds Princess Diana (Elizabeth Debicki) in a bit of a moral quandary. She has had a disturbing childhood, seems to be battling with a then-stigmatized eating disorder, lives in constant fear of the seldom-sated press, and, to top it all off, is unhappy in her marriage with Charles, who has of late been ridiculing the idea of holy matrimony by finding solace in the arms of another woman. Leaving Charles doesn’t seem to be an option. She is not, after all, a normal woman who can just leave everything behind and start over. The press will never leave her alone. Moreover, ingiving up on her marriage, which Charles (Dominic West) seems to have done in spirit, if not in law, she will also be giving up on her children, who, of course, happen to be heirs to the Throne. Staying, however, will exact a heavy toll on her mental health, and given that she is very much suicidal at this point, how much more can she really take?
“I’d love to have a book out there, so everyone understands how difficult it’s been,” says Elizabeth Debicki’s Diana inThe Crownto James Colthurst (Oliver Chris), who acts as an intermediary between her and the ambitious journalist when the former decides to lay it all out in the open. “But I don’t want to be responsible for starting a war,” she continues, suggesting that she would like her involvement in the book to be strictly confidential, lest she should be held responsible for tarnishing the royal name.
And, with the help of Colthurst, a mutual friend of the Princess of Wales and the journalist who is taking such a profound and commendable interest in her life (be it for money, fame, or merely a self-imposed challenge), the making of the book commences. With Colthurst acting as an intermediary between the two, the princess and the writer are spared the otherwise crucial necessity of meeting up in person – something that the press and the ever-hungry gossip-mongers always preying on the life of the royals would have found too spicy to not form crude conjectures about.
Diana records her secret tapes in Kensington Palace in 1991, and Colthurst, ever the loyalist, secretly takes them to Andrew Morton. In the tapes, Diana finds the venting ground she so needed, and outpours a heart-wrenching tale of depression, desolation, and despondency. In the secret recordings, she lays bare everything about her life: her disturbing childhood, her struggles with bulimia, Charles’ affair with a woman named Camilla Parker Bowles (Olivia Williams), her suicide attempt when she was pregnant with Charles’ child.
Did the Princess of Wales Actually Send Out Secret Tapes to Andrew Morton?
The Crownis essentially a dramatization of the royal life, not an authoritative account of one, contrary to general assumptions. Of course, show creatorPeter Morganand the writers do stick as closely to the facts as possible, but an exact retelling of the whensand whats of widely known facts would hardly a story make, and one so compelling in nature. So, the show, more often than not, puts a rather exaggerated spin on real-life events. In the case of Morton’s bombshell biography, however, how much didThe Crownreally have to invent?
As it turns out, the journalist wrote a very detailed account of how he came to acquire the tapes after the passing of the princess. Morton only chose to break his silence regardingDiana’s involvement in her own biography after her death– a move that allowed the world to give him the benefit of the doubt. After all, he could very easily have elevated his sales by disclosing this information right after his work saw the light of day (or the unpredictability of day in this particular instance) – something he eventually ends up doing, but at least the princess is not publicly held accountable for “starting a war.”
As the show indicates, the journalist was already planning on writing a biography about Diana. His prestige and reputation allowed him to build a friendly relationship with Colthurst over games of squash and Italian food (asThe Crowncorrectly shows). Impressed by Morton’s work as a journalist, Diana, rather subtly, starts giving tidbits of inside information to Colthurst, who retells the accounts he hears from the princess to Morton, who then turns them into pieces for The Sunday Times (the piece on Charles’ private secretary, for instance).
As Morton’s influence grew over both the princess and their mutual acquaintance, Diana became more and more confident about unpacking the trauma that had kept her trapped in life (literallyandmetaphorically) for so long, According to Morton, she wanted the world to know her story, to see her as a woman, a human being with feelings and emotions, not just an altruistic public servant. A book written by a credible author would allow her to do just that. By January 1992, the royal family had figured out that Diana was somehow working with Morton. That, however, did not stop her. In June 1992, an excerpt from Morton’s book – titled “Diana driven to five suicide bids by ‘uncaring Charles’” – caused an uproar in Britain. From the writing to the insights, it couldn’t have been more obvious that the princess of Wales was cooperating with the veteran royal reporter.
That being said, Diana publicly refused to have a hand in the making of the book, which is hardly surprising. From the very beginning, she was very clear about not wanting her involvement in the biography declared. Six months after the publication of the book, Charles and Diana’s marriagecame to an end. The former admitted to having cheated on his wife on television, and, by doing so, somewhat corroborated the events ofDiana: Her True Story.
