Diana, William, and Harry: The Heartbreaking Story of a Princess and Mother

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I had not heard as much about their schooling and military experiences before and it was interesting to read of those influential moments and their impacts. Despite their sadness, the boys had to maintain a positive public image and did their best to stay strong in the face of a world that was watching them so closely.

And another wonderful [story], which I loved, was the queen saying she doesn't understand the way Diana was operating as a mother. Given that bookshelves are full of stories about the House of Windsor, is there anything more to be said about the shattered family of Diana, Princess of Wales (1961-1997)? In spite of efforts to keep Diana top of mind, the narrative becomes less vibrant once Diana is no longer in it. Diana’s invited to celebrate Charles’s thirty-second birthday—on Friday, November 14—at Sandringham, the royal family’s country estate. She remembers Jane confiding about her new husband: We have known each other all our lives and have gradually grown closer.

Her anecdotes are humorous, heartfelt, and supremely captivating, recounted with the passion of a true survivor and the acerbic wit of a weathered, street-wise New Yorker. Queen Elizabeth usually spent her summer months in Scotland with members of the royal family regularly visiting her, and King Charles has kept the tradition going. Now that he is thirty, his father insists, “You’d better get on with it, Charles, or there won’t be anyone left.

On November 16, while Diana was still at Sandringham, the Sunday Mirror led with an explosive front-page headline: ROYAL LOVE TRAIN. I kept myself busy as well—which is good and bad sometimes—but allows you to kind of get through that initial shock phase. My take on Diana, William, and Harry is neither positive or negative on the writing, and the creativity. I wasn't sure what to think when I saw this was "written" by James Patterson (or, rather, is churned out by his "writing" factory) but decided to give it a try.

As she fell in love, first with Prince Charles and then with her sons, William and Harry, the world fell in love with the young royal family—Diana most of all. Diana, who has been vacationing with Dodi Al Fayed in the South of France, has just stopped in Paris on her way home to London. Charles escorts her to the opera, invites her to watch him race and hunt and play polo, and takes her aboard the 412-foot royal yacht, Britannia, to the Cowes Week regatta, near the Isle of Wight. If you don't know much about Diana and her sons or you are head-over-heels about his writing, this book may be for you. Diana’s been charging rent—eighteen pounds a week—to three other girls and enforcing the cleaning, but it’s been such fun living with her friends.