Here are 5 interesting facts revealed by Ken Wharfe, the narrator and her personal police protection officer through her audiobook ‘Diana – Remembering the Princess’
This year marks the 25th death anniversary of the remarkable woman and one of the most iconic figures of the late twentieth century, Princess Diana (31st August 1997). The Audible audiobook ‘Diana – Remembering the Princess‘ is written by two people closely associated with Diana – Inspector Ken Wharfe, the Princess’s police protection officer for six years during the most turbulent period of her marriage to Prince Charles and Ros Coward, author of the official book by the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Trust. The book talks about the people and events of the time through a tribute to the Princess, available exclusively on Audible. in.
THE INITIAL LIFE
“When Diana was six, her parents separated and divorced two years later.” reveals Ken Wharfe, the narrator of the audiobook and Princess Diana’s bodyguard. Ken also mentions how after losing the custody of Diana and her brother Charles, the two returned to live with their father. Moving ahead in life, in 1976, Earl Spencer (Diana’s father) married Raine Spencer -Countess of Dartmouth, who was also the daughter of the romantic novelist Barbara Cartland. Ken reveals, “All the Spencer children disliked her (Raine Spencer) intensely and called her acid rain.”
THE ROYAL WEDDING/ THE HONEYMOON PHASE
Ken Wharfe, in the audiobook, highlights, “Her (Diana’s) older sister Sarah had previously been romantically linked with the Prince of Wales, but it was Diana who became engaged to Charles in 1981 when she was only 19 years old. Post the Royal wedding, “The couple honeymooned in Gibraltar, followed by a cruise through the Mediterranean. On 21st June 1982, their son William was born, followed by 15th September 1984, when their second son Harry was born.”
PS: The wedding was watched by 750 million people across the globe and represented a high point in the popularity of the British monarchy.
The DARK TRUTH
While many controversies are attached to Diana’s life, Prince Charles’s affair is the dark truth. Ken in the audiobook available on Audible, mentions, “Prince Charles admitted his infidelity with Camilla in a TV interview with Jonathan Dimbleby. “While Diana continued her international trips and humanitarian work, her private life was still unravelling. The Prince of Wales was continuing his relationship with Camilla Park Bowles, a liaison which many of their friends colluded with, leading to Diana feeling ostracised and betrayed.” He further reveals, “In November 1995, Diana appeared in the infamous Martin Bashir Panorama interview in which she made her memorable comment.” Diana quotes, “there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.” Soon after this, “In August 1996, her marriage to Charles was dissolved with the granting of a Decree Absolute.” tells Ken.
THE END
Princess Diana’s death during a car accident in Paris is still a hard-accepted truth by many. Ken said, “Diana was said to have made comments such as ‘They need to get rid of me’ and ‘They’d like it if I wasn’t around’. Such quotation hinted that she predicted her own demise or even that she correctly suspected she was at risk…. “‘People (People around the world) were too prone to interference and were overly compassionate towards her and her life’. They very passionately, took her side and felt she’d been unfairly treated. No doubt, I feel that they will always have strong grounds for thinking her predictions were based on reality, even though I’m convinced that her death was an accident.”
THE AFTERMATH
After Diana’s death, her funeral took place the following day and with it would come one of the most astonishing attacks on the modern royal family. “Many people were lost. Many were distressed, but they were also angry that the royal family didn’t appear to care that they had sealed themselves away, with nothing seen or heard of them. There was no personal statement from the Queen there were no gestures of loss or emotion. The gulf between them and their subjects had never seemed wider in the days after her death, and while the crowds continued to pour into London to lay flowers at the gate of Kensington Palace, the Daily Express ran a headline aimed at the Queen which simply said, “Show us you care mam”. It summed up a widespread feeling that the royal family were indifferent to Diana’s fate and therefore complicit in her unhappiness,” said Ken Wharfe.
To know more about the iconic people’s princess, tune into the Audible audiobook.
