Author: Wendy Holdern
Publisher: Berkley
Genre: Fiction
Source: Purchased

Goodreads: Princess Diana was the most famous woman in the world, celebrated across the globe for her poise and glamour. But before stepping out of the royal carriage at St. Paul’s Cathedral she spent nineteen years as the shy, awkward Lady Diana Spencer. How did the aristocratic ugly duckling become a beautiful royal swan?

Bestselling author Wendy Holden explores the astonishing backstory and young adulthood of the ultimate royal celebrity.

Britain, 1961: A bouncing blond baby is born to Viscount Althorp, heir to the Spencer earldom, and his wife Frances. Diana grows up amid the fallout of her parents’ messy divorce. She struggles at school. Moving to London, she takes menial jobs as a cleaner and nanny. Her refuge throughout is romantic novels. She dreams of falling in love and being rescued by a handsome prince.

In royal circles, there is concern about the Prince of Wales. Nearly 30, Charles remains unmarried; the right girl needs to be found, and fast. She must be young, aristocratic and come to the royal family without any past liaisons.

The eighteen-year-old Diana Spencer is just about the only candidate. Her desperation to be loved dovetails perfectly with royal desperation for a bride. But as the ruthless Palace machine starts up, there are challenges for Diana to face plus mysteries she can’t fathom, from the strangeness of life within the palace walls to a certain Mrs. Parker Bowles. Can her romantic dream survive the forces that shape her into a global icon?

Ope’s Opinion: Although this was fiction it seemed like non-fiction. It felt so real and like I was reliving what I had seen and heard from the past. This was an authentic, sad retelling of what felt like the truth behind the marriage of Princess Diana and Prince Charles.

Princess Diana’s life seems to me to have been the perfect storm – her romantic idea of what a marriage will be like and the Royal families need for a perfect princess collide. She had such high expectations and was so young, she couldn’t or wouldn’t look at what was really happening. The Royal family wanted the world to see it one way and hid the ugly truth.

The book ending was sadly perfect!