Acknowledgements

I owe a great debt of gratitude to all those people who have been kind enough to help me with this book, those named below and those who have preferred not to be named. I have also been fortunate to have the taped memories of members of the royal circle recorded over a decade ago when the events described in this book and people’s reactions to them were still fresh. If I have omitted anyone who should have been included, I ask their forgiveness.

 

A&H Associates; Dickie Arbiter LVO; Sally Bedell Smith; Michael Bentley; Mark Bolland; Tom Bower; Lord Carlile of Berriew QC; Phil Craig; Sir Geoffrey Dear QPM, DL; The Rt Hon. Lord Deedes; Sister Bridie Dowd DC, OBE; Victor Edelstein; Meredith Etherington-Smith; Tess Gilder; Robert Golden; Roy Greenslade; Geordie Greig; David Griffin RVM; Linda Hall; Pamela, Lady Harlech; Nicholas Haslam; James Hewitt; Stuart Higgins; Anthony Holden; Patrick Jephson; Richard Kay; Timothy Leese; Brian Lapping; Marguerite Littman; Christopher Loyd CVO; Robert Low; Colin and Annabel Mackay; Andrew Morton; M.J. Rockall for his kindness in making available to me his collection of Diana letters; the Reverend Michael Seed SA; Ian Shapiro of Argyll Etkin Ltd, London for giving me access to Diana documents and letters; James Sherwin; Robert Spencer; Dr Will Swift; William Tallon RVM* Gold; Colin Tebbutt MVO; Hugo Vickers for kindly making available to me his unpublished diary and extensive collection of royal newspaper cuttings covering the Diana years; Judy Wade; Lord Wakeham PC, JP, DL, FCA; Christopher Warwick; Nigel West; Kenneth A. Wharfe MVO; James Whitaker.

 

I am grateful to Martin Morse Wooster for his help with American sources, Lucy Pullan for her research in newspaper archives, to Camilla Eadie and Lizzie Grant for their skilful transcriptions and general help, to Lynda Marshall for her help in picture research, and to Douglas Matthews for compiling the index.

 

My agent, Gillon Aitken, has been a great support, assisted by Ayesha Karim and Sally Riley. At my publishers, Viking in London, I should like to express my gratitude to Helen Fraser, Tom Weldon and Keith Taylor. Above all, Carly Cook has accompanied me almost every step of the way, going far beyond the call of duty in collecting and designing the pictures illustrating Diana’s life, editing the book and seeing its completion down to the most minute and often tedious detail. Richard Collins has once again proved the most intelligent and skilful of editors. In the early stages of the book no one could have done more to encourage me than Antonia Till. Above all my husband, William Bangor, has provided me with moral support throughout and practical expertise on proof checking.