Portraits of a Princess: Travels with Diana
- Book Review,
by Patrick Jephson
From Publishers Weekly
The anniversary of Princess Diana’s death on August 31, 1997, serves as occasion for yet another tribute, this time exploring her travels. Jephson, Diana’s private secretary, was denounced by Prince William in 2000 for exploiting his connection to Diana and publishing Shadows of a Princess, a highly critical look at her character, but this book is considerably more flattering. "To omit mention of... her failings would be to dismiss her as a saccharin invention—but they were not the whole person," Jephson writes. "The Diana I knew overcame these traits every day she stepped out of her palace and used her talents to brighten the lives of others." According to Jephson, the book’s purpose is to remind readers of the "brilliance" of the work Diana did for so many good causes. Yet, while the images provided by Royal Photographer Gavin document Diana’s dealings with various world dignitaries and charity organizers, they also show the evolution of her hair and wardrobe. She was, as Jephson puts it, "an unbeatable combination of fashion and compassion." If short on gravitas and substance, Jephson nevertheless shows how Diana leveraged her celebrity status for the public good, drawing the eye of the world to such causes as AIDS, ballet companies and land mines. Though Jephson sometimes adopts a patronizing tone and intrusively inserts himself into his own narrative—describing how he disapproved of her occasional "scheming" and proclaiming that her appearance in the Panorama interview "sealed the fate of her royal career. And mine too"—Diana’s devotees will likely make room on their shelves for this memorial.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Mother Teresa
"She helped me to help the poor and that's the most beautiful thing."
Review
"Few of us will ever look as beautiful on the outside as she did, but all of us can strive to develop that inner beauty of the heart and soul that she valued and understood was more lasting and important."
- Hillary Clinton
"She helped me to help the poor and that's the most beautiful thing."
- Mother Teresa
"She was undoubtedly one of the best ambassadors of Great Britain."
- Nelson Mandela
"Her iconic potency is infinitely strengthened by the fact that we shall never see her middle-aged or old...she will be eternally young...a great beauty and a great humanitarian rolled into one"
- Sir Roy Strong, The Times
"The power of her appeal was vulnerable fallibility."
- Simon Schama, The New Yorker
Nelson Mandela
"She was undoubtedly one of the best ambassadors of Great Britain."
Book Description
The dramatic public life of Diana, Princess of Wales was enacted against a backdrop of exciting foreign destinations.
These are inextricably linked to some of the most significant events in her own journey. Who can forget the lonely Princess at the Taj Mahal, the "War of the Waleses" in South Korea, the glamorous Diana, darling of Manhattan fundraisers, or the Queen of Hearts in an African refugee camp? These are just some of the unforgettable images revisited in Portraits of a Princess--Travels with Diana.
Patrick Jephson, Diana's private secretary for many years, gives his unique perspective of his time spent with the Princess. As the man who organized nearly all of her foreign travel and accompanied her on most of it, his viewpoint provides the book with a unique sense of authority.
For Portraits of a Princess Jephson reassembles the core team that worked with him on orchestrating Diana's worldwide crusade: the press secretary, the security chief and the Princess's personal assistant.
From this unmatched archive of experience came candid and entertaining anecdotes which add colour to fascinating behind-the-scenes details of the logistics of a royal superstar on tour: how the press coverage was organized and orchestrated, how the protocol experts were kept happy and how transport and security requirements were adapted to suit Diana's revolutionary royal style.
Other experts comment on the Princess's changing fashion tastes as her wardrobe evolved from the "Shy Di" of the joint tours to the confident glamour icon of Washington society balls or the hands-on charity leader in Africa.
Again and again, as we retrace the Princess's footstep, Jephson asks, "Did she make a difference?"
These striking portraits answer that question.
About the Author
Patrick Jephson served for six years as the first and only private secretary to Diana, Princess of Wales. He is the author of Shadows of a Princess, which was a New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller in 2000.
Kent Gavin FRPS is the winner of over 130 awards and nominations during his career on the Daily Mirror, including Royal Photographer of the Decade for the 1980s and 1990s and seven time winner of Royal Photographer of the Year.
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