Andrew Morton's biography, drawing extensively on Princess Diana's own recorded testimony, reveals a private inner experience sharply contrasting with her carefully managed public royal image.

Why this contrast forms the book's central narrative:

• Diana's public image, especially early in her royal life, projected a fairy-tale narrative that concealed significant private struggle
• Morton's access to Diana's own voice (through secretly recorded tapes) provided unprecedented insight into this gap between public perception and private experience
• This contrast between public image and private reality became the book's defining revelation upon original publication, fundamentally reshaping public understanding of the royal marriage

This opening framing establishes the book's significance as a primary historical document, not merely a conventional biography, due to its direct access to Diana's own words.