Shadows of a Princess

By: Patrick Jephson

Narrated by: Patrick Jephson

Length: 19 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

Reissued for the 20th anniversary of Diana's death, this sensational best seller is an explosive account of her life, from the man who was by her side throughout its most turbulent period.

In 1981 Lady Diana Spencer was seen by many as a lifeline for the outdated Windsor line. But Diana didn't follow the script. Instead she brought a revolution.

Patrick Jephson was Diana's closest aide and adviser during her years of greatest public fame and deepest personal crisis. He witnessed the disintegration of her marriage to Prince Charles and the negotiation of the royal divorce.

Rooted in unique firsthand experience, Shadows of a Princess is an authoritative, balanced account of one of the world's most famous and tragic women.

©2000, 2017 Prospect Media Ltd (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"The most indelible, authentic word-portrait ever painted of the People's Princess." ( The Daily Mail)

"Never has so senior a servant of the Royal Family decided to reveal his secrets and rarely has one witnessed such turbulent times." ( The Times)

"Jephson's revelations are important. They are a stark corrective to the baroque fantasies constructed around the Princess immediately after her death." ( Evening Standard)

his point of view although not flattering to Di

I liked it felt bad for Di...the royal family used her. I really question how she died.

Great book, great voice

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, he tells the story wonderfully.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Shadows of a Princess?

Diana in New York

Which scene was your favorite?

The anti-nuke protestors

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

She should have been Queen

Candid and honest

Different from other books of the genre. Interesting read. Few new insights stands out as smashing Diana myth

Review

I love Patrick Jephson. He is my favorite person in Diana’s life to listen to. I feel he treats her with the respect she deserves. He is also highly intelligent, and I enjoyed this book so much more than many others written about her.

Recollection of what seems to be an honest man

This memoir is personal, and it’s written as though there is no agenda about the qualities of the primary subject

Mr. Jephson both admired the princess and was victim of her failings.
He seems to carry no resentment some years later as he wrote this book

His psychological and personal perspective are complex detailed and are full of empathy and inside

Recommended.

Thank you for the whole truth

What a great read. This writer knew Diana, Princess of Wales better that most people. This is a very frank but fair assessment of a highly complex woman. I learned that Royalty without humility rots the soul. Diana was fortunate to die young. She couldn’t keep up the pretenses of being a wonderful, compassionate, giving person for much longer, and would ultimately have had a huge public ugly fall. Rest In Peace Diana.

Diary of details that help story!

Private Secretary kept diary of details while working for Diana which leads to compelling account of behind the scenes

Honest and balanced Diana account

Have you ever read a book that makes you want to just sit down with the author and really talk? This account makes me want to spend a long evening with Patrick Jephson and philosophize about what might have been, had his boss made different choices.

Do not expect a gushy recounting of the lurid details of Diana's private life. Rather, this is a firsthand look of what she was like as a working member of the royal family in the turbulent years surrounding her separation and divorce. As her equerry and later private secretary, Jephson gives a tantalizing look at what it is like to run the day to day details of the life of the most famous woman in the world.

His occasional tendency to wander into mind numbing detail and drawn out reflection is the book's only fault. However he receives all forgiveness in my eyes for his ability to be perfectly candid about the Princess. Here is complete honesty about her strengths and weaknesses in equal measure from first hand observation, not supposition or armchair psychology.

After listening, one feels like they understand Diana...and those close to her...in a new way. Jephson offers no excuse for her often bewildering behavior, but he also accurately portrays the unique and extreme challenges that she faced so that her actions are placed in context. This is probably the most balanced account out there of the complex Princess.

I enjoyed reading the book, and listening to it read by the author was even better. A new chapter at the end is a pleasant surprise and welcome addition as the original edition ended far too abruptly. If you want to draw your own conclusions about what the princess was really like, without having an author cast her in a premade role of angel or devil, this is the book for you!

Well Done!

Could not put this down. One of the rare occasions when the author narrates, and it couldn’t have been better-done by a professional. Jephson’s nuanced account of the Famous Princess, takes you inside the Palace walls and straight into the inner workings of day-to-day life of Diana, Princess of Wales. The author takes a long hard look her, and reveals her compassion for others, and alternately, her desperate need for attention. More importantly, he takes us straight into her life, as if he were reading her journal, and he it’s a journal he often scripted for her. Until she goes off on her own self-destructive path, and he finally walks away.
I wish he had been hired by Megan and Harry, and could write that story...

Story appears to be against the beautiful person Diana was

Will not finish this book and will get my money back to purchase the real story of Diana in her own words!