According to two authors - former royal butler Paul Burrell and historian Hugo Vickers - Prince Philip, was perhaps one of the few people in Buckingham Palace who saw through the denials from the start Princess Diana regarding the sensational biography of the royal family written Andrew Morton .
Long before Diana's secret collaboration with Morton became public, the late Duke of Edinburgh suspected she played a role in the controversial 1992 bestseller «Diana: Her True Story» - a book that revealed intimate details of her difficult marriage with King Charles III and her struggles within the royal family.
The consequences of the fall of the palace
In his 2026 biography of the royal, historian Hugo Vickers wrote that, while collaborating with author Andrew Morton, Princess Diana "vented all her grievances on her unhappy husband," King Charles III, and confirmed that the former Camilla Parker Bowles was "the other woman in his life." Photo: Phil Loftus/Capital Pictures / MEGA
The publication of Morton's bestseller, which came out in 1992, caused quite a sensation in royal circles.
At the time, both Diana and Morton denied that the Princess of Wales was directly involved in the project. Only after Diana's tragic death in 1997 did Morton reveal that she had secretly been the primary source of information for the book.
In 1991, Diana recorded about five hours of material, which was given to Morton through a trusted friend and served as the basis for the biography.
The tapes detailed Diana's deeply personal experiences, including the breakdown of her marriage to then-Prince Charles and his relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles, his longtime lover and current wife, Queen Camilla .
«"Everyone was suspicious."»
Andrew Morton's 1992 international bestseller, Diana: Her True Story: In Her Own Words, which revealed Princess Diana's isolation, her bulimia, and the breakdown of her marriage, forever changed public perception of the British monarchy. Photo: JM/Capital Pictures / MEGA
According to Burrell, Diana's longtime butler and close confidant, Philip raised his concerns directly with the Princess of Wales.
In his 2003 memoirs «"Royal duty »" Burrell described the royal family's reaction to the book's publication and recalled conversations between Diana and the Duke of Edinburgh.
«"At Windsor, Prince Philip made it clear that everyone was outraged by the biased presentation of events in Morton's book," Burrell wrote, according to the British newspaper Daily Express newspaper .
Burrell wrote that Philip left no doubt about where he believed the information came from. "He told [Diana] that everyone suspected her of involvement," Burrell claimed.
Nevertheless, Diana continued to deny helping Morton. "The Princess, by this time in a state of denial, insisted she had not helped the writer," Burrell wrote. "I sincerely believe she was astonished by the enormity of what she had done.".
The scandal put enormous pressure on the already fragile situation at Windsor and dealt a further blow to Charles and Diana's marriage, which officially ended later that year when the palace announced their formal separation. Their divorce was finalized in 1996—just a year before Diana's death.
The family is under pressure
The book revealed deeply personal details of Diana's life and increased scrutiny of the royal family during a particularly turbulent period.
According to Vickers' account in his new 2026 biography,« Queen Elizabeth II: A Personal History» , Philip was one of the few members of the royal family who believed Diana had a hand in the project.
As Vickers wrote in his book, which was published in parts in Daily Mail "It seems almost incredible that so many people believed Diana's denial of her involvement in the book.".
According to the historian, "One person who was not deceived was Prince Philip, who read the book on flights to and from Canada in July [1992] and clearly sensed its implication. Feeling that too much had been revealed, he was unimpressed.".
The fallout from the conflict led to tense debate within the family as senior royals tried to resolve the growing crisis surrounding the then Prince and Princess of Wales and the growing attention to their increasingly strained marriage.
The truth is revealed
After Diana's death in August 1997, the secret of one of the most scandalous books about the royal family ever published was finally revealed.
A few weeks after her tragic car crash in Paris at the age of 36, Morton revealed that Diana was in fact the primary source for the biography. Working through her friend, Dr. James Colthurst , who acted as a go-between, she secretly provided details about her marriage, the problems in the royal family and other deeply personal experiences.
In October 1997, Morton reissued the bestseller under a new title - «Diana: Her True Story: In Her Own Words »", including transcripts of notes made by Diana in response to his questions.