Diana: In Her Own Words

A lot of controversy raged about this documentary, which some critics dismissed offhand as "trashy." I wouldn't agree completely, though I must say that while I did thoroughly enjoy watching it I came away wondering whether I ought to be slightly ashamed of myself for having done so.

For one thing, the general unfolding of Lady Diana's tragic story is hardly news to anyone who knows anything about the royal family, and most of the "revelations" come in the form of details that aren't really surprising - indeed, one has the impression most of them were already suspected or speculated on, anyway. Overall the narrative fits pretty nicely into the large canon of work that suggests Diana was a lightning rod for the monarchy in the modern world: an older and a newer way of thinking came into a rather sudden and dramatic clash. I suppose it was bound to happen somewhere, though perhaps it needn't necessarily have happened to the British royal family. The much-vaunted "modernization of the monarchy" was probably inevitable, but having Diana's own perspective from the center of the storm makes for a fascinating piece of sociology and psychology.

It would however be important not to take this as the final objective word. The source material was produced as part of Peter Settelen's attempts to improve Diana's public speaking abilities by drawing out her "real self," and what comes out is that her time as a princess was for her a huge play in which she had been sadly miscast. To take Diana's word for it, she had felt this almost from the start. Perhaps that's true, though one should remember that at that moment she was just, just trying to come out of her own. It is clear enough that she was unhappy during much or most of her marriage to Charles, a proposition corroborated by plenty of outside evidence, and that she was still working through this unhappiness at the time of the recording. The perspectives and criticisms should thus not be taken at 100% face value, by themselves: they are one point of view which deserves to be digested and taken seriously without rushing to value judgments.

That said, one can certainly call into question whether we were actually meant to have this point of view. Given the criticisms Diana offers in private of her husband, her in-laws and her parents, she suddenly appears a lot more discreet and restrained than I had previously given her credit for. I don't think this documentary makes her look bad - rather the opposite, in fact - but I was not convinced by Settelen's explanations of his motivations for first wresting these tapes - at what appears to have been great trouble and expense - from Diana's bereaved relations and then selling them to be broadcast. Settelen clearly considers himself to have done a great service to Diana and by extension to the world that so came to appreciate her, and he wants to be recognized for it. That narrative is plausible enough, but again, it's Settelen's perspective, and he definitely has more of a tangible interest - as he himself seems to acknowledge and justify - in propagating it than Diana ever did in saying anything critical of her husband or of the Queen. If my opinion of Diana went up, my opinion of Settelen definitely went down over the course of this viewing.

I am torn, then, between gratefulness to Settelen for sharing us this great portrait and appallment that he would broadcast what was clearly understood to be a private moment without permission, permission which I doubt Diana ever would have given. She always thought about her sons, and she knew one or both of them would eventually reign, after having to see their father through his own reign. Nevertheless, the cat is out of the bag, though arguably it has been for quite some time. The British monarchy has proved itself remarkably resilient and capable of rebounding. This fascinating portrait is but a few brushstrokes in that imagination- staggering history. Cheers!

This documentary brought me right back to the night of August 31st, 1997, when the news came of her car accident, and death soon after. So naturally, I had tears in my eyes throughout this.

It was fascinating and heartbreaking to hear her beautiful voice telling her life story. This documentary is very well done. If you are or were intrigued with the beautiful princess, I highly recommend this wonderful film.

This is a great food-for-thought documentary. I can't promise you'll side with Diana or not, it leaves you to build your own opinion.

What struck me was that Diana knew what she was getting into, but marched inexorably forward as if she was powerlessly drawn to a destiny she'd chosen for herself as a child.

There's a compelling inevitability to the whole thing that reflects our own lives, and our own choices, back at us. How many times have you known that a certain course of action will bring you pain and suffering, and yet you continue down the path without heeding your better instincts? Perhaps that's the compelling factor in Diana's story.

With the 20th anniversary of Princess Diana's untimely death, there was a spate of documentaries from around the world, most especially from The UK and The U.S. Some were as long as four hours long (ABC), others which tried to tell her utterly complex tale in an hour or less. But this particular documentary (which aired on Channel 4 in The UK, and on the NatGeo Channel in The U.S.) is the best and most intimate look into the mind of this compellingly fascinating woman. It relies heavily on the audio tapes from Diana's secret interviews for her secretly self-authorized "autobiography" (though at the time of the book's release, it was much-denied that she had anything to do with the book). Hearing Diana speak of the horrendous world she'd been sucked into, it's easy to see how a weaker person than her would have crumbled under the pressures of living under a paparazzi microscope--trapped in a loveless marriage in which Prince Charles (who comes off as a first-rate cad who did no less than trick Diana into being his "broodmare," to carry on the royal lineage. One almost feels as if Diana is speaking from the grave--and her revelations are sometimes shockingly intimate. This documentary also relies on a voice actress, to recreate some of Diana's own words--a device that can sometimes tarnish a documentary. But in this case, Heather Long captures Diana's speech patterns and accent to a "T"...sometimes, it's hard to tell actually "who" is speaking, she's that good. The research, editing, writing...this is a first-rate look at "the woman" rather than "the phenomenon". It would be hard to imagine a more incisive, respectful and honest portrayal of this complicated, sometimes perplexing woman. For admirers of the late Princess, it is satisfying to see that she is finally being reassessed and being given her due for changing the British Royal Family--seemingly, forever. EXCELLENT DOCUMENTARY!

Finding out that Diana was the epitome of a pouty, immature, spoiled, mentally unstable, young girl, was a fun experience for me.

When she died, I had no idea who she was. To me, she was just another, ugly, rich person. I wondered why people found her so fascinating and why people cared about her death.

Seeing, "The Crown," season 4 and this documentary was eye opening.

This movie is well done and it's brilliant to be able to hear someone who is honest in their opinions . . . this is really why Princess Di was loved by so many.

Most of us are not best suited for any particular life, but we adapt. It's great to hear and see that "having everything," doesn't always mean what you think it means.