Wendy Holden on the inside story of the young Diana Spencer in 'The Princess'

Good Reading Podcast

Britain, 1961: the beautiful blonde baby Diana is born to Viscount Althorp, heir to the Spencer earldom. But Diana grows up amid the fallout of her parents’ messy divorce. She struggles at school but finds refuge through romantic novels. She dreams of falling in love and being rescued by a handsome prince. In royal circles, there is concern about the Prince of Wales. Charles is nearing thirty and the right girl needs to be found, fast. She must be young, aristocratic and completely free of past liaisons. Pure and innocent. Eighteen-year-old Diana Spencer is just about the only candidate. Her yearning to be loved dovetails with royal desperation for a bride. But the route to the altar is perilous. There are hidden dangers. Ruthless schemers. Can Diana’s romantic dream survive? In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Wendy Holden about creating a voice for the young Diana Spencer, the characters both real and imagined that brought Diana Spencer and Charles together, and the role the British press played in this fractured fairytale.