What is the the truth on Charles and Diana

September 2007 have a ghastly cold and got a lot of humour from reading Sarah Goodall "The Palace Diaries". It is very racy but I wanted to find out what a Palace secretary knew about events. Not a lot I gather . Most of what Sarah passes on to us is gossip from "friends" that she keeps anonymous. Such as she says Diana had a lot more blokes but she only tells us the ones already published elsewhere. After all she started there in 1988 after the marriage had already broken down so could not have observed the "reasons" and being in the office in her early days did not see much of the Boss and Bossette anyway.

Much of the book is about Sarah eating and drinking having various affairs which may all be "fiction" well the names are anyway. And how badly paid she was but she stayed because of her love of the status etc.

A long review with quotes in the Scotsman and an interview in the Shropshire Star
Sarah is from Shropshire and article does say that her father was not pleased with the book and I can well understand that he would be not be pleased.

I like this brief review in Aristocracy Anecdotes it fits well with the tone of the book

Sarah received the MVO member of Royal Victorian Order for her work and then a year later and after 12 years gets sacked. She seems to think Camilla took exception to her familiarity with HRH. Perhaps this has more bearing
Re A case that Charles took to stop some publication of his "private papers"

on Page 143 she recounts a commitee that she kept minutes for but due to the drinks was often too tipsy to remember "who said what about what and to whom". The whole book could be like that too.

I did like the story of her falling asleep at a film show in HRH's lounge room - a large G&T at fault. Anyhow next morning Charles much amused says how everyone was amazed that she took her earrings off put them on a side table and then went to sleep.

Sarah seems to like Charles and thinks that Diana let him down and that Camilla is good for Charles. It is hard to say which version of all that is the real Sarah.

I had to look up references to Sarah - at first I thought the book could be a satire and I was slightly amazed to find that Sarah is real. Whilst I was checking her I found this story
More on what a ghastly choice Diana made in James Hewitt
whereas This seems to quench that story

So Diana remains a mystery in the sense of Why was there a marriage breakdown - whose fault was it. This seems a good summary on what was Diana really like

Whatever else her sons said it all at the recent memorial service. Bless them.