The People's Princess: why Diana captivated the world

Welcome to the History Extra podcast, fascinating historical conversations from the makers of BBC History magazine. From her introduction into the royal family to her final tragic days, Diana, Princess of Wales, was a media sensation, a national talking point, and a cultural icon. Edward White was author of the new book Diana World, argues that the mythologization of the People's Princess can actually reveal a great deal about the world of the late 20th century, from Britain's relationship with its monarchy to the dominance of American culture. Matt Elton caught up with him to find out more.

We are here to talk about what you describe as being less of a biography of Diana, Princess of Wales, and more the story of a cultural obsession. Could you just before you go any further set out what the book seeks to do and also, I suppose, what it aims not to do? Well, Diana World, as uh the the the book is titled, refers to this vast cultural universe that spins around Diana at the center. And as you say, the the book really, I envisage it more as a a cultural history of Diana rather than a biography.

And it is essentially just the story of how countless millions of people across the world became genuinely obsessed with Diana. The reasons for that are are many. But in that sense, really, you know, it's more of a story about us than it is about her. Even though Diana is in every paragraph on every page of the book. It's really about our connection to her, more than her life story.

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