Princess Diana biographer Andrew Morton said he was “breathless” at Elizabeth Debicki’s performance as a member of the British royal family in the recently released fifth season of The Crown.
Morton collaborated with the Princess on the writing of Diana: Her True Story, which was published in July 1992. The book exposed Diana’s misery in her marriage to the incredulous Prince Charles. Moreover, it details her struggles with bulimia and her times of loneliness and depression.
Although Morton dismissed speculation at the time that Diana helped write Diana: Her True Story, the book became a publishing sensation. The industry has also translated it into her 29 languages, reportedly selling 5 million copies worldwide.
His work effectively marked the end of the royal marriage. Then, in December 1992, Prime Minister John Major announced that the two had split.
The latest season of the hit Netflix series features Morton and Diana’s team-up in the book.
“It left me breathless, and it took me back all those years,” Morton said on Friday’s episode of Good Morning America. “I mean, I don’t say this very often, but I was shaken.”
During the writing of Diana: Her True Story, Morton sent a question to the Princess through her friend Dr. James Colthurst. Diana then recorded her responses to her author’s questions.
In an interview with GMA, Morton explained that he was unaware of Diana’s desperate mental state when he began writing the book.
“What I didn’t realize at the time was her sense of isolation, her sense of despair inside the royal system,” he stated.
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Morton Published Another Book
Merely months after the royal highness’ death, Morton released a new installment of the book, Diana: Her True Story in Her Own Words, in October 1997.
This time, the author clarified the primary source of the original book was Diana herself. Furthermore, the new book contained edited transcripts of her recorded replies to his queries.
Morton served as a consultant on the fifth season of The Crown. Moreover, Andrew Steele (Outlander) portrays him on the show.
“The scriptwriters had asked me all kinds of questions like, what was the color of the wallpaper in my daughter’s bedroom. Because that’s where I had an office for a time,” he shared with GMA.
Previously, the author complimented Emma Corrin’s depiction of Diana in the fourth season of The Crown. He said it was the most realistic he had seen so far.
“I found the buildup to the wedding very affecting. As there was a slowly unfolding realization on both sides that they were heading toward an unwanted and unhappy outcome, namely the royal wedding,” Morton stated.
“It reminded me of what a close friend of Diana’s said about the whole wretched mess when I was searching Diana: Her True Story. ‘I am sorry for the tragedy of it all. My heart bleeds for the whole misunderstanding. But it bleeds most for Diana.'”
The Crown’s fifth season is currently available on Netflix.
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