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Piers Morgan
Piers Morgan is a British journalist best known for his editorial work for the Daily Mirror from 1995 through 2004. He is also a successful author and television personality whose recent credits include a recurring role as a judge on NBC’s America’s Got Talent. A controversial member of the tabloid press during Diana’s lifetime, Piers Morgan established a uniquely close relationship with the Princess during the 1990s.
I mentioned I’d been in contact with her mother.
“Oh crikey, that sounds dangerous!”
“She’s a feisty woman, isn’t she?”
William giggled. “Granny’s great fun after a few gin and tonics.”
“Sh, William,” Diana said, giggling too. “My mother’s been a tremendous source of support to me. She never talks publicly; she’s just there for me.”
“And what about William’s other granny?”
“I have enormous respect for the Queen; she has been so supportive, you know. People don’t see that side of her, but I do all the time. She’s an amazing person.”
“Has she been good over the divorce?”
“Yes, very. I just want it over now so I can get on with my life. I’m worried about the attacks I will get afterward.”
“What attacks?”
“I just worry that people will try and knock me down once I am out on my own.”
This seemed unduly paranoid. People adored her.
I asked William how he was enjoying Eton.
“Oh, it’s great, thanks.”
“Do you think the press bother you much?”
“Not the British press, actually. Though the European media can be quite annoying. They sit on the riverbank watching me rowing with their cameras, waiting for me to fall in! There are photographers everywhere if I go out. Normally loads of Japanese tourists taking pictures. All saying “Where’s Prince William?’ when I’m standing right next to them.”
“How are the other boys with you?”
“Very nice. Though a boy was expelled this week for taking ecstasy and snuff. Drugs are everywhere, and I think they’re stupid. I never get tempted.”
“Does matron take any?” laughed Diana.
“No, Mummy, it gives her hallucinations.”
“What, like imagining you’re going to be king?” I said.
They both giggled again.
“Is it true you’ve got Pamela Anderson posters on your bedroom wall?”
“No! And not Cindy Crawford, either. They did both come to tea at the palace, though, and were very nice.”
William had been photographed the previous week at a party at the Hammersmith Palais, where he was mobbed by young girls.
I asked him if he’d had fun. “Everyone in the press said I was snogging these girls, but I wasn’t,” he insisted.
Diana laughed. “One said you stuck your tongue down her throat, William. Did you?”
“No, I did not. Stop it, Mummy, please. It’s embarrassing.”
He’d gone puce. It was a very funny exchange, with a flushed William finally insisting: “I won’t go to any more public parties; it was crazy. People wouldn’t leave me alone.”
Diana laughed again. “All the girls love a nice prince.”
I turned to more serious matters.
“Do you think Charles will become king one day?”
“I think he thinks he will,” replied Diana, “but I think he would be happier living in Tuscany or Provence, to be honest.”
“And how are you these days--someone told me you’ve stopped seeing therapists?”
“I have, yes. I stopped when I realized they needed more therapy than I did. I feel stronger now, but I am under so much pressure all the time. People don’t know what it’s like to be in the public eye, they really don’t.
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Larry King (The People's Princess: Cherished Memories of Diana, Princess of Wales, From Those Who Knew Her Best)