Rating: 
Summary: The Long and Winding musical that never ends....zzzzzzzzzzzz
Review: At first I thought this would be a juicy book that might give me insight into Diana, a woman I deeply admire, but it's just too boring, sadly. And, the guy who wrote it is a rat fink of sorts. It almost makes me sad that he revealed so much of the Princess that was her right to keep secret, and that he did it boringly. I don't know what I feel worse about... reading gossip from a snitch or that he made it so awfully boring, like an old western epic that you just fall asleep half way through. AFter realizing I was yawning more than reading, trying desperately to stay activated so as not to miss a thing, I grew bored half way through and put the book down and have not picked it back up again. I keep telling myself that I'm missing something good and I should finish it, but even that does not motivate the completion of the read. You know it's bad when an ardent fan of Diana's cannot even finish juicy "gossip" about her. The boredom about killed me. I'm sorry I spent money on this.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the better Diana books
Review: Having read the private secretary's version of employment by Diana, I was more impressed with Ken Wharfe's version, especially impressed by the better writing. (Kudos to the ghostwriter!) Wharfe's not out to backstab and he's not embittered; he's sympathetic, but not a Diana-worshiper. It's a very balanced, very fair presentation of what his employment by the world's most famous (and most unhappily married & emotional) woman was really like. The last chapter, which is a forensic evaluation of what went wrong in Paris on August 31, 1997, and how it could have been prevented, is devastating.
Rating:
Summary: Great Read!
Review: I have collected books, magazines,and what not on Princess Diana since her engagement to Charles, and never in the 22 years of collecting have I found a book that is so worth reading! While it gives an insight to the pain and hell Diana was going through while Charles cavorted with Camilla, it also shows how strongly the Princess tried to "make her marriage right" and how only after continual rejection by her husband did she begin her affair with James Hewitt.
This book also shows a loving and devoted father in Charles,and equally shows the strenghts and weaknesses in both the Prince and Princess. It also shows the mischieviousness of William and Harry as well.
If you are looking for a "tell all" book, you will find a bit of that here, but mostly you will find a very balanced, very human look at both Princess Diana and the world in which she lived. I would highly reccomend this book to anyone doing historical research on the Princess and her day to day life.
Rating:
Summary: Finally, equilibrium!!!
Review: I just finished reading Ken Wharfe's wonderful account of his time with Princess Diana. I have read over sixty books on the royal family and this, by far, seems to be the most balanced account of Diana. I never had the opportunity to meet her but I knew that she could not have been as 'off balance' as much as has been presented in the past. Catherine Walker mentioned in her book that Diana had a wonderful sense of humor and Ken Wharfe expounds on that to give us examples of what she found funny and how lighthearted she could be at times. I also was not surprised that she could be a handful at times. While the world knows her past, her indescretions and some of her pain, she never let the British public down when it came to representing the royal family. It always amazed me that she could go from being with the most destitute of people, showing her caring for them, and then be at the most extravagant parties looking as though she was comfortable at both ends of the spectrum. One of the most eye-opening parts of the book is the difference of the protection officer from Scotland Yard and the protection offered by the Al Fayed family. It didn't occur to me until I read this that Mr. Wharfe had the opportunity to stop whatever may have come into play if it could possibly affect the safety of the Princess. He could do so directly with her without having to answer to the royal family since he worked for Scotland Yard. The Al Fayed protection team was hampered by the fact that they worked for their boss and I suppose their primary objective was to make all parties happy along with security and trying to keep their jobs all at the same time. It turned out to be a tragic combination. This is a well balanced book on Diana and Charles. It shows all sides and I hope that someday William and Harry will read it and realize that the author had compassion for their mother and father. I truly believe Mr. Wharfe had the best interest of the Princess in mind when he put pen to paper. I do believe she would have been proud.
Rating: 
Summary: Well worth the money!
Review: I loved this book. It was written with alot of love. He did it to clear her name not to make a fortune like alot of other books. I loved the incidents he talked about and the candid way he related himself to Diana. You could read between the lines and feel the love he had for her and she must have had a lot of trust in him.
Rating:
Summary: Good
Review: I say this book is good because I did learn some more about
Princess Diana. Although, alot of been said already. We all know
about her problems dealing with the Royal Family. Would you want
to live with them. She had a lot distrust with them and I found
they did not treat her as well. As she became older and divorced Prince Charles. She became her own person. I have read
so many books about her. And with each book you learn more.
Too me she was my hero. With all her faults, she was a real
person. I do hope some more books will come out how wonderful
she was.
Laura
Rating:
Summary: Worth buying
Review: Ken Warfe's book about Diana Princess of Wales was one of the more balanced and interesting accounts that I have read about her life from 1987 through the mid 90's. He was Diana's body guard provided by Scotland Yard and at one point considered himself to be close confidant for Diana in a professional way. His account neither condones or disapproves of her conduct but objecively describes her life at the time. In it, he tells about her affairs with James Hewitt, James Gilbey and Oliver Hoare yet doesn't divulge seamy details that he may have been aware of. He does a fine job of describing what Diana's life was like at that time in the royal family and how her some of her choices were effected by Prince Charles actions, particulary, his affair with Camilla Parker Bowles. He doesn't make excuses for Diana's actions some of which are very immature but impartially describes the scene and the people involved. Wharfe doesn't deny that his job was difficult at times. In fact, he is very open about Diana's complex character. He describes a woman who can be very difficult yet fun to be with, manipulating and needy yet extremely caring and selfless, a person obsessed with being in the spotlight yet wanting a "normal" life. I felt that her bodyguard, Ken Wharfe, captured her life for that time period in a well thought out, easy to read and balanced presentation about one of the most fascinating people of this century.
Rating:
Summary: Easy to read and insightful
Review: Ken Wharfe served as personal protection officer to Princes William and Harry and then to Princess Diana for almost seven years from 1987. During that time he spent more hours in the company of the Princess than anyone, and it is from this perspective that he is able to give a great deal of insight into who she was and what her life was like. The book is well written and easy to read. Wharfe gives a very balanced portrait of Diana - not skimming over her faults but also not dwelling on them (in contrast to Patrick Jephson's book which covers a similar timespan). Overall Wharfe's relationship with the Princess was clearly close, warm and for the most part, one of mutual trust and admiration. In many ways he was part of the Wales family for several years and became very close to the young Princes. This account is very informative and also has some great snippets of gossip, particularly in relation to the breakdown marriage of the Prince and Princess of Wales. I recommend it to anyone who is interested in learning more about what Diana was really like. This is definitely the most informative and intimate book that I have read about her.
Rating:
Summary: Easy to read and insightful
Review: Ken Wharfe served as personal protection officer to Princes William and Harry and then to Princess Diana for almost seven years from 1987. During that time he spent more hours in the company of the Princess than anyone, and it is from this perspective that he is able to give a great deal of insight into who she was and what her life was like. The book is well written and easy to read. Wharfe gives a very balanced portrait of Diana - not skimming over her faults but also not dwelling on them (in contrast to Patrick Jephson's book which covers a similar timespan). Overall Wharfe's relationship with the Princess was clearly close, warm and for the most part, one of mutual trust and admiration. In many ways he was part of the Wales family for several years and became very close to the young Princes. This account is very informative and also has some great snippets of gossip, particularly in relation to the breakdown marriage of the Prince and Princess of Wales. I recommend it to anyone who is interested in learning more about what Diana was really like. This is definitely the most informative and intimate book that I have read about her.
Rating: 
Summary: Princess Diana's secrets closely guarded
Review: This biography of Princess Diana is well written, and a mostly sympathetic account of Diana by her Police personal protection officer Ken Wharfe, describing a little bit of Diana's public life and private life in the years from 1987 to 1993. And especially sympathetic in the sense that Police Officer Ken Wharfe seemingly had few moral objections to aiding Diana's love affair with James Hewitt. There are a few new annecdotes told about Diana that are somewhat scandalous, but nothing any worse than previously reported scandalous stories about Diana's private behaviour, as written by earlier writers. Ken Wharfe clearly states that he is attempting to give an honest and fair account of Diana, denying some earlier writers claims of Diana as being mentally ill, although admitting Diana suffered from mood swings, and he is successful to a limited extent, in portraying Diana as a fairly normal woman, sometimes suffering in difficult and unhappy circumstances, but he also portrays Diana as a positive and sometimes happy and joyful woman. I would compare this Ken Wharfe book favorably with Andrew Morton's books written about Diana. However, similar to those books, this book actually gives very little detail about Diana's love affair with James Hewitt beyond what was already known from James Hewitt himself, and even less detail about Diana's love affair with Oliver Hoare. This reviewer was disappointed in how little intimate detail is given about Diana as a person, in this book, details which Ken Wharfe was in a position to know, and it seems that he is mostly continuing to keep Diana's secrets closely guarded, and still secret.
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