‘DIANA LONGED FOR A TOTALLY DIFFERENT LIFE’

DIANA, PRINCESS OF WALES’ FORMER BODYGUARD KEN WHARFE OPENS UP ON HER LASTING LEGACY AND HER QUEST FOR NORMALITY

- LEBBY EYRES

It’s been 25 years since her death, and the world is still fascinated by Diana, Princess of Wales. As we approach the anniversary of her fatal car crash in the Pont de L’Alma in Paris, those of us who grew up following her every move will mourn the person we saw change from Shy Di into a beautiful, confident woman.

Now, the princess’s former bodyguard, Ken Wharfe, has co-written a book with journalist Ros Coward, Diana: Remembering The Princess, in which he looks back over what he describes to OK! as his “extraordinary journey” with her.

He says, “The younger generation who didn’t know Diana are trying to understand, ‘What was the magic with this woman? Why are we still talking about her 25 years on?’”

There are few people better placed to answer that question than Ken. He first met the princess when he became a bodyguard to her two sons, William and Harry, in 1986. Two years later, he became her personal protection officer, forging a strong friendship with her, and working by her side for five years. In 1993, he decided to resign from the post, and eventually retired from the Royal Protection Squad in 2002.

As a result, he has incredible insight into the character of the princess, the reasons for the breakdown of her marriage to Prince Charles and the relationship between her two warring sons, who were once so close. In fact, as Ken reveals to OK!, if Diana, Princess of Wales, were still alive, he believes the fallout between her beloved boys, William and Harry, would have never happened…