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Marie Claire
Marie Claire
Lifestyle
Kristin Contino

Former Palace Press Secretary Says Staff Were "Frozen Out" When Princess Diana Didn't Get "Her Way"

Princess Diana scowling wearing a red and white dress.

Princess Diana was known for her caring personality and ability to touch millions, but she also had a more "complicated" side, as witnessed by those who knew her best. In his memoir, On Duty With The Queen, Dickie Arbiter writes about his life working as a Buckingham Palace press secretary, including his time with Prince Charles and Princess Diana. In the book, he details everything from royal tours to what it was like planning Diana's 1997 funeral—and according to Arbiter, the late royal didn't take it well when her ideas didn't go to plan.

"I had had a chance to get to know her, and in doing so began to understand the kind of person she was," Arbiter wrote, adding, "In a word, she was complicated." He went on to explain that "she was fine" when life operated as normally and "things were going her way."

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