Many readers enjoy books centering around the royal family especially Princess Diana. The People's Princess by Flora Harding, is historical fiction with a striking cover that drew me in to the book. It is currently on the top ten best-selling list in Canada. The novel is available in the U.S. on May 17th.

Lady Diana Spencer, is engaged to Prince Charles. She is preparing for her wedding when she comes across a personal journal written in the 1800s by beautiful "Princess Charlotte of Wales". Diana finds this journal intriguing and begins to unravel similarities between Princess Charlotte's life and her own.

Flora Harding presents a very well researched story about Princess Charlotte and the parallel between the two women. Readers are given a heartfelt look back at Diana's painful relationship with Charles before becoming a member of the royal family. The People's Princess is a worthy read for historical fiction lovers. (3.5 bumped up to 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐)

Thank you NetGalley and Harper 360, for this look back into Diana's life. I appreciate the opportunity to learn about Princess Charlotte. She is a genuinely interesting character and added a whole new dimension to the plot.

The People's Princess is the story of two princesses never to become queen. The stories of Princess Charlotte in the 1800's and Diana in the 1980's.

When Diana Spencer grew up she always believed she was destined for something greater. She meets Prince Charles and she is smitten by him. All she wants is to marry Prince Charles and be happy. The road to happiness for Diana as we all know. was for her, the love she had for her children.

Diana finds learning what it takes to be a princess not as exciting as she believes. There is so much history and many rules to learn, certainly not fun at all. Diana spies a photo of a young woman on the wall in the palace and asks who she is. Prince Charles introduces her to a librarian that gives her a journal of Princess Charlotte of Wales in the 1800's. The Princess that was never queen. As Diana reads the journal she is surprised to find how much their lives are similar, as she waits to marry Prince Charles.

The chapters alternate from Charlotte to Diana in an interesting and fascinating fashion. There is so much that we have read about Diana and her time before the marriage that we can easily see that happening. Diana's and Charles' story has played out for all the public to see, so there was no real reason to rehash any of it. But this was a sweet story of two women with such high hopes of being in love and becoming the Queen one day.

Flora Harding has written a wonderful work of fiction depicting Diana’s engagement to Prince Charles. Diana thinks she’s gotten her fairytale romance and will soon become a member of the royal family. Diana finds that being a royal is not as wonderful as she thought.

Diana comes across Princess Charolette’s picture in one of the many palace holidays and is struck by the woman and wants to know more. As she starts to read Princess Charolette’s diary, she finds several parallels to her own life and feelings of being part of the aristocracy.

I truly enjoy this read.

Thank you to #netgalley and #harper360/onelastchapter, for the opportunity to read this eARC. All opinions expressed above are my own.

Thanks to Harper 360, I was provided an ARC of The People’s Princess by Flora Harding via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Harper

****Publishing May 17, 2022****

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A Historical Fiction book that explores Princess Diana’s life starting with her engagement to Prince Charles and ending with her wedding day! Diana becomes interested in learning more about Princess Charlotte by seeing her portrait at Buckingham Palace, so she asks Prince Charles about her. He tells her what he knows, but has a historian tell her more. The historian gives her Princess Charlotte’s Diary to read. This book alternates between Princess Diana’s life and Princess Charlotte’s Diary. In this book, Princess Diana points out similarities of her life to Princess Charlotte.

Clearly a well researched book! I loved how this author chose to write about two Princess’s who lived in different Era’s, but their lives had many parallels.

Perfect book for those who love to read about the Royals or are fans of TV series,The Crown.

2 stars

Princess Diana stories, even one like this where her story is only half of the novel, are definitely hard. Flora Harding acknowledges this in the author's note of this book, stating that there is so much written about her and yet barely any sense of who she really was as a person. Authors, therefore, get the exciting opportunity to fill in the blanks and create a fully-realized version of this woman that shaped the modern British monarchy.

What we get here with Diana is perhaps the worst example of a one-dimensional character in my recent memory. The Diana in this book basically has three personality traits, one of them being "as thick as two planks of short wood", and her entire storyline is just the same few scenes repeated over and over again. I was actually angry by how aggressively this book infantilized Diana, especially when there were so many other aspects of her personality and her story that could have enriched the story that Harper clearly wanted to tell.

The Princess Charlotte storyline, at least, was more interesting and we actually saw some growth from her character throughout her arc. That half of the book saved this from being a complete dud for me. I certainly don't envy the task that Harper took on by telling a Diana story considering how much available information that we have about her, but I can't help but feel like this did nothing to illuminate the story of Diana. Rather, I felt like it contributed to the storied history of her being diminished, abused, and looked down upon.

Thank you to NetGalley and One More Chapter for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!

The People’s Princess was a fascinating story about two princesses. While I love anything about the royal family and Princess Diana, I very much enjoyed learning more about Princess Charlotte from the 1800’s. The author did a terrific job of telling the stories of both royal women and showing the parallels between their two lives. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book!

Review will be posted on 4/13/22
It's 1981 and Lady Diana Spencer is going to marry Prince Charles. This should be a very happy time, but instead it's been very difficult for Diana. She has to deal with a lot of time spent alone at the palace, Charles's close relationship with Camilla; plus, her own insecurities. While at the palace, she discovers Princess Charlotte of Wales's diary and as she reads it, she becomes more and more intrigued by this woman. Diana realizes that even though Charlotte lived in the 1800s, she shares more in common with her than not. They both have tumultuous relationships with their elders, they both live in a gilded cage, they both have high expectations placed on them, and they both have dealt with difficult romances. Even though both women are well loved by the public, ultimately, it won't save them from their fate. Flora Harding's The People's Princess is an interesting glimpse into Lady Diana's life during her engagement as well as a captivating tale about the lesser known Princess Charlotte.

If readers are familiar with Diana's time in the palace before her wedding, it won't come as a surprise to find out Diana is supremely unhappy. She is finding it difficult to connect with Charles, she resents his relationship with Camilla, she is feeling trapped, and quite honestly, an after thought. When she comes across Princess Charlotte's diary, it's almost like someone threw her a life raft. She can recognize so many similarities between Charlotte and herself as they are both living an outwardly beautiful life, but are trapped in a cage of expectations. Diana is also dealing with her insecurities as well as bulimia. It's very sad and frustrating at times as she clearly needs help. Readers must not forget that she is only nineteen as I think that really puts things in perspective in The People's Princess.

Even though I am a big fan of Diana, I found myself gravitating more towards Charlotte's story which was really captivating as I already had a lot of prior knowledge regarding Diana's. How did I not know about Princess Charlotte before reading The People's Princess? I was utterly captivated by her story, her plight, and her untimely death. Honestly, it broke my heart, and the similarities between Diana and Charlotte were definitely shocking at times. Readers can't help but wonder what would have happened if Charlotte would have been Queen? What would that look like now as her death really upset the monarchy and succession.

If you are a fan of the Royals as well as The Crown, give The People's Princess a try this spring. While I didn't enjoy The People's Princess as much as Harding's Before the Crown, it was a satisfying tale and the parts depicting Charlotte have definitely sparked my interest in her life.

So, are you a fan of the Royals? Do you like reading books about them? Is The People's Princess on your TBR list? Let me know in the comments below.

I love all things royal and have always been fascinated with Princess Diana, so when I got this book from Netgalley, I was excited to read it. The People’s Princess by Flora Harding tells the story of Princess Diana & her netting times up to her wedding to Charles. Diana is restless and can’t wait to be with Charles. But for now she is separated from her friends and public life. She feels locked away and she barely sees Charles. While in Buckingham Palace, Diana finds herself bored to tears. She has to many hours to think about things that make her doubt her upcoming wedding. What I loved about this story is that Diana finds the diary of Princess
Charlotte of Wales. Diana finds herself reading this and ring comfort in it. There lives are different but their dreams are similar. I liked how the author went back and forth to both eras. I enjoyed the writing and was pleasantly surprised about the direction it took. This was a four star read for me. I am glad iI was given an advanced copy to read & review. It was my pleasure.

This novel wasn't as focused on Princess Diana as I expected, but that was actually okay. While she is of course always a fascinating topic, I feel like I have a decent idea of her story already. Some new details here, but broad strokes were already known to me. However, I really knew nothing about Charlotte, Princess of Wales, and was very interested in her story. I hate the novel's device of the current character finding a diary of the older timeline character and that being the basis of the dual timelines, but I could overlook it here. Interesting historical fiction of a woman I knew nothing about.

fictional account of Princess Diana and Prince Charles. Diana finds a diary written by Princess charlottee. very interesting read.

Thanks to Harper 360 & NetGalley for a digital advance reader's copy. All comments and opinions are my own.

Couldn't resist the cover and the concept - a dual timeline of two real life British princesses who lived over 150 years apart, yet with surprising similarities of feeling voiceless and powerless. In 1981 Diana, the soon-to-be Princess of Wales, is having butterflies in the last days of her engagement to Prince Charles. While living in the palace to give her security and privacy from the media, she discovers a portrait of Princess Charlotte, Princess of Wales. How fortunate that this fun-loving princess who lived in the 1840s left a diary that the palace historian shares with Diana.

Diana becomes engrossed in Charlotte's story of having to marry or risk being banished by her royal father. She develops a rapport with the Regency-era young woman while reading the diary. The novel alternates the diary chapters with Diana's chapters describing her hopes and fears of the wedding and of her relationship with Charles.

Charlotte's story provided much detail of the culture as well as lifestyles of the Regency era from a royal point of view. She was a likeable though self-centered young woman who wrote about her romantic crushes, as well as the relationships she had with her parents, her servants, and her relatives. The description of sea bathing in the ocean was fascinating, as were other societal conventions of the day. I had to keep reminding myself that while Charlotte was a real person, the diary was the author's fabrication. This was in contrast to the experiences of Diana, which were authentic if only glimpses of the 1981 behind-the-scenes life in the palace, the tensions in Diana’s relationship with the royal family during the engagement, and the wedding itself.

Author Flora Harding certainly provided a well-researched book. At first I was disappointed that there wasn't more about Diana, but then realized in the interest of keeping it real Harding shared all that she had learned from her research, without resorting to gossip. Now it's time for me to read Diana's biography "Diana: Her True Story - In Her Own Words".

If you're a "Royal" fan this will be a must read, but a poignant one, as it is just the beginning of this period in Diana's life, and we all know how sadly it ended.

3.75 - When I saw there was a novel featuring Princess Diana, I was so excited! However, it didn't take long to realize the title is a bit misleading. The book was more about Princess Charlotte than Diana. I did enjoy the connection and similarities between the two. It was also interesting reading about a royal family member I knew nothing about. In that respect I enjoyed it. It's just that the title had me thinking we'd see Diana later in life (or at least more about her in general). My other quip is that writing style felt more geared toward a YA audience than an adult, which is fine but that's personally something I like to be prepared for ahead of time.

I ended up enjoying Charlotte's side of the story more. My heart breaks for her, but I'm glad here her life was able to provide consolation to a young and anxious Diana as she set forth to her own life of royalty. The dynamic was very touching. I also liked the frankness of Diana's struggles and her confrontations with Charles. Mentions of Camilla were difficult, but I was glad the book ended on a positive note. Despite it not being what I expected, it was a nice read and it reawakened my interest in Princess Diana after several years.

Thank you to Harper Collins and Netgalley for providing this ARC copy in exchange for my honest review.

#netgalleyarc #nospoilers. I wanted to love this book but it was really slow and took awhile for me to get through it. It was a bit dry but I powered through it. I don’t know what would have made it better but it’s not the worst book I’ve ever read, but definitely not the best.

After watching the crown and learning both sides of the story it was hard to be in Diana's head. She came across as a little bit too whinny. And I didn't like to relate her to Princess Charlotte like they were a like when they weren't. Charlotte was written as opposite of what history had her as. Diana wasn't a victim or innocent, Both her and Charles were at fault for their marriage ending.

I always enjoy Harding’s historical fiction. The People’s Princess is about two extraordinary popular Princesses:Charlotte and Diana, almost 200 years apart. I think the author does a good job in giving voice to both women. It was fun to go back to 1981 and relive all the pomp and pageantry and angst leading up to the royal wedding. Charolotte’s story is poignant as she searched for love, never having had it in her own family.
Although I knew how both stories would end, it was still fanciful reading about them.
I remember well watching the dress on tv and thinking how lovely it was, now over 42 years later I think it’s ghastly and all wrong— sort of like their marriage.

absolutely a fantastic book, not only because it tells the story of the engagement of Diana, who I have always loved, but the story of Princess Charlotte, whom I knew nothing about. I loved the way the author incorporated her into the story and compared their two lives.

An enjoyable book that is full of history, both modern and Regency. I recommend this to anyone who loves the Royal Family

Two princesses, centuries apart but so alike in some ways. The author does a fabulous job writing this well researched novel based on history. I loved learning about Princess Charlotte through her 'journal.' Having Princess Diana read the diary as she prepared for her marriage felt very real. The parallel stories of the two princesses showed the struggles both had to find love. Both were dearly loved by the people. Highly recommended!

As a fan of all things royal, I thought this was a great book. I love when I get to read a great book and learn some history with it. This book is a dual story book that takes you through the engagement of Princess Diana and the mirroring life of Princess Charlotte, the original "people's" princess. The story of Diana is sad, as I remember some of the footage from my childhood and we also have so much documentation of her life to pull from. I had no prior knowledge of Princess Charlotte. Her life was also sad and bleak. My heart ached for her to not feel love from either parent. I was so proud of her to stand up for herself and find the love that she wanted, even for a short time. This was really an interesting book to read. Well written, the fiction conversation was most believable. I truly enjoyed. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to preview this book for my honest opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book, I was provided a copy in exchange for an honest review!

What worked:
The author drew beautiful parallels between the lives of Princess Diana and Princess Charlotte. Despite a signifiant gap in time periods, Harding did well at exploring Diana's process of learning about another royal and drawing connections between their life milestones.

Well known details/events of Diana's life were depicted in the story, such as the rollar skating scene and finding the jewelry Charles bought for Camilla prior to marrying Diana.

What didn't work:
The amount of time devoted to portraying Diana's eating disorder was pretty significant and repetitive, the decription of feeling "cleansed and relaxed" occurred frequently. While this may be an accurate description, I worry that the topic/subject may have been glorified and described more than necessary.

There was an uneven distribution of time/chapters allocated towards the different princesses, possibly due to the increased time/story line of Charlotte- Harding definitely developed this character significantly better than Diana, possibly due to the lack of familiarity.

I enjoy reading and watching anything pertaining to the royal family. I previously read Before the Crown by Flora Harding and really enjoyed it
I was delighted to receive a copy of The People's Princess. I enjoyed this story just as much and enjoyed Charlotte's story as well. I have not read much about her but now I am interested to learn more. Great read!