Dianaworld: An Exploration of Cultural Obsession

The world of books, TV shows, and films has continued to project the image of Diana, Princess of Wales, since her passing in 1997. Edward White’s vibrant and well-researched work, *Dianaworld*, presents a different perspective.

While previous biographies, including renowned ones about Alfred Hitchcock, often recount Diana’s story from the viewpoint of those who admired her, White instead focuses on the often absurd lengths to which some go to be part of celebrity culture. He highlights characters like a supermarket impersonator and a psychic who claims to have woken on the night of the tragic accident. As White puts it, “It’s not a biography of Diana, but a story of cultural obsession.”

His approach employs a diverse array of sources—diaries, oral histories, teen scrapbooks, advertisements, and comedy sketches. Among his subjects is a pregnant woman living in a homeless shelter who feels a deep connection to Diana as she awaits her child. There’s also a sex worker who admires Diana for rejecting the royal family, and a boutique owner who promotes the idea of looking like a princess after Diana wore a particular outfit in India. White captures a spectrum of perspectives: nationalists, royalists, conservatives, and those who feel anger towards Diana. These reflections often blur the lines between Diana and the broader public.

Intense connections with public figures are sometimes viewed as mere “para-social relationships,” one-sided and obsessive. However, White takes these emotional connections seriously, exploring the factors that attract people to Diana and continue to influence her legacy. It’s complex—there’s no single explanation for her lasting appeal. This leads to the question of what sociologist Arlie Russell Hochschild calls the “deep story” that fuels emotional responses.

Many of those who shared their stories with White saw their own generational traumas reflected in Diana’s life. Immigrants and LGBTQ+ individuals identified with her as an outsider. White indicates that some of Diana’s most powerful images stem from deep-rooted cultural narratives. Her famous handshake with an HIV-positive man challenged stigma surrounding the disease but also invoked older notions of royal benevolence and “the healing touch.” When asked why Diana mattered to them, his subjects often invoked these enduring tales, recontextualizing them for modern times. Tony Blair once remarked that Diana “invented a new way to become British,” which could suggest that through her, the British found a novel way to fantasize about their identity.

Ultimately, Diana offered Britons a new way to express emotions in public life. White’s subjects repeatedly mention their attraction to her raw, authentic emotional display, which contrasted with the British cultural norm of emotional restraint. Historian Thomas Dixon asserts that the stiff upper lip is a 20th-century anomaly in England’s emotional history, where displays of grief were once commonplace. By the late 1980s and 90s, it seemed the British emotional reservoirs were on the verge of breaking free.

From the start, people were drawn to Diana’s emotions: her tears, her nervous habits, her self-conscious mannerisms. This fascination extended to her weight fluctuations and her tendency to lean into dramatic expressions of her reality, something that some described as a “wet, self-dramatic American therapy story.” Speculation regarding her mental health, including accusations of borderline personality disorder, circulated relentlessly. Yet, these openly expressed struggles resonated deeply with those who felt stifled in an environment that demanded quiet compliance. White points out that Diana’s turmoil also served to neutralize the threat of her potential impact on the monarchy.

White views this emotional engagement as pivotal. The UK was gradually awakening to a new culture of self-awareness, influenced by similar shifts taking place in America. Following Diana’s death, when mourners left flowers outside Kensington Palace, some expressed genuine grief, while others noted that public sentiments seemed a bit forced and manufactured, akin to the plastic wrappings surrounding the flowers. Today, questioning the sincerity of public sorrow feels somewhat outdated.

White’s book creatively navigates the challenges of writing a biography in an era where celebrity identities seem increasingly fluid and shaped by external perceptions. The nature of *Dianaworld* reflects a complex tapestry of conflicting viewpoints. It feels fitting for a life marked by both uncertainty and intrigue. One visitor commented at the end of a less-than-glamorous tour of Diana’s childhood home: “Is there nothing else to Diana? That’s what it is?”

*Dianaworld: The Obsession* by Edward White is available from Allen Lane (£25).