REVIEW
PRINCESS DIANA
The Hidden Evidence

Jon King &
John Beveridge

review: Stephen Reid

In its pre-launch promotional blurb, this book was billed as 'a serious literary inquiry' into 'the political and historical motives behind the death of Diana, Princess of Wales'. And in its own uncompromising way, that is precisely what it is.

Incredibly, Princess Diana: The Hidden Evidence claims foreknowledge of an MI6 plot to "eliminate one of the most prominent figures on the world stage ... within days from now". According to the authors this information came from a "US Special Forces veteran and CIA contract agent" (with whom they had already forged a working relationship) one week prior to the crash in Paris. Even more incredibly, this claim is then corroborated by an MI5 source and a second source inside "British Military Intelligence".

Doubtful? Inconclusive? OK, but that is where any doubts regarding the authenticity of this book begin and end. The authors are quick to point out that their findings do not depend on this information. It is included, they say, purely to explain their reasons for investigating Diana's death in the first place. The full interview with the "US Special Forces veteran" is included in the book, and is very revealing indeed.

But that is only the beginning. This book is the product of a 2-year investigation, and includes testimonies from many other highly respected sources - crash experts, security and intelligence experts, medical experts, constitutional and historical experts - all of whom offer threads of evidence which the authors string together into a very coherent and compelling case. And when, on occasion, evidence is gleaned from an 'unnamed' source, the authors are quick to substantiate that evidence with the testimony of at least one 'named' source. Often more than one.

One such 'unnamed' source - a former SAS sergeant - reveals that the 'accident' in which Diana died bore all the tell-tail signs of a known special forces assassination technique known as the 'Boston brakes'. Agreed, on first hearing this sounds a bit James Bond - contrived. But bear with it. Because then you go on to read the testimony of former SAS officer and world famous explorer, Sir Ranulph Fiennes, who confirms that the 'Boston brakes' is indeed a commonly employed assassination technique used by hired 'hit squads', and that it involves the use of a device which remotely controls the target-vehicle's steering and brakes. Fiennes go on to say that this method has been used at least once in England, and in this regard describes in some detail the assassination of one Major Michael Marman, who was killed in a 'car crash' near Stonehenge in 1986. There's no doubt that the operation that killed Major Marman, as described by Fiennes, as well as by former Equerry to the Queen, Air Marshall Sir Peter Horsley, was chillingly identical to the series of events that killed Diana. Once again I have to say that the way the authors are able to continually corroborate their evidence in this way, throughout the book, is very impressive.

Another thing that impressed me about this book was its format. From the outset the authors make no bones about the fact that they believe Diana was murdered; hence they present their findings in the form of a courtroom trial - the authors assume the role of prosecuting counsels while the reader assumes the role of jury.

In the dock, accused of 'conspiracy to murder', are MI6 and the CIA, together with the British Royal Establishment. And I have to say that the case brought against them is both disturbing and convincing. No wonder the authors were forced to go to America in order to get this book published!

Exhibit number one in this 'literary trial' must surely be the two secret letters obtained by the authors - letters written by Diana only months before her death. Addressed to an investigative journalist in America and signed by Diana's personal secretary, the letters shed a new and somewhat sinister light on Diana's landmines campaign in Angola. They clearly show that the Princess was aware of the dangers she faced in defying the Establishment and pursuing her campaign. And that those dangers were far greater than any of us knew at the time.

But perhaps the most intriguing contribution comes from a former Foreign Office historian, who claims that he worked for a department whose 'special remit' is to monitor the "counter-monarchy problem". He told the authors that MI6 are in possession of genealogical records and historical documents that (a) date back centuries; (b) highlight the ongoing power struggle at the heart of the British Monarchy; and (c) challenge the legitimacy of the present Royal Family on the basis of their dubious pedigree. These records and documents are, therefore, being deliberately concealed from public view, the source asserts. Sensational stuff!

But what is even more sensational is the suggestion that Diana had herself become part of the above-mentioned "counter-monarchy problem". Following her ostracism from the Royal Family, the source claims, Diana was courted by supporters of the little-known Merovingian royal bloodline from which she herself descended, and which is today largely represented by Britain's forgotten Royal House of Stuart. As the authors discover, and despite media propaganda to the contrary, the Stuarts are still alive, well and politically active. And what's more, they still bear legitimate designs on the British Throne.

Anyway, the evidence strongly suggests that, in her not-so-private war with the Windsors, Diana became secretly involved in a "succession fight ... a fight over the structure of the future of the Monarchy". It really is difficult to convey the full range of complexities here, given the space limitations. What I would say, though, is this: those still ignorant of the Stuarts' claim to the Throne; their ongoing struggle to be heard; and perhaps more to the point, Diana's own Stuart heritage, should read this book. At the very least it will cast the Princess in a new political light, one that reveals her as - potentially - a massive threat to the continued succession of the Windsors. And therefore as a prime target for 'removal'.

Throughout the book these claims, though no doubt offensive to some, are supported by a wealth of meticulously researched and hitherto 'hidden evidence' from which the book takes its name. Also included here is a wonderful insight into the history of the British Crown - how it has been bought, sold, bought again, and ultimately usurped. From the Plantagenets and the Tudors to the overthrow of the Stuarts and the coming of the House of Windsor, this book lays bare the ongoing bloodline struggle and more (plus, of course, the significance of that struggle in Diana's death). Suffice to say here that the 'bloodline' section of this book is worth the cover price all by itself!

All in all, Princess Diana: The Hidden Evidence is surely the most historically and politically important book of its time. It is certainly the most thought-provoking book I have read in years. Apart from anything else it includes a fascinating and thoroughly researched investigation into the secret histories of MI5, MI6 and the CIA; and an equally disturbing exposé on how British and American banks and corporations funded Hitler's rise to power - all backed up with official FBI and US government documents. In fact the section on The Bid To Unite Europe covers a multitude of corporate sins, from the Bank of England's investment in the House of Windsor (and vice versa) to the Crown's nefarious dealings in Angola (where Diana's landmines campaign was centred).

The fact that all of these themes are woven into a most coherent and compelling scenario; and the added fact that, staggeringly, they combine to present the most convincing case in favour of assassination, surely makes this book the most 'should-be-read' volume of our times (especially when you remember what this book is all about - the very real possibility that the Princess of Wales was murdered).

If I were to be scrupulously honest I would say that, having read this book, I am now convinced that Diana's death was no accident. And that, as the authors conclude, if we care at all about the accountability of our intelligence and security services (and the Establishment czars who run them) then it is high time that a public inquiry was launched in Britain to discover precisely what happened on that tragic and fateful night in Paris. And perhaps more to the point - why it happened.

A must read for all those who cared about Diana - and all those who care about the truth.

*

[Note]: Prepare for a sting in the tail of this fascinating book, as the authors finally track down and gain an interview with HRH Prince Michael of Albany (who subsequently also agreed to write the book's Foreword). The interview was conducted only a short time before the book went to print, and proves the most credible and damning corroborative testimony that even the authors themselves could have hoped for. Prince Michael is a distant relative of Diana and the current Head of Britain's Royal House of Stewart (formerly Stuart). By his own admission he is the first senior Stuart heir since 1887 to officially raise the issue of the Stuarts' claim to the Throne. And as the authors discover, he has paid the price for doing so - his passport has been revoked, making him an effective prisoner in Britain; he has been repeatedly harassed by the authorities, by Special Branch and MI5; and he has been either ignored or debunked by the British media. In other words, Prince Michael is a man on the inside of royal politics - he knows first-hand how the British Royal Establishment deals with 'loose cannons' like Diana, and he is not afraid to speak his mind about it.

Indeed, the Royal Family, MI6 and the British Royal Establishment will no doubt rue the day this book was ever written - gripping stuff!