James Colthurst

They would pay vast sums for any scrap of royal scandal.

In August 1992, an intimate phone call between Diana Spencer, Princess of Wales, and her friend James Gilby was published by The Sun.

And Gilby affectionately called her Squidgey, birthing the embarrassing Squidgeygate scandal.

But wait, how did a tabloid even get a private royal phone call?

Diana's mother was Frances Ruth Roche.

She was born on the 20th of January 1936, also at Park House, Sandringham, and was the daughter of a Baron who forged a good friendship with King George VI.

Her mother was a lady-in-waiting to his queen consort.

At the age of 18, Frances married the Viscount Autrop at Westminster Abbey.

Diana herself had secretly cooperated with the project.

With the help of her trusted friend, Dr. James Colthurst, questions from Morton were passed to Diana, who recorded her answers onto tapes.

Colthurst then delivered these recordings back to the author.

In effect, the book had blown open the doors of one of the most private marriages in the world.