Guarding Princes Diana - Protecting The Princess Around the World

Paperback by Ken Wharfe (Author), Robert Jobson (Author)

Princes Diana – security code name ‘Purple Five Two’ – travelled all over the world during her incredible life. Wherever she went, in public or in private, she was shadowed by her Scotland Yard personal protection officer, Inspector Ken Wharfe, whose job it was it keep her safe, even to the extent of sacrificing his own life, if necessary.

In public Princes Diana was fêted wherever she went, greeted by adoring crowds and fawned over by the media. In private she craved anonymity, and it was Ken Wharfe’s brief to protect her and keep her away from prying eyes.

The SAS-trained officer from the Yard’s elite Special Operations 14, Royalty and Diplomatic Protection Department, was with the Princess every step of the way. As she dazzled among Washington society or walked the sand of exclusive Caribbean beaches he watched over her. In the foothills of the Himalayas, the heat and dust of India and the heart of Africa, he was always just a heartbeat away.

‘Purple Five Two’ – the woman, the princess – was Ken’s charge. In private when they travelled, they often posed as man and wife under assumed names, ‘Mr and Mrs Hargreaves’, to throw the determined paparazzi desperate for a photograph off the scent. Whenever she wanted a private holiday it would be to Ken she would turn, who would be despatched in secret to find the idyllic spot.

In the six years that Ken was at Princes Diana’s side they travelled hundreds of thousands of miles together, sharing secrets, laughter and tears on a truly extraordinary journey. This is their exclusive story.


Diana: Closely Guarded Secret

Paperback by Ken Wharfe (Author), Robert Jobson (Author)

Inspector Ken Wharfe, the first royalty protection officer to publish a memoir, was a crucial figure in the life of Princes Diana, for nearly seven years. In that time, he became a close friend and trusted confidant who shared her most private moments. His first-hand contradicts many of the so-called 'facts' about the Princess and provides an affectionate, if not always uncritical, insight into this complex, troubled, but ultimately fascinating woman. Here is the authentic voice of a man who played an important role during Princes Diana's most trying times, and in her beloved sons' formative years, and who shows himself to be an exceptionally perceptive observer of the events that unfolded around the Princess. After Inspector Wharfe resigned his position in 1993 (making headline news), Princes Diana announced her withdrawal from public life and axed her Scotland Yard protection - a decision her former 'top cop' believes led ultimately to her death. This account presents the most intimate portrait of Princes Diana to date, as well as a fitting tribute to one of the outstanding figures of our age.


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