Background

This is a long running project, first started in 1988 by Ed Victor (the London Literary Agent), with his recruitment of Diana Spencer (as a nascent ‘author’). It was initially envisaged as being only the production of a couple of autobiographical books (ghost-written) for a ‘celebrity author’ to be able to ‘tell her story’, and ‘get a bit of money’. The back-story is found in Chapter 1 of Diana and the Livestockery.

In early 1988, Ed Victor had a surreptitious lunch with Diana, arranged in a private room at Le Caprice, a restaurant just off Piccadilly, and Victor stated his belief that he could not only represent Diana’s publishing brand, not only find her the necessary researchers and a ghostwriter to manufacture a manuscript, but more importantly for all concerned, to create a significant income stream, and a marketable consumer brand for Diana. But, Victor stated, that it all had to be hush-hush because Diana’s family-in-law were undoubtedly minded to silence her and remove her from the spotlight in which she then basked. Diana agreed with all those analyses. Victor told Diana that it was clear that she was the aggrieved victim of the entire arranged marriage farce, and that it was all going to be like a big game, played at the expense of her family-in-law. Diana agreed to that sentiment. Victor told Diana to leave it to him to arrange everything; however, that they should keep their communications and meetings ‘very quiet’ and ‘undercover’. Diana said she understood. Victor gave Diana a VHS copy of the 1946 film Great Expectations and asked her to look at it, at least a couple of times, because it was clear that Diana was none other than the badly used and mistreated Estella Havisham, the beautiful heroine in the story. Diana agreed to that homework assignment, and said she would take notes if necessary.

The next meeting between Victor and Diana was arranged at The Albany on Piccadilly, because Diana could get in and out unobtrusively (especially with some disguise), and leave her police driver in the car park. Victor knew that even more than a career as a ghost-written author, Diana would relish a career in the movies, preferably in Hollywood, albeit he knew that that was never going to happen. In his marketing effort to promote a suitable self-image and sustainable self-confidence in Diana, Victor announced that he had arranged for Diana to be invited to the Denham home of the lead Great Expectations star, John Mills, and his wife Mary Bell. Diana knew, especially after (surprisingly) viewing the VHS cassette Victor had given her, of the standing of John Mills. Victor told Diana that Mills’ wife, Mary Bell, was the author of Whistle Down the Wind; a film known to almost every English child growing up in the 1960s. Mills, then in his eighth year, was allegedly interested in producing a re-make of Great Expectations, with a screen adaptation by his wife, and he was apparently wondering who he might cast in the adult Estella role. He might possibly pose that question to Diana; would she be interested in such a role and also possibly as an investor in the project? Diana was suitable flattered. How much of that story was invented by Victor was another matter; however, the storyline did capture Diana’s fantasies of a future career, and her interest in attending the proposed dinner party.

That dinner party, and the several attendant, albeit aging, stars of stage and screen, were sufficient to implant into Diana’s brain the idea that indeed she could be Estella Havisham, and that she could rely on Victor to be her trusty Mr. Jaggers, and that Diana could embark on a career (of one sort or another) which would give her financial independence; and finally, the escape tunnel she needed from the Windsor Herd enclosure.

In 1991, the publishing project was placed in the hands of a Trust company, later financed by Theodore Forstmann (Diana’s lover and escape plan); and, suitable managers, researchers, and ghost-writers, were specifically recruited for the work. That research mushroomed, and it became evident that the available material could produce a large series of inter-related book titles.

In 1992, Diana worked (secretly) with a British author to produce the first biographical book about her futile and failed marriage to Charles Windsor; however, because she had not informed Ed Victor about that matter there was thereafter some friction in their relationship. In 1993/1994, Diana was meeting with Pat Kavanagh (another London Literary Agent); however, those discussions apparently did not result in any formal contract.

In 1994/1995, the Trusts (acting for Diana) concluded a number of Non-Disclosure Agreements with certain parties (including her mother-in-law Elizabeth Windsor, and her father-in-law Philip Glücksburg) whereby, in return for NOT publishing the information researched and held, the Trusts would be paid an annual fee. Indeed, those NDA payments would exceed any revenues likely to be derived from publication. However, despite the NDAs, the research and data collection continued and new material was and is (up to this day) being generated by the Trusts.

In 1997, Diana Spencer died, however the project Trusts were still receiving the NDA revenues and the Trustees decided to allow those benefitting from the NDAs to continue. Those NDA revenues were used by the Trusts both to continue the research (being done for the Archive and ultimate publications) and (more so) for donations to the charities and organisations supported by Diana during her life; and/or the types of charities she would have wanted to support.

In 2011 Theodore Forstmann died, however he left in place both a substantial financial legacy and ongoing support, and a professional management team to continue the work of the Trusts.

The most financially beneficial NDAs effectively lapsed in 2022, due to the death of Elizabeth Windsor, and whereas the payments for the NDAs could, and did, continue; there would be performance issues in respect of the long-term viability of those NDA agreements. Thus, the Trusts would need to decide when to terminate the NDAs, and when to publish the evidence held, according to the wishes of the settlors of the Trusts.

In 2022, the Archive of material which had grown to over the years, contained over 800,000 paper documents, photographs, audio recordings, film and video recordings, and 220 electronic databases; that archive was sent to be digitized in order that it could be catalogued, and the information it contained used more efficiently. In preparation for the publishing of the information, those digitized document Archives were then being subjected to an updating process to allow a more contemporary output for the publications and other media.

In 2022, the Trust contacted Curtis Brown Group (i.e. Original Talent Limited) as the owners of Ed Victor Ltd, and enquired if they had any documentation (i.e. a contract) between Ed Victor Ltd and the Trust, or indeed the original ‘author’. This was to avoid any unresolved contractual issues going forward, and indeed to honour the evident mutual goodwill between Ed Victor and Diana Spencer. The Trust was informed that whereas they knew of the contact between Ed Victor and Diana Spencer, they apparently could not locate any written agreement. In fact, the Trust was aware that Diana Spencer and Ed Victor had in 1991 registered an off-shore company that would handle the publications being produced by the project.

In that the publications are peppered with reference to Ed Victor and his interactions with Diana Spencer, the Trust felt that it might be apposite (in memory of the camaraderie between the two of them) that the Trust would offer Curtis Brown Group / Original Talent a first refusal to act as Literary Agents on behalf of the Trust. The Trust enquired whether Curtis Brown Group / Original Talent were of the opinion that Article 10 of the European Conventions on Human Rights, meaning freedom of expression, was still alive and well in the United Kingdom; albeit clearly, the issues and exposés covered in these books would be very damaging to certain individuals and vested interests in Britain, and the Trust anticipated that UK based literary agents would be too afraid to handle such publications.

Similarly, in 2022, The Trusts contacted Peters Fraser & Dunlop Limited, being Pat Kavanagh’s company, to confirm that they had no contract in force in respect of them acting as Diana Spencer’s Literary Agent. Again, this was to avoid any unresolved contractual problems going forward.

The Trust had always felt that this project was going to be too difficult for either a Literary Agent or a Publisher based in Britain because the topics and issues covered are going to be extremely sensitive to certain individuals, and to the tribal vested interests in Britain. The domestic British publishers would be apprehensive as these publications will be very controversial in Britain. Thus, it has been decided by the Trusts to publish independently; as, of course, the Trusts are not intimidated by any vested interests in Britain.

Background

Associates, Collaborators, and Researchers

Ghost-Experts

Ghost-Hacks

Ghostwriters