Did Princess Diana Have A Secret Daughter?

The ludicrous inventions of certain American gossip magazines rarely trouble the Royalist too much. However, the latest story by the Globe – an article claiming Charles and Diana had a secret daughter and that Kate Middleton has met her – is making headlines around the world.

So if it falls to us to debunk the tale, so be it.

Certainly, the details that Globe has woven are a compellingly brilliant fantasy. They say that a number of embryos were covertly created when, during an obstetrical examination, eggs were taken from Diana which were then fertilised by Charles in an attempt to make sure Diana was fertile.

The paper claims that after Charles and Diana married the fertilised eggs were supposed to be destroyed but a rogue doctor implanted one of the embryos into his wife.

The mag alleges that a 33-year old New England woman, who they say is called Sarah, was born before William and Harry.

Globe says she is now living incognito in New England in the United States, and has feared for her life following Diana's death in a Paris car crash in 1997.

It’s quite a tale, and one bolstered by the fact that Diana did undergo a gynaecological examination before her engagement to Charles, according to a report in the Daily Mail.

But Dan Brown couldn’t write it any better, and in fact the whole story bears a quite spooky resemblance to a fictional book entitled The Disappearance Of Olivia about a supposed secret daughter of Diana’s.

The author, Nancy E. Ryan, imagined a story in which an oncologist who “admired Princess Diana and wanted to emulate her” discovers she is Diana’s secret daughter. In the novel, Olivia also lives in hiding, much like so-called ‘Sarah.’

Asked once whether there was any basis in fact of her story, Ryan replied, “It’s not for me to say. I believe that my story could have been true. Many have told me that they believe my story is the only one that is entirely plausible. These same people also think that Prince Charles wanted Diana to be fertile that he might have pushed Diana into having her eggs harvested to prove her fertility… I believe that fantasies allow us to explore our feelings. I hope that Diana’s fans would understand that the book allows us to say ‘What if?’”

Hmmm.

Not a peep from the Palace on this, as you might expect.