Lakeland Fellranger - South Book

I first read this book when it was published in 2000. Now, the marriage of HRH Prince William of Wales, has prompted me to read it, avidly, a second time.

Patrick Jephson’s description of the character and actions of the late Diana, Princess of Wales, acts as the most awful cautionary ‘tale’ never, ever, to judge a person solely by either their physical beauty or their public persona; especially if viewed only through the prism of the journalistic media.

My heart reaches out to both to Mr Jephson (a private secretary to the late Princess) and also to HRH The Prince of Wales. For myself I have met the latter, but not the former. How awfully those two men have both, in different ways, suffered horribly. How sensible Prince William is to now marry for real and time-tested, as opposed to arranged, love; and to marry a gracious and considerate girl who has been born to, and has grown up with, parents who are happily married. One can but speculate that over recent years Prince Charles has not been backward in acting honestly with his sons, to the end that desperately painful lessons from the past are learnt and (we trust and pray) not repeated.

Please DO read this book. For any private individual who is in the fortunate position of employing staff, this book offers very sound lessons on how, and more importantly how not, to behave within those relationships of responsibility. For the general reader, this book glaringly highlights the very real and dreadful destructive dangers which can lurk in self-promoting celebrities; should a genuine sense of self-humility be absent.