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of surrogate ‘father and mother’ figures, who included the film-maker David Puttnam and Lady Annabel Goldsmith.
    The Princess trusted Colthurst with many of her most intimate secrets, and used him as a sounding board for her problems and concerns. She telephoned him constantly and the calls – usually around eight a day, more if there was a crisis – gathered momentum and took on a rhythm of their own. Morning conversations were short, dealing with the contents of newspapers and how to counter negative publicity. She would outline her engagements for the day, asking advice on how to handle a range of social situations. On one occasion, for example, she asked him what conversational gambits she could use to engage her lunch partner, the French President, François Mitterrand; on another day,Diana, who was, until late in her life, intimidated by intellectuals, called in a fluster and asked how best to interest the formidable former American Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger. Colthurst’s advice, just to be herself and ask him what really fascinated him, certainly seemed to strike a chord – over the years Kissinger became a great admirer of the Princess, agreeing to present her with a humanitarian award in New York in 1995.
    Afternoon telephone calls usually involved an inquest into the Princess’s official duties; then in the early evening she would call to discuss her life and emotional situation. Invariably this involved her husband, her marriage and her future – although, once, while she was staying at Balmoral she asked Colthurst how to resolve a ticklish problem of protocol. It seems that for a time the Queen took to singing hymns unaccompanied after dinner was over. The Princess did not know whether to sing along, start clapping or remain silent. For once Colthurst was at a loss.
    He was more helpful when Diana called from Sandringham during Christmas 1991. In the oppressive and accusatory atmosphere of this unhappy family gathering – the last before both the Princess and the Duchess of York separated from their royal husbands – she was desperate to find an excuse to leave, especially after a tart encounter with Princess Anne, who remarked, ‘It’s difficult for Charles with a wife like you.’ When Colthurst suggested to Diana that she visit the homeless in London, she seized on the idea, quickly making arrangements so that she could make her excuses and leave.
    The final call, after the day’s torrent of requests for advice and support, was what Colthurst labelled the ‘bored call’, where, before she went to bed, she would chit-chat for up to ninety minutes about nothing in particular. Colthurst, who was then working full-time developing a medical device with British Oxygen and planning his own wedding, found himself juggling his own career with his shadow life as her de facto private secretary. In those days, when mobile phones were the size of house bricks, he regularly received urgent summons on his pager and often had to leave meetings to find a quiet public telephone from which to send his response. In June 1991, for instance, a worried Diana wasconstantly on the telephone to him seeking reassurance when Prince William suffered a depressed fracture of his skull following a golfing accident at school.
    Over time Diana came to rely on James Colthurst for suggestions and solutions to all manner of delicate or thorny problems. When she decided to replace her regular hairdresser, Richard Dalton, but was anxious to do so without hurting his feelings or provoking him to sell his story to the media, she turned to James. He suggested that she write a letter tactfully explaining her decision and give him a present in appreciation of his years of service. His counsel proved effective and while it was little more than sensible man-management, for someone floundering and vulnerable it was a welcome lifeline.
    A greater test of his ingenuity came when Diana got herself in a rather sticky situation with