In this fascinating account, Charles Spencer traces the story of his family from its days as a medieval sheep-farming dynasty to the present. Remarkable characters abound, from Henry Spencer, who gave Charles I the astonishing sum of pounds l0,000 on the eve of the English Civil War; through the Lady Diana Spencer who lived in the 18th century and did not marry the Prince of Wales; to the scandalous society beauty Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire; and finally to the modern Diana, Princess of Wales.

Using archives and documents previously unavailable and incorporating his own knowledge and experiences of the family, Charles Spencer has written an entertaining yet moving narrative that puts into vivid context the life of the most loved princess of 20th-century Britain.