Diana's Baby

emBooks / a division of Melanie Phillips Electric Media is delighted to announce the safe arrival of the world's very first royal baby book – DIANA'S BABY: Kate, William and the Repair of a Broken Family (Tuesday July 23, 2013 emBooks / a division of Melanie Phillips Electric Media £4.99 / $6.99 via the free emBooks app for iPad and iPhone, atembooks.com, and at fine online book retailers like Amazon, Apple and Nook).

Immediately and extensively updated to include all details of the events leading up the arrival of William and Kate's new baby prince, the book covers the rumors, the media frenzy, the timeline to the baby's safe arrival on the hottest day of the year in Great Britain. Angela Levin's book also includes an assessment of the significance of the baby for the future of the Monarchy in Britain, what the likely influence of the very ordinary Middletons is likely to be and just how HRH Prince William, Diana's first and beloved baby, managed to overcome the destructive chain of his own dysfunctional beginnings.

"The announcement that billions of people round the world had been waiting for with growing anxiety, finally came at 8.30pm on 22 July 2013. The news was out that Kate Middleton, a young woman from an ordinary family had given birth to a healthy baby boy, prince and future king.

It was a monumental moment and one that instantly reverberated round the world. The royal prince had arrived at the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital, west London at 16.24 after a fourteen hour labour endured on the hottest day of the year. His weight was a solid 8lbs 6 ozs, the heaviest future monarch in a hundred years and considerably more than his father Prince William, who by contrast, weighed a mere 7lbs 1 ½ lbs .

Prince William immediately called the Queen, his father Prince Charles, his brother Harry and Kate's parents Carole and Michael Middleton. But it took another four hours before he gave the go ahead for the declaration to be made public.

The announcement via email from Kensington Palace noted he was present at the birth and was 'delighted'. And no wonder. The birth of an heir to the throne is a rare and special event full of historical significance as well as personal joy. But it is also the most intimate time in a couple's life. Creating a new life signifies a new beginning. Neither Kate nor William will ever be quite the same again.

There was profound sadness too that his mother Diana, Princess of Wales, wasn't there to share his happiness and would never meet or enjoy her grandson. His new status as a father is also the surest way to exorcise much from his early troubled years. William has grown up knowing he had to keep his feelings under wraps. He barely trusted anyone and only reluctantly learnt to live in the spotlight. Kate's devotion, confidence and love has helped him have confidence in his feelings. His son is the perfect catalyst to allow him to find even greater personal happiness."

Their baby will mark the final stage in a moving tale of redemption that will give hope not just to future generations of his own family but also to the British monarchy. It is the inspirational tale of an extraordinary prince who has sought salvation in the ordinary.

And behind this happy story, however, lies an even more hopeful and inspiring message. The fragmentation of the family, with huge rates of divorce and rising number of children who have never known a committed father at all is deeply troubling. The damage this is doing to both individuals and society is incalculable. Even more alarming, however, is that those brought up in fractured family units so often replicate this unhappy pattern as they have no healthy family model upon which to draw.

If anyone seemed at one time to be caught in this trap, it was surely Prince William; second in line to the British throne, he was raised with every advantage, except what every child needs most, a secure, stable, loving family background. As Angela Levin explains, William's parents, Diana, Princess of Wales and Prince Charles, had a disastrous marriage that formed a pattern of behaviour he was destined to repeat. Among the many insights in DIANA'S BABY:

"In this pioneering study Angela Levin has understood what this means, not just for William and Kate but for all who wonder whether, in our wider society, the shattered traditional family can ever be repaired. Her unique insight into just what has been overcome by Prince William – Diana's baby – suggests that his own child may not merely redeem the tragedy of Diana's life, but serve also as a symbol of hope for a society whose heart is too often being broken."

Melanie Phillips

About the author
Angela Levin writes regularly for national newspapers in the UK. She specializes in in-depth interviews and has been commended several times in the British Press Awards. She is also the author of six non-fiction books, including a biography of the late Princess of Wales's father and stepmother. She broadcasts regularly on radio and Sky News.

Published by emBooks LLC / a division of Melanie Phillips Electric Media LLC.
Foreword by Melanie Phillips: Publication Date: Tuesday July 23, 2013 $6.99 US/£4.99 UK
EPUB ISBN-13:978-1-62777-020-0 / MOBI ISBN-13:978-1-62777-021-7