NEW YORK (AP) -- The author of a new book says Princess Diana may have suffered from a borderline personality disorder that caused trouble in her relationships.
In "Diana in Search of Herself," due out this month from Times Books, author Sally Bedell Smith writes that the princess was much more troubled than the public realized. Excerpts were published in People magazine.The book also talks about a relationship Diana allegedly had with Dr. Hasnat Khan, a Pakistani heart surgeon she met before Dodi Al Fayed.
It was partly to provoke Khan that Diana was so public about her relationship with Al Fayed, who died with her on Aug. 31, 1997, in a car crash in Paris, Smith wrote.
Borderline personality disorder can cause sufferers to be self-destructive, impulsive, volatile and easily depressed, Smith writes.
Nowhere in the excerpts did Smith give clinical evidence of Diana being officially diagnosed with a personality disorder.
Smith interviewed Simone Simmons, Diana's alternative psychotherapist, who said "Diana was so impatient to have Hasnat's undivided attention that if he used the Kensington Palace telephones to speak to his family or friends in Pakistan for more than 10 minutes, Diana would turn her music up or dance before him to distract his attention."
A friend told Smith that Diana would have converted to Islam for Khan, who she considered "a vital anchor in her life."
The relationship faltered after Diana flew to Pakistan in May 1997 to meet Khan's family without telling him.