Unreleased Princess Diana Books Stolen While Driver Slept in Netherlands

Several copies of an unreleased book about Princess Diana have been stolen from a truck in the Netherlands, just days before its worldwide release.

The book, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, was written by Diana’s brother Charles Spencer.

According to Dutch publisher Overamstel, four copies of the Dutch edition, titled Zwanenzang, were stolen.

The truck was travelling from the printing company to a warehouse in the Netherlands when the driver stopped for a mandatory break at a rest area along a Dutch highway.

“The driver followed all security protocols and had to take a mandatory break at a rest stop in the Netherlands – where the incident occurred – and spent the night in the cab,” a spokesperson for the publisher said.

The books were reportedly stolen while the driver was sleeping inside the truck.

Dutch police are now investigating the theft.

According to the Daily Mail, the incident happened on Monday evening, and British publisher Penguin was informed on Tuesday.

The book is expected to be released worldwide on Tuesday, September 22.

A publishing industry source described the theft as highly suspicious.

“Nothing like this has ever happened before. This is probably the biggest book of the year and the security surrounding it has been incredibly tight,” the source said. “Every possible precaution has been taken to prevent it from being leaked ahead of its serialisation. Therefore this unprecedented incident is being taken extremely seriously.”

In the book, Charles Spencer writes about his relationship with his older sister, Princess Diana.

He also discusses Diana’s unhappy marriage to then-Prince Charles and what happened inside the British Royal Family following her death in a car crash in Paris in August 1997.

Spencer said he wants to correct “untruths” about his sister ahead of the 30th anniversary of her death.