Prince William 'upset' by Diana book

Diana 'exploited and betrayed' by book, says Prince William

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Britain's Prince William has talked for the first time of the distress caused to him and his brother Prince Harry by a new book which brands his mother "a scheming liar."

Giving his first ever public interview, the teenage prince told of the "betrayal and exploitation" of his mother in the book by Patrick Jephson, who was private secretary to Diana, the Princess of Wales.

He said: "Harry and I are both quite upset about it -- that our mother's trust has been betrayed and even now she is still being exploited."

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William's remarks came at the end of a face-to-face interview with journalists at the home of his father, the Prince of Wales, in Highgrove, Gloucestershire.

He refused to take any other questions about the book, in which the author claims his mother sacked members of her staff compulsively and had a desperate need to draw attention to herself.

Jephson, who worked as Diana's trusted adviser for seven years until 1996, is the most senior member of her staff to have gone public with his story.

He has defended his work as "a truthful and balanced account" intended to protect the memory of the Princess, who died in a car crash in Paris in August 1997.

He went ahead with the book, Shadows of a Princess, despite strong objections from the Queen and the Prince of Wales. They issued an unprecedented statement criticising its serialisation in a British Sunday newspaper.

Prince William, with his father Prince Charles, talks about his gap year

On a lighter note, Prince William, 18, said he will soon join a Raleigh International expedition to Chile where he will work on community and environmental projects. He will travel to some of the most remote parts of Patagonia.

The prince said the expedition would be part of his "gap year" -- the year between high school and college -- before he heads to St. Andrews University in Scotland next year to study for a degree in the History of Art.

He said the expedition will be 10 weeks in length. "Basically, I wanted to do something constructive," the prince added.

William said he had raised about £5,500 ($8,800) to pay for his trip to Chile by organising a sponsored water polo match. The money will also pay for a disadvantaged youngster to go on a Raleigh International expedition, he said.

Dressed in jeans and casual crew-neck fawn jumper, William spoke of his recent trips to Belize and Mauritius. He revealed that he had been told of his successes in A-level examinations, in which he gained grades A, B and C, while in the remote jungle of Belize, central America.

The Prince's travelling companion for part of the 10-week trip will be Mark Dyer, a former aide to the Prince of Wales, who has become William's close friend. Dyer, 34, a former captain in the Welsh Guards, has helped to organise William's gap year.

Contents of controversial new book about Diana revealed
September 25, 2000
The Death of Princess Diana
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Low-key remembrance for Diana anniversary
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The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund
The Royal Family
The Prince of Wales

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