Following a turbulent life, many might have hoped that the late Princess Diana would find peace in the grave. As everyone in the universe now knows, the Princess of Wales died in a car crash while being pursued by photographers.

But thanks to trash-mongering author Kitty Kelley, Diana’s image will be sullied less than two weeks after being buried.

Kitty Kelley, the queen of sleazy biography, attacks Princess Diana and other members of the British royal family in “The Royals,” set to be released tomorrow.

You may remember Kelley as the author of a Nancy Reagan biography which claimed, with no substantiation, that Mrs. Reagan had an affair with Frank Sinatra, another Kelley target.

It would be in very poor taste to release a book such as “The Royals” at this time even if all of the accusations were meticulously researched and above reproach. But careful research isn’t quite Kelley’s style. She specializes in making the most lurid, sensational personal attacks using “anonymous” sources — or no source at all.

With Princess Diana in no position to issue rebuttals, Kelley casts doubt on her chastity prior to her royal marriage. More importantly, she questions the fatherhood of her son, Prince Harry, alleging the prince may have been the result of one of Diana’s affairs.

Thus, within two weeks of the violent, sudden death of his mother, a twelve-year-old boy will be faced with accusations that his only remaining parent is not, in fact, his parent.

Not wanting to leave anyone out, Kelley portrays the dignified Queen Elizabeth as having a voracious sexual appetite and her husband, Prince Philip, as having a string of illegitimate children.

At a time when news organizations are supposedly reevaluating the way that they cover the lives of celebrities, the media is eating up Kelley’s gossip. The author has 100 major media outlets scheduled for her publicity tour. However, in a rare show of restraint, People Magazine canceled a deal to promote the book. “We thought it was inappropriate to be dishing at the time of Princess Diana’s death,” a spokeswoman for the magazine said.

Kelley was reportedly paid a $4.5 million advance for “The Royals.”

(Source: New York Daily News.)