Penny Junor's book, Charles: Victim or Villain? alleges that Diana, Princess of Wales, made late-night death threats to Camilla Parker Bowles.

The book alleges that Camilla received death threats

It also says the princess had the first affair of the marriage with her now deceased bodyguard, Barry Mannakee.

Allegations that the Queen had to be forced to allow Diana's body to be brought back from Paris in a royal plane have been dismissed as a "grotesque misrepresentation of the truth" by the palace.

According to the book, the Queen only consented to the use of the Royal Squadron after and aide asked her: "Would you rather, ma'am, that she came back in a Harrods van?"

Palace repeats denials

Penny Junor's statement that the Queen opposed Diana's body being taken to the Chapel Royal at St James's Palace were "the direct opposite of the truth", said a palace spokesman.

The palace repeated denials, issued at the time of the princess's death, that there was discord within the Royal Family or disputes between the Windsors and Diana's family, the Spencers, over her funeral arrangements.

"Our position has not altered and is repeated on behalf of Buckingham Palace and St James's Palace," said the Buckingham Palace spokesman.

He added: "The book was neither official nor authorised."

Auhtor Penny Junor claims the couple had vicious rows

It is reported that up to 30 of the prince's close friends and advisers co-operated with the book, which charts the entire span of the royal marriage.

The book presents the view that Diana lured Charles into marrying her by claiming to enjoy country pursuits and says the couple's honeymoon ended with the prince throwing his wife's wedding ring at an aide after a vicious row between the newly-weds.

Penny Junor told the Mail on Sunday that she had undertaken to write the book "to explain what really happened in that marriage".

'Portrait of the Prince of Wales at 50'

She said: "It is an attempt to describe why Charles married Diana, what life was like for them both and what went so badly wrong that she felt compelled to tell the world and take very public revenge on her husband.

"So far, no one has attempted to tell the complete story."

She said the book "is a portrait of the Prince of Wales at 50" and described him as a "man emotionally handcuffed by his upbringing and damaged by the failure of his marriage".

Roger Gale: "Prince William and Prince Harry have a right to privacy"

Conservative MP Roger Gale described newspaper coverage of the claims in Penny Junor's book as "grotesque".

"It is less than courageous journalism to make a swipe at two people - Princess Diana and her former bodyguard - neither of whom can sue because both are dead," he told BBC Radio Five Live.

"Those who believe that this will assist in the rehabilitation of Prince Charles have, I think, made a gross error of judgment. Reaction to this story is likely to do infinitely more harm than good.

"I believe that the public feel strongly that Prince William and Prince Harry have a right to privacy and some respect for their late mother's memory, and Prince Charles also is entitled to at least a degree of privacy.

"This in my view, highlights once again the need for an independent Press Complaints Authority with statutory powers to force a code of conduct."