Queen Elizabeth II after learning of Princess Diana's car crash

Queen Elizabeth II after learning of Princess Diana's car crash, 'Someone must have greased the brakes': book

BY RACHELLE BLIDNER NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Published: Saturday, August 15, 2015, 10:35 AM Updated: Saturday, August 15, 2015, 11:53 AM

Queen Elizabeth II immediately suspected foul play in the 1997 car crash that killed Princess Diana, according to a new book.

"Someone must have greased the brakes," the Queen said of the Paris car crash before realizing Diana, her boyfriend and a chauffeur had died, biographer Ingrid Seward said in her book "The Queen's Speech."

The ruler publicly expressed grief, noting Diana "was an exceptional and gifted human being" who she "admired and respected."

But the Queen's immediate response to the crash shows just how "complex" her relationship with her former daughter-in-law had turned, Seward said in a book adaptation for the Daily Mail.

The monarch was initially fond of Lady Diana Spencer, who she had watched grow up, Seward said. Her sister had dated Prince Charles earlier, and another sister had married the Queen's assistant.

"She is one of us," the Queen wrote of Diana to a friend. "I am very fond of all three of the Spencer girls."

While the British ruler looked forward to gaining a new daughter-in-law at the lavish and iconic wedding in July 1981, Diana became anxious and awkward.

"The Queen made a great fuss of her future daughter-in-law, trying to demonstrate that she was interested in Diana for her personal qualities and not just for what she represented, as the wife to the heir of the throne," Seward wrote.

"But Diana ran out of things to say to her," Seward wrote. Diana became so nervous about having lunch one-on-one with the Queen that she "made excuses, even inventing non-existent friends to avoid the invitations."

Elizabeth continued to look out for Diana, even as she turned cold to the Queen, Seward said.

The Queen wanted to give Diana a reprieve from the inundating press coverage, but Diana "resented any shift of focus away from her" in the media, Seward wrote.

Their relationship declined as Diana's marriage to Charles dissolved. Diana became so unhappy, she divulged her secrets to a journalist, helping to create a book that became a "catalogue of marital grievances" Seward wrote.

When the book came out, Diana lied about her part in it.

"Don't you realize? She's mad, mad and mad?" Charles reportedly ranted to the Queen over the phone shortly before their separation in 1992. They formally got divorced in August 1996.

The Queen told a staffer of the separation, "I think you will find it's all for the best."

“The Queen’s Speech” will be available on Aug. 27.