The wedding took place on July 29, 1981 at St. Paul's Cathedral in London. Prince Charles of Wales and lady Diana Spencer. This celebration, which cost the treasury almost 3 million pounds, was dubbed the “wedding of the century” in the press. Diana in her wedding dress with a long train and tiara, she looked like a princess from a fairy tale marrying the heir to the throne. The question of whether this marriage was concluded for love or whether Diana was at that time the most suitable candidate for the role of the wife of the future king remains open, and the history of the relationship between Prince Charles and Lady Di ended sadly. Having been married for 15 years, the couple officially divorced - a year before tragic death Diana in a car accident. AiF.ru recalls how the short-lived relationship between Prince Charles and Lady Diana began and developed, who, without becoming the Queen of Britain, forever remained the “queen of people’s hearts.”
The Prince of Wales met his future bride in 1977, when she was only 16 years old. At that time, Charles was in a relationship with Diana's 22-year-old sister Sarah. There is a version that this romance came to an end after the girl, having met two reporters in a restaurant, carelessly shared with them the details of her personal life, including her addiction to alcohol, weight problems and numerous affairs, as well as the fact that She has already started collecting clippings from newspapers and magazines that talk about her “royal romance” to show her grandchildren. The article was published, and Charles, as you might guess, found his lover’s behavior unacceptable and stupid, immediately ending the relationship and turning his attention to the younger Spencer. Despite the fact that many considered the wedding of Diana and Charles to be the reason for the cooling of relations between the sisters - allegedly Sarah never forgave her sister for not marrying the prince - Lady Di's biographer insists that Sarah was one of the few , whom Diana trusted completely, and besides, the sisters often appeared together at special events.
Wedding of Prince Charles and Diana. 1981 Photo: flickr.com / Laura Loveday
By the time she met the heir to the British crown, Diana Spencer, the daughter of a viscount, who came from the same family as Winston Churchill, and was a paternal carrier of royal blood through the illegitimate children of kings Charles II And James II, has already received the title “lady”. It was granted to her as the daughter of a high peer when her father became 8th Earl Spencer in 1975. Diana's family moved from London to the family castle Althorp House in Notthrogtonshire, where The Royal Family came to hunt. Diana received a good education, first at home, then in private schools in England and Switzerland. All this, coupled with her aristocratic upbringing, musical abilities, the girl’s external attractiveness and, as everyone initially thought, a meek character, made her an ideal candidate for the role of the prince’s bride.
A serious relationship between Charles and Diana began in 1980: the young people spent a weekend on a cruise aboard the yacht Britannia, and then Charles invited Diana to the royal summer residence, Balmoral Castle, where he introduced his chosen one to the family. Charles had already turned 30 by that time, it was fitting for him to choose a life partner, so even his mother, the Queen Elizabeth II gave permission for the wedding, although she considered Diana not ready for life in the palace.
On February 3, 1981, after six months of official relations, Charles proposed to Diana, to which she accepted. However, the engagement was kept secret for some time, until February 24, when the future wedding was publicly announced. Diana appeared in public wearing a ring made of 14 diamonds and a huge sapphire, which cost the groom £30,000. He gave the same jewelry, which he inherited from his mother, to his bride Kate Middleton for the engagement of the son of Charles and Diana - Prince William.
Preparations for the wedding took 5 months. It was decided to hold the celebration in the Cathedral of St. Paul, and not in Westminster Abbey, where, as a rule, representatives of the British royal family were married, but where it was not possible to accommodate all the invitees, and they eventually numbered more than 3,500 people. Kings, queens, princes and princesses from all over the world, as well as representatives of the English aristocracy and other high-ranking guests, arrived in London for the ceremony. The procession through the streets of London was watched by a crowd of citizens who welcomed the procession, which consisted of the carriages of Queen Elizabeth and her husband Prince Philip, members of the royal family, Prince Charles with his brother Andrew. The bride and father were the last to travel to the wedding venue, in a special glass carriage. About 750 million people watched the ceremony broadcast on TV, and they were all waiting for one thing - the bride’s exit from the carriage, when they could finally see her dress in all its glory. And the wait was worth it: Diana’s outfit is still considered the most chic wedding dress in history. Huge silk fluffy skirt, decorated with lace and pearls, puffed sleeves and a 25-meter train - fragile Diana was almost lost in this abundance of expensive ivory-colored materials, but at the same time she looked like a fairy tale heroine come to life. The bride wore a tiara that belonged to her family on her head.
Prince Charles and Princess Diana. 1984 Photo: flickr.com / Alberto Botella
The vows given by the bride and groom in front of the altar were heard (thanks to the speakers) far beyond the cathedral - however, there were some overlays that were later called prophetic. So, Lady Diana could not correctly pronounce the long name of her future husband - Charles Philip Arthur George Windsor - and he, in turn, instead of “I promise to share with you everything that belongs to me,” said “I promise to share with you everything that belongs to you.” " It is also interesting that for the first time the word “obey” was removed from the marriage vows of the spouses.
The family happiness of Diana, who became the Princess of Wales, and Charles was short-lived, but in their marriage they had two sons: in 1982, the first-born William was born, and two years later - the youngest, red-haired Henry, who is more often called Harry. According to Diana herself, these years, the first after the birth of their children, were the happiest in the life of their family - Charles and his wife spent almost all their time in the company of each other and their sons, whom they took with them even on official trips. “Family is the most important thing,” Lady Di, who was still with teenage years She adored children and even worked at one time as a teacher in one of the London kindergartens. During this same period, the character of the princess also emerged, who not only chose the names of William and Harry herself, but also hired her own nanny, refusing the royal services, and later, despite a busy schedule of meetings and official visits, tried to pick up her sons from school on her own.
In the mid-80s, Charles resumed his affair with his longtime mistress Camilla Parker Bowles- the recordings were leaked to the press telephone conversations, confirming adultery. Diana, in turn, either out of resentment, or in revenge, or out of loneliness, became close to the riding instructor James Hewitt. Journalists' attention to the details of the royals' married life forced them to give explanatory interviews - it was impossible to avoid questions. None of them, of course, went into details, but Diana still allowed herself a comment that spread around the world: “There are too many people in my marriage.”
Princess Diana with her sons Harry and William. 1989 Photo: www.globallookpress.com
The princess meant not only Charles’ mistress, who after her death would still become the prince’s legal wife, but also the entire royal family, who took an active part in the life of their young family. Which in itself is quite logical, given Charles' status as a potential future king of Great Britain. Elizabeth II was outraged by the media attention that Diana brought upon them with her behavior - the whole world was closely watching her, because the princess led an active social life, devoting a lot of time to charity, visiting orphanages, nursing homes, and rehabilitation centers. She herself walked through a minefield, supporting the campaign to ban the use of anti-personnel mines, donated family money to fight AIDS, attracting numerous famous friends, artists and musicians as sponsors. Her subjects and residents of other countries adored her, and she declared that she wanted to be, first of all, the “queen of people’s hearts,” and not the queen of Britain. Of course, Charles and his affair were out of favor with the people, he was made the main culprit of the unhappy marriage - but his mother and the royal family were, of course, on the side of the heir and could not allow Diana to further spoil his reputation.
To everyone's relief, Diana and Charles officially divorced in August 1996, and Diana ceased to be Her Royal Highness. However, as an ex-wife crown prince and the mother of the pretenders to the throne, still had to follow protocol. Diana did not stop her charitable activities, and the attention of the press to her person did not wane. It is known that after breaking up with Charles, who no longer tried to hide his relationship with Camilla Parker-Bowles, Lady Di first started an unsuccessful affair with a surgeon of Pakistani origin Hasnat Khan, for whose sake she almost converted to Islam, and later with an Arab multimillionaire Dodi Al-Fayed. It was in his car on the way from a Parisian restaurant that Diana crashed on the evening of August 31, 1997. For Charles, as for the little princes, her death was a blow, despite previous disagreements. Even Queen Elizabeth, seeing how she mourns disgraced princess The nation, filling the square in front of Buckingham Palace with flowers, made an official televised address, expressing its grief at the death of the mother of her grandchildren. As for Charles, he married for the second time only 8 years after Diana’s death - the wedding with Camilla Parker-Bowles was not solemn; they registered their long-standing relationship with the municipal department of Windsor. And, despite the blessing from the royal family, Elizabeth II was not present at the wedding.
Diana Frances Spencerborn in Norfolk, England
1967
Diana's parents divorced. Diana initially lived with her mother, and then her father sued and received custody.
1969
Diana's mother married Peter Shand Kydd.
1970
After being educated by teachers, Diana was sent to Riddlesworth Hall, Norfolk, a boarding school
1972
Diana's father began a relationship with Raine Legge, Countess of Dartmouth, whose mother was Barbara Cartland, a novelist
1973
Diana began her education at West Heath Girls School in Kent, an exclusive boarding school for girls.
1974
Diana moved to the Spencer family estate in Althorp
1975
Diana's father inherited the title of Earl Spencer, and Diana received the title of Lady Diana
1976
Diana's father married Raine Legge
1977
Diana left West Girls Heath School; her father sent her to the Swiss physical education school, Chateau d'Oex, but she only studied there for a few months
1977
Prince Charles and Diana met in November when he was dating her sister, Lady Sarah. Diana taught him to dance
1979
Diana moved to London, where she worked as a housekeeper, nanny and assistant kindergarten teacher; she lived with three other girls in a three-room apartment bought by her father
1980
While visiting her sister Jane, who was married to Robert Fellows, the Queen's assistant secretary, Diana and Charles met again; Charles soon asked Diana on a date, and in November he introduced her to severalmembers of the royal family: queen, queen mother and the Duke of Edinburgh (his mother, grandmother and father)
Prince Charles proposed to Lady Diana Spencer during dinner at Buckingham Palace
Lady Diana went on a previously planned holiday in Australia
Wedding of Lady Diana Spencer and Charles, Prince of Wales, in St. Paul's Cathedral; television broadcast
October 1981
The Prince and Princess of Wales visit Wales
Official announcement that Diana is pregnant
Prince William (William Arthur Philip Louis) born
Prince Harry (Henry Charles Albert David) born
1986
Disagreements in the marriage became obvious to the public, Diana begins a relationship with James Hewitt
Diana's father died
Publication of Morton's bookDiana: Her True Story" , including the story of Charles's long affair withCamilla Parker Bowlesand allegations of five suicide attempts, including sometime during Diana's first pregnancy; It was later revealed that Diana, or at least her family, collaborated with the author; her father contributed many family photographs
Official announcement of the legal separation of Diana and Charles
Announcement from Diana that she is retiring from public life
1994
Prince Charles, interviewed by Jonathan Dimbleby, admitted that he had been in a relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles since 1986 (later revealed to have started earlier) - to a British television audience of 14 million.
Martin Bashir's BBC interview with Princess Diana was watched by 21.1 million viewers in Britain. Diana talked about her struggles with depression, bulimia and self-deprecation. In this interview, Diana said her famous phrase: "Well, there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a little crowded," referring to her husband's relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles
Buckingham Palace announced that the Queen had written to the Prince and Princess of Wales, with the support of the Prime Minister and a secret lawyer, advising them to get a divorce.
Princess Diana said she agreed to divorce
July 1996
Diana and Charles agreed to divorce
Divorce of Diana, Princess of Wales and Charles, Prince of Wales. Diana received approximately $23 million plus $600,000 per year, retained the title "Princess of Wales" but not the title "Her Royal Highness" and continued to live at Kensington Palace; the agreement was that both parents were to be actively involved in their children's lives
Late 1996
Diana became involved in the problem of landmines
Diana Frances Spencer was born on July 1, 1960. The third girl in the family, she became another disappointment for Count John Spencer, who was expecting a son - the heir to titles and estates. But as a child, Diana was surrounded by love: as the youngest, she was pampered by both her family and servants.
The idyll did not last long: caught in adultery, Countess Spencer left for London, taking her younger children. The divorce process was accompanied by a scandal - at the trial, Diana’s grandmother testified against her daughter. For Diana, family discord remained forever associated with the terrible word “divorce.” The relationship with her stepmother did not work out, and for the rest of her childhood Diana rushed between her mother’s mansion in Scotland and her father’s in England, not feeling at home anywhere.
Diana (far right) with her father, sisters Sarah and Jane and brother Charles
Popular
Diana was not particularly diligent, and teachers spoke of her as a smart, but not very gifted girl. The real reason for her indifference to science was that she was already absorbed in another passion - ballet, but her high growth prevented her passion from becoming her life's work. Deprived of the opportunity to become a ballerina, Diana turned to social activities. Her enthusiastic nature and ability to infect others with her enthusiasm were noted by everyone around her.
Not just a friend
Prince Charles and Diana met when she was 16. Diana's sister Sarah was then dating the heir to the British throne, but the romance ended after a careless interview with the girl. Soon after the breakup, Charles began to look closely at the one in whom he had previously seen only younger sister his girlfriend, and soon came to the conclusion: Diana is perfection itself! The girl was flattered by the prince's attention, and everything went to a happy ending.
Over the weekend in country house The friends were followed by a cruise on the yacht Britannia, and then an invitation to Balmoral Castle, the summer residence of the English monarchs, where Diana was officially introduced to the royal family. To marry, the future monarch requires permission from the current monarch. Formally, Diana was the ideal candidate for the role of the bride. Possessing all the advantages of a less fortunate sister (noble birth, excellent upbringing and attractive appearance), she could boast of innocence and modesty, which the lively Sarah clearly lacked. And only one thing confused Elizabeth II - Diana seemed too unadapted to palace life. But Charles was over thirty, the search for the best candidate could drag on, and after much hesitation, the queen finally gave her blessing.
On February 6, 1981, Diana accepted the prince's proposal, and on July 29 they got married in St. Paul's Cathedral. The broadcast of the ceremony was watched by 750,000,000 people, and the wedding itself was like a fairy tale: Diana in a fluffy white dress with an eight-meter train drove up to the church in a carriage, surrounded by an escort of officers of the royal horse guards. The word “obey” was removed from the marriage vows, which created a sensation - indeed, even the Queen of England herself promised to obey her husband in everything.
Just a year after the wedding, Diana cradled her son and heir, Prince William. A couple of years later, Harry was born. Diana later admitted that these years were the best in her relationship with Charles. All free time they spent with children. “Family is the most important thing,” a beaming Diana told reporters.
At this time, Lady Di demonstrated her decisive character for the first time. Disregarding customs, she herself chose the names for the princes, refused the help of the royal nanny (hiring her own) and tried in every possible way to protect the highest interference in the life of her family. A devoted and affectionate mother, she organized her affairs so that they would not interfere with her picking up her children from school. And there was an incredible amount to do!
Royal affairs...
Princess Diana's duties as stipulated by the ceremony included attending charity events. Traditionally, charity is the activity of every member of the royal family. Princes and princesses have a long history of patronizing hospitals, orphanages, hospices, orphanages and non-profit organizations, but no British monarch has done so with such passion as Diana.
She greatly expanded the list of institutions visited, including hospitals for AIDS patients and leper colonies. The princess devoted a lot of time to the problems of children and youth, but among her wards were also nursing homes and rehabilitation centers for alcoholics and drug addicts. She also supported the campaign to ban landmines in Africa.
Princess Diana generously spent her money and the royal family's wealth on good causes, and also attracted friends from high society as sponsors. It was impossible to resist her soft but indestructible charm. All her compatriots adored her, and Lady Di had many fans abroad. “The most serious disease of the world is that there is little love in it,” she constantly repeated. At the same time, Diana unsuccessfully struggled with her own hereditary disease - bulimia (eating disorder), and against the backdrop of nervous experiences and stress, it was torture to restrain herself.
...and family matters
Family life turned out to be unlucky. Charles's long-term affair with married woman- Lady Camilla Parker-Bowles, which Diana learned about after the wedding, resumed in the mid-80s. Insulted, Diana became close to James Hewitt, a riding instructor. Tensions increased when recordings of compromising telephone conversations between both spouses and lovers were leaked to the press. Numerous interviews followed, during which Charles and Diana blamed each other for the breakdown of their union. “There were too many people in my marriage,” the princess joked sadly.
The outraged queen tried to speed up her son's divorce. The papers were signed on August 28, 1996, and from that moment on, Princess Diana lost all rights to address Your Royal Highness. She herself always said that she only wanted to be the queen of people’s hearts, and not the wife of the reigning monarch. After the divorce, Diana felt a little freer, although her life was still governed by protocol: she was ex-wife crown prince and mother of two heirs. It was her love for her sons that forced her to maintain the appearance of a family and tolerate her husband’s infidelities: “Any normal woman would have left long ago. But I couldn't. I have sons." Even at the height of the scandal, Lady Di did not stop doing charity work.
After the divorce, Diana did not give up charity, and she really managed to change the world for the better. She directed her energies to the fight against AIDS, cancer, and provided her assistance to children with heart defects.
At this time, the princess experienced a passionate affair with a surgeon of Pakistani origin, Hasnat Khan. Khan came from a very religious family, and Diana, in love, seriously considered converting to Islam in order to be able to marry her lover. Unfortunately, the contradictions between the two cultures were too great, and in June 1997 the couple separated. Just a few weeks later, Lady Di began dating Dodi Al-Fayed, a producer and son of an Egyptian multimillionaire.
You lived your life like a candle burns in the wind...
On August 31, 1997, Diana and Dodi were in Paris. They left the hotel by car when cars with paparazzi followed them. Trying to escape the pursuit, the driver lost control and crashed into a concrete bridge support. He himself and Dodi Al-Fayed died on the spot, Diana was taken to the hospital, where she died two hours later. The only survivor of the accident, bodyguard Trevor Rhys-Jones, has no memory of the events.
The police conducted a thorough investigation, as a result of which the cause of the princess's death was declared an accident caused by the carelessness of the driver and the carelessness of the car's passengers (none of them were wearing seat belts).
Elizabeth II was against declaring national mourning, insisting that Lady Diana no longer belonged to the royal family at the time of her death. However, ignoring Diana's death caused popular anger. A crowd of people wishing to bid farewell to Diana held the line near Buckingham Palace for several days, demanding that the flags be lowered to half-staff as a sign national tragedy. Then Elizabeth gave in, but the Queen still refuses to restore Diana’s title, although Princes William and Harry insist on it.
Camilla Parker Bowles, now Duchess of Cornwall, for a long time was perceived only as a destroyer of the family hearth of Elizabeth's eldest son and a tormentor of the beloved Princess Diana. And Charles himself was considered a heartless traitor. And only now, when 15 years have passed since the death of Lady Di and passions have subsided a little, it became clear that in fact this story was not as clear-cut as it seemed before.
Camilla met Charles back in 1970. Or, more precisely, Charles's ex-girlfriend brought them together. By that time, the beautiful Lucia Santa Cruz, the daughter of the Chilean ambassador in London, had become a little bored with the company of the Prince of Wales, then still a student at Cambridge. On the one hand, Lucia did not feel any shortage of gentlemen, but on the other, it was clear that the crown prince would not marry her. So she brought one of her socialite friends to Charles and introduced her: “This is Camilla Shand, she’s exactly the kind of girl you need!”
The prince accepted the “retirement” that Lucia gave him relatively easily. Charles had more than enough girls at that time. He followed the advice of Lord Mountbatten, his favorite relative and uncle to Charles's father. “While you are young and free, you need to have fun to the fullest, having fun with as many beauties as possible. And then settle down and marry a suitable girl, preferably a virgin!” – he repeated to his nephew more than once. As a result, Charles managed to flirt with the daughter of the British ambassador to Spain, Georgiana Russell, and with the Luxembourg princess Marie-Astrid, and with the aristocrats Lady Jane Wellesley and Lady Tryon, and with the model Fiona Watson, and with the actress Susan George... So Charles easily switched to new novel– with Camille Shand. At that time, the prince could foresee that this would not be just another affair, but the love of his life.
The novel began very intriguingly, just like in a romantic movie. “You know, my great-grandmother, Alice Keppel, was the mistress of your great-great-grandfather Edward VII. Maybe you and I should try too?” – at the first meeting, Camilla stunned the prince with her proposal. And they tried...
Lord Mountbatten always claimed to be a mentor in Charles' life. Noticing that this time the prince was carried away much more seriously than he had advised, and was even thinking about marrying Camilla, he became seriously worried. He had his own plans for the future of the heir. And besides, the lord considered Miss Shand a completely unsuitable bride.
With Camilla’s origins, everything was not bad - after all, on her mother’s side she was the granddaughter of Lord Ashcombe. The father, although he could not be considered an aristocrat, was very wealthy man accepted at court. But the reputation of Camilla herself, from Mountbatten’s point of view, left much to be desired.
The girl, who grew up in a family mansion, has never been denied anything since childhood. On Milla’s fifth birthday – that’s what everyone called her then – she was given her own pony. And she, while still very young, was allowed to hunt foxes on horseback, where, following the adults, the girl rushed through the forest on her faithful pony.
Milla loved hunting. She was not yet 13 years old when she received her “baptism of fire.” According to tradition, her cheek was smeared with the blood of a fox killed that day - it was something like a rite of passage to become a hunter. The girl was so proud of the honor bestowed upon her that she had to be forced to wash her face the next morning.
Milla did not shine at school, but not because she was incapable of studying. Unlike Diana, who failed her matriculation exams twice, she passed the necessary tests with varying degrees of success. But all her thoughts were occupied with various kinds of pranks - like an idea to secretly climb onto the roof of the school to smoke. It is not surprising that Milla's classmates admired Milla's daring and courage. Boys always swarmed around Camilla, although there were girls in the class much more beautiful than her. But she was the funniest and the most witty, and her risky bathroom jokes often made even the guys blush. And even then it was clear that she simply had a fiery temperament.
Camilla said goodbye to innocence when she was 17 years old. She did it in such a way that everyone she knew knew about it. Her “number 1” was 19-year-old Kevin Burke, the son of an aircraft industrialist. She met him at the Debutante Ball. With Kevin, Camilla openly drove around London and the surrounding area in his bright yellow Jaguar (she called the luxury car an “egg”), not missing a single party. But it was all over pretty quickly. “We had fun, I thought we had true love, but Camilla left me!” – admitted the wounded Kevin, who considered himself a real playboy. She met the brilliant cavalry captain, handsome heartthrob Andrew Parker-Bowles, and became seriously infatuated - or so it seemed to her at the time. But for Andrew, Camilla became just one of his many girls.
She met Charles just when she was trying to forget about Andrew. And she succeeded - Camilla and Charles fell seriously in love with each other.
Concerned Lord Mountbatten reminded his nephew main principle of a real man: “Never marry someone you’ve already slept with!” But the suggestion did not help, and he decided to act by cunning, getting Charles recalled on a long campaign as a naval officer.
As the ship set sail with the prince on board, Andrew Parker-Bowles came into play again. Now he saw Camilla as not just one of his “exes,” she was the crown prince’s girlfriend. The girl became a desired “prey” for him. Wresting away Charles's mistress was a task worthy of a real womanizer. Andrew proposed to Camilla and she accepted! What could she do? In the end, Camilla once liked Andrew, but the prince sailed to distant lands, he did not offer her his hand and heart, he did not even swear eternal love..
When Charles returned from a hike and found out that his girlfriend was getting ready for the wedding, he was shocked “I can only hope that the unbearable emptiness in my soul will be filled with time!” – the prince wrote to Mountbatten. And he offered an excellent cure for Charles’s wounded heart: he introduced the prince to his granddaughter Amanda Knatchbull, whom, as it turned out, he had been secretly preparing for a long time to be the bride of the heir to the throne. The only problem was that Amanda was too young, she was only 17. Charles agreed to wait: he had lost Camilla, and he didn’t care who he married... But then fate intervened in Mountbatten’s plans - he fell victim to an explosion caused by the Irish terrorist. And Amanda decided to refuse the prince - after all, in that terrorist attack she lost not only her grandfather, but also her grandmother and younger brother. Now the thought of intermarrying with the royal family did not seem attractive to her at all.
Charles, who was constantly under pressure from his parents, simply needed to get married. Queen Elizabeth was especially worried - the prince was already 32 years old, and he still did not have a legal heir. And then the prince remembered 19-year-old Diana Spencer. He had known Earl Spencer's youngest daughter since he courted her older sister Sarah. He proposed to Diana - and made the biggest mistake of his life. They say that Camilla herself approved the candidacy of the young Lady Di.
It is even alleged that Charles proposed marriage to his bride in the garden that belonged to the Parker Bowles. Camilla and Diana had known each other for a long time, meeting at receptions and parties. Camilla liked that Diana was so young and inexperienced. Mrs. Parker-Bowles thought that the young naive countess would become an obedient wife, behind whose back she could continue her relationship with Charles.
Milla herself did not remain faithful to Parker-Bowles for long. Less than a couple of years later, her romance with Charles flared up with renewed vigor. He baptized Camilla and Andrew's son and since then regularly visited their home as a godfather. But he didn’t behave like a relative. He often came in secret, sitting in the kitchen, waiting for the guests to go home and the legal spouse to go to sleep in his room.
Did Diana know about Charles and Camilla's affair before her marriage? Probably yes. In any case, she was aware that just a couple of days before his wedding he gave Mrs. Parker Bowles a gift. A bracelet engraved with his and Camilla's initials (more precisely, the first letters of the joke nicknames they came up with for each other - Gladys and Fred, characters from a radio show in the 50s). And in letters to her stepmother, written during the time of Charles’s marriage, Diana mentioned a certain dangerous lady threatening her relationship with the prince.
During the TV show, where Diana and Charles were invited after the engagement was announced, an unpleasant incident occurred. The host asked a seemingly trivial question: do they love each other? Diana replied: “Of course, yes!” But the groom, after a pause, mumbled: “It depends
in what sense do you understand the word “love”…” He simply could not lie publicly. So, not yet getting married, Charles disgraced Lady Di. She could have called off the engagement. Apparently, it was worth doing - both for her and his benefit...
In the mid-80s, when scandals began in the family of Charles and Diana, everyone unanimously condemned him and sympathized with her. After all, Diana was so beautiful, bright, talented.
No one liked Charles at that time, no one wanted to notice either his suffering or the fact that he was not a gray mediocrity! By the way, Charles became the first heir to the throne in the entire history of England to successfully graduate from Cambridge, where he studied history and archeology. The prince performed quite successfully on the stage of the student theater and played the piano and trumpet beautifully. And as a cellist he performed with a symphony orchestra. Charles has a wonderful voice - a sonorous bass; he has repeatedly participated in choral concerts where complex classical music was performed. And his talent as an artist, in the end, had to be recognized even by his most ardent ill-wishers. After all, only lithographs made from landscapes painted in watercolor last years sold four million pounds. And all these funds went to charities Charles! He was involved in charity no less than Diana, but he did it without making a fuss and without inviting photographers.
As for his love for Camilla, no obstacles could stop this passion. He met his beloved in secret - either at his Highgrove estate, which Diana did not like and where she visited extremely rarely, or at the house of their mutual friends Van Cutsem, or even at the mansion of Camilla herself - especially when her husband was away.
Besides love, they had so much in common - they both loved hunting, rural life, and classical music. They often drew together: as it turned out, Camilla was also not without talent.
They suited each other perfectly - as they say in Britain, like pepper and salt. In addition, Camilla knew how to cheer up the melancholic Charles and, most importantly, was always on his side in everything. And he appreciated her support. After all, since childhood, Charles was deprived of the love of his parents - his strict father considered him a “spineless wimp,” and Elizabeth did not want to contradict her husband, relying on him to raise their children.
And what letters Camilla wrote to her beloved! It was them who were later found by Lady Di, which served as the reason for breaking off her relationship with Charles. “My precious one, do not torment yourself with guilt for your betrayal of Diana. You are not to blame for anything, be above her attacks. My love will be with you forever...” Camilla called Diana in her letters “a ridiculous creature.” And she called Mrs. Parker Bowles nothing more than “Rottweiler.”
The two rivals clashed openly only once. At one of the receptions, Diana asked to be left alone with Camilla. “I know everything about you and Charles, don’t take me for an idiot!” - Diana shouted. “You have everything, all the men on the planet are in love with you. What else do you need? - Camilla answered. “I need my husband, give me back my husband!” – Diana did not let up. But did she love Charles? Rather, she fought for her legal rights...
After death ex-wife Charles decided to talk to his mother about a possible marriage to Camilla. By then she had also divorced her husband. “I don’t want to hear about this vicious woman, much less have anything to do with her!” - said the queen.
This time Charles had the tenacity to insist on his own. He began to take Camilla out into the world as his constant companion and even dared to kiss her in public.
Seven years later, Elizabeth had to admit defeat. She could not allow the heir to compromise the royal family by demonstrating to the whole world that he was living with his mistress. The Queen gave her consent to the marriage. After 35 years since the beginning of their romance, they finally became husband and wife.
The queen did not pay any attention to the wedding ceremony, but at the post-wedding banquet she said: “Well, I’m glad that my son has finally united with the woman he loves!” And as a sign of her final reconciliation with her son’s choice, this year she awarded Camilla an unprecedented honor: during the celebrations - the celebration of her diamond jubilee - it was Charles’s wife who was next to Elizabeth. And in the queen’s landau, and during the parade of ships on the Thames, and at the anniversary concert...
The only question that still remains unresolved is when Charles inherits the throne, will Camilla become Queen of Great Britain? For now, she resolutely refuses the title, declaring that she would prefer to be called princess consort - solely out of respect for the memory of Princess Di, who was supposed to become a real queen, but, unfortunately, did not. And who knows what will happen next...
The beautiful Princess Diana, who passed away so suddenly and tragically... People still remember and love her. The biography of Princess Diana sheds light on why she became an ideal for many people. Her story is an illustration of a person’s encounter with such powerful force, like royalty, duty, monarchy.
In the list of one hundred great Britons, Princess Diana surpassed Darwin, Newton and even Shakespeare, taking third place after Churchill and Brunel. Who is she? And why is Princess Diana's death still controversial? What difficulties did the wife of the heir to the throne of Great Britain encounter? How did she manage to earn such respect from citizens as to surpass Shakespeare himself?
Aristocracy
The Princess of Wales (nee Diana Spencer) was married to Prince Charles, the son of the Queen of Great Britain, for fifteen years. Her birthday is July 1, 1961. On this day, in the county of Norfolk, a girl was born into the family of Viscount Althorp. unusual fate. She was the third daughter in the family (her older sisters were Jane and Sarah).
Later, Diana's parents had a son, Charles. Three years after her birth, at Charles's baptism, fate had already crossed the little Spencers with the Queen of England: she became godmother to Diana's brother.
Life at Sandrigham Castle, where Diana spent her childhood, would seem like paradise to most people: six servants, garages, a swimming pool, a tennis court, many bedrooms. An ordinary aristocratic family. The girl was also raised in full accordance with traditions.
Perhaps the kindness and generosity of the adult Diana is a positive consequence of such upbringing and, of course, the result of the influence of her paternal grandmother, whom the future princess loved very much. She helped those in need and did charity work. When the princess was still just Diana, her biography had already added a sad page: her parents’ divorce hit the girl at the age of six. The children remained to live with their father.
Since childhood, Diana preferred dancing (she studied ballet at the boarding school) and swimming, and she was successful in drawing. Diana had difficulty in exact sciences, but liked history and literature. Her achievements in ballet aroused the admiration of others.
London and adult life
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After graduating from school, Diana decided to live in London independent life. She worked in low-paid jobs: as a nanny, as a waitress. At the same time, she learned to drive, and subsequently to cook. The girl did not drink alcohol or smoke, did not like noisy entertainment, and spent her free time in solitude.
Then Diana entered the competition for a position as a ballet teacher for students junior classes, but a lower leg injury soon put an end to this activity. Then she went to work as a teacher in kindergarten, and also worked as a housekeeper for her sister.
Life in London was distinguished by both the girl’s great employment and pleasant, easy and cheerful entertainment. She had her own apartment, which her parents gave her. She lived there with her friends, they often had tea parties, played pranks like children, and played pranks on their friends. For example, once a “cocktail” of flour and eggs was smeared on the car of a young man who did not arrive at the appointed time.
Dating and marriage
“You shouldn’t expect much from life, it leads to disappointment. Accept her for who she is, life is much easier this way.”
Initially, the one who, after thirty s. extra years set a record for anticipation of the British crown, entered Diana's life as a friend of her sister Sarah. The story of young Spencer and the thirty-year-old heir to the throne did not begin immediately.
Perhaps the prince himself would have preferred to remain free, but the situation obliged. And he decided to choose his wife for purely rational reasons, knowing about the impossibility of divorce, but at the same time wanting to keep his lifestyle unchanged.
From mid-1980, the prince began to show increased attention to Diana. And after him, reporters began to show increased attention to her, and the borders privacy disappeared. Even then, Diana saw how close the Parker-Bowles family was to Charles.
Six months later, on February 6, 1981, the prince proposed to Diana. Diana began to immerse herself in the life of the royal court, which meant she had a need to look impeccable, and besides, she was now one of those who personified the monarchy. Then Princess Diana's style began to take shape. She realized that her outfit should always satisfy the tastes of the most picky and be impeccable in any conditions.
In Buckingham Palace she was deprived of everything: independence, privacy, the possibility of self-realization, sincerity - in fact, the status of the prince's bride deprived her of freedom. Noisy gatherings with friends, spontaneity, a lot of communication and work - now all this is a thing of the past.
More and more hints about the prince’s close relationship with Camilla Parker-Bowles added fuel to the fire. Andrew Morton, in his book about Diana, said that right on the eve of the wedding, she wanted to break off the engagement because of the discovery of a bracelet that was bought by the prince as a gift to Camilla.
On July 29, 1981, Diana became a princess. Her husband even during honeymoon gave cause for concern. Princess Diana discovered photographs of Camilla, and then cufflinks, according to Charles, given to the one he once loved.
The story of Princess Diana was turning into a tragedy. She developed bulimia nervosa. Her married life was not all smooth sailing: her husband’s attitude left much to be desired, and the inability to have a heart-to-heart talk with anyone made the situation hopeless. But these are the rules of the court, where duty is above all, and feelings must be kept in check. She had no one to turn to, she was left alone and faced with the need to live up to the image of a beautiful princess and an exemplary wife in a love triangle situation.
Gradual disappearance of illusions
“Don’t try to look serious – it won’t help anyway”
Princess Diana's children were to be raised in the traditions of the English court - under the supervision of nannies and governesses. But their mother insisted that her sons not be cut off from her and from a normal lifestyle. Princess Diana had a surprisingly strong position on children and their upbringing. She breastfed them herself and actively participated in the process of their development and education.
As Diana herself later said, the Queen said almost directly in conversations with her that perhaps Diana’s problems were not the result of an unsuccessful marriage, but the unsuccessful marriage was the result of the girl’s mental problems. Depression, deliberate self-harm, bulimia nervosa - could these all be symptoms of the same disorder?
Diana became pregnant again. The husband wanted a girl, but on September 15, 1984, “Princess Diana’s daughter” turned out to be a boy. Diana hid the ultrasound results until the birth of the child.
Did Princess Diana have any lovers? It is noteworthy that the press and society looked at any friendly relationship between the princess, and even just an acquaintance, as a reason for censure, but no one seemed to notice the obvious connection between Prince Charles and Camilla.
Complete break
“There are more important problems than ballet. For example, people dying on the street"
The fairy tale of Princess Diana and Prince Charles ended before it began, but their tragedy lasted ten years. My husband wasn't interested inner life Diana, her worries and fears, she could not count on his support.
When Princess Diana found herself, she began to pay a lot of attention to people who were not lucky in life. She visited hospitals for the seriously ill, homeless shelters, and an AIDS department. Earl Spencer brother Diana, in a conversation with biographer Morton, spoke of the princess as a strong-willed, purposeful and firm person who knows what she lives for, namely, to be a conduit for good, using her high position.
Later, when William suffered a head injury, the whole world could see the indifference of his father, who went first to Covent Garden and then on an expedition related to environmental problems. How this resonated with the behavior of the mother, who was ready to help many people!
Does the Lord protect the righteous?
“I want to be with those who suffer, wherever I see them, and help them.”
The scandal, apparently, was inevitable. At the end of August 1996, the ill-fated prince and princess received their freedom. After the divorce, Diana retained the title of Princess of Wales and received large compensation (17 million pounds and 400 thousand every year).
The princess died as a result of an accident at the age of 36: on August 31, 1997, a car accident occurred in a tunnel. In the car was not only Princess Diana, but also Dodi al-Fayed, the son of an influential billionaire. Subsequently, Mohammed Fayed spent a lot of effort to shed light on the death of Princess Diana and his son. Many still believe that the tragedy was planned by the royal court to stop the princess's "indecent" behavior.
A short biography of Diana seems to be a story not about a princess, but about an ordinary woman whose life was far from simple. There is no doubt that Diana had a big, generous soul, and this woman deserves the fondest memory. After a difficult day, Diana always told herself that she did everything she could. It seems the same can be said about her earthly life. Author: Ekaterina Volkova