Princess Diana Biography
name:
Diana Spencernickname
Lady Diborn:
July 1st, 1961birthplace of:
Sandringham (Norfolk – England)parents:
John Edward Spencer (1924-1992) Lady Frances Spencer (1936) divorced since 1969sisters and brothers:
Sarah, Jane, Charleslength:
1.77 mweight:
unknowncolour of eyes:
bluecolour of hair:
blondresidence:
Kensington Palace in Londonmarriage:
On July 29th Lady Diana married Prince Charles. She was 20 years old and Prince Charles was 33 years old.children:
Princes William (Willie), 21st June 1982Princes Henry (Harry), 15th September 1984dissolution of marriage:
August 28th, ’96died:
August 30th, ’97place of death: ParisCurriculum vitae
1st July 1961Birth of the honourable Diana Frances Spencer as the third daughter of Lord Edward John Spencer, later 8th Earl of Spencer – from 1975 Diana bore the title “Lady Diana” – and his wife Frances Ruth Burke Roche in Park House on the Royal Estate of Sandringham (Norfolk, England). Diana’s father is the equerry to Queen Elizabeth II.1966-1974Attendance at Riddlesworth Hall Preparatory School in Diss, Norfolk.1969The parents divorce. The father obtains custody for Diana, her brother Charles and both sisters Jane and Sarah.1974-1977 Attendance at West Heath School near Sevenoaks, Kent.November 1977Diana meets Prince Charles at a hunting party, who at that time was friends with her sister.1977-1978Diana goes to finishing school at the Institute Alpine Videmanette in Rouge Mont, Switzerland.1979After her return to London, Diana lives with three friends in an apartment in Coleherne Court in South Kensington, London.1979-1981Diana works as a children’s nanny at the Young England School in Pimlico, London.1980Diana’s contact with the Royal Family and Prince Charles starts anew. The Spencer’s visit the Windsor’s during the summer holidays at Balmoral Castle. The romance between Charles and Diana begins.24th February 1981The engagement between the 19 year-old Lady Diana Frances Spencer and the 32 year-old Heir to the British Throne Prince Charles is officially announced. The engagement ring is white gold with an oval sapphire in the middle and 14 diamonds.29th July 1981600,000 people crowd Diana’s route from Buckingham Palace to London’s St. Paul’s Cathedral, and around 750 million television viewers follow the dream wedding of Charles and Diana live in front of TV sets. For the first time in 300 years an English girl is betrothed to a British Heir to the Throne.October 1981The first official three day visit to Wales.21st June 1982The first son and Heir to the Throne, Prince William Arthur Philip Louis, named Wills, is born in St. Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, London.September 1982Diana’s first official appearance outside Great Britain at the burial of Princess Grace of Monaco. Diana represented the Queen.1983For an official visit to Australia Diana asserts herself and takes her son William with her.15th September 1984The second son of Princess Diana and Charles, Prince Henry Charles Albert David, named Harry is born, also at St. Mary’s Hospital.1985At a visit of the British Heirs to the Throne in Italy their two sons Prince William and Henry are also present. Diana and Charles are also invited to a private audience with Pope John Paul II.1985Diana travels to Berlin and becomes the honorary colonel of the Royal Hampshire Regiment, which she remained up to 1996.1985Princess Diana visits AIDS victims. The palace reacts with outrage at her visit.October 1985Supposedly out of desperation over her unhappy marriage, Princess Diana attempts suicide.Winter 1985The first official visit of Charles and Diana to America. President Reagan throws a huge gala party at the White House. It is the society event of the year.1987The honourable citizen of London, the sultan sends Diana jewellery to the estimated value of æÃ1 million.November 1987Diana has a state visit to Germany.1989Diana becomes President of the British marital advice organisations, which she ended on 16/07/1996. She also becomes an honorary citizen of Northampton and Bardolino (Italy).1990Diana receives a one month driving ban and æÃ150 fine due to speeding. 1990In a magazine she is voted as “Best Dressed Woman”. Diana and Charles live in separate apartments. March 1992Earl Spencer, Diana’s father dies. His death affects her greatly.June 1992The book “Diana, Her True Story” by Andrew Morton is published as a series in the Sunday Times, and due to its explosive contents it becomes a bestseller. With the Princess’ later admitted approval, it contains statements from her close friends about the poor state of her marriage to Prince Charles and over Diana’s fears, her bulimia and the Princess’ several suicide attempts. 25th August 1992The British tabloid paper “The Sun” prints the supposed transcript of a telephone conversation between Princess Diana and her former friend James Gilbey. Diana however denied having an affair with Gilbey (which is also not clearly presented in this conversation, and probably is just a press invention).1992During the state visit to India it becomes clear that Charles and Diana’s marriage over.November 1992A joint trip by Diana and Charles to Korea is judged by the press to be the last chance to save their marriage.December 1992The magazine “Woman” votes Diana as the “Most Beautiful Woman” in Britain.9th December 1992The British Prime Minister John Major officially announces Charles and Diana’s separation.13th January 1993In the Australian woman’s magazine “New Idea” the complete transcript is printed of a six minute long telephone conversation with very intimate details between Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles, which he had held with her three years before. Charles’ adultery with a married woman is therefore obvious. Not only these whispers between Prince Charles and his lover Camilla Parker-Bowles, but also the conversation between Diana and her supposed lover James Gilbey are supposed to have taken place as early as 1989, and supposedly have been recorded by amateur radio enthusiasts. Rumours grow that it was the work of the systematic monitoring one by the secret organisation MI5.29th June 1994In a television interview Prince Charles acknowledges to Jonathan Dimbleby his liaison with Camilla Parker-Bowles and his unfaithfulness to his wife Diana. He explains his adultery by saying that he already saw his marriage as being over.August 1994Newspapers report further intimate telephone conversations by Princess Diana.October 1994In the book “Princess in Love” by Anna Pasternak, the love-relationship between the former bodyguard and riding teacher for Princess Diana, James Hewitt and the Princess is described. In the following weeks Hewitt divulges more and more details about the relationship and the love life between the pair. He is supposed to have made himself around æÃ270,000 richer by doing this.February 1995Diana visits Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko in Japan.1995Diana is awarded the “Prize for Humanity” by the Society for Brain Research in New York.24th November 1995Diana admits her affair with James Hewitt in a BBC TV interview with the journalist Martin Bashir. She speaks further about her psychological desperation during the unlucky married years, her mental trauma and the ensuing concurrent psychological illnesses, which first appeared as eating disorders, and about her attempt to commit suicide. Apart from this she spoke of her mistrust of the Royal Family and doubts that her husband, Prince Charles, will ever become king.November 1995Thirteen years after the British-Argentinian war, during her visit to Argentina as Ambassador of Peace Princess Diana is greeted with excitement.18th December 1995Queen Elisabeth II asks her son Prince Charles and Princess Diana to end their marriage: Charles is immediately in agreement, yet Diana puts off the decision for three months.1995According to a questionnaire by the Gallup-Institute she is voted as the Beauty Queen of the last 50 years. December 1995Diana is on the front cover photo of the December edition of “Harper’s Bazaar”.28th February 1996Princess Diana agrees to the wish of Prince Charles and his mother Queen Elizabeth II to end the marriage.12th July 1996Princess Diana and Prince Charles agree over divorce formalities.15th July 1996Princess Diana becomes divorced after a 15 year long marriage to the British Heir to the Throne Prince Charles.28th August 1996The divorce becomes legal after six weeks of talks: Diana loses the title “Royal Highness”, but may still call herself “Princess of Wales”. The Princess has a permanent right to live in Kensington Palace and remains a member of the Royal Family. The custody of the two sons Wills and Harry is given jointly to both parents, and Diana receives a settlement from her ex-husband in the millions and a yearly payment of around æÃ300,000.1996Diana receives a gold medal for a humanitarian mission.January 1997At a visit to Angola Diana demonstrates her disgust at the use of landmines and demands a world wide ban on these weapons. June 1997 Diana meets Mother Theresa (who died on 5th September 1997 )in New York.1997Diana and her sons fly to St. Tropez together, the first holiday with Dodi Al Fayed.08th August 1997Diana visits Bosnia. It is her last trip as “Charity Queen” and “Queen of Hearts”.30th August 199721.45 o’clock: Diana and Dodi go to dinner at the “Ritz” in the Place Vendome.31st August 19970.25 o’clock: the accident in the Seine-Tunnel under the Place de I’Alme, not far from the Eiffel Tower. Dodi and the chauffeur Henri Paul die at the scene. Diana and her bodyguard are still alive. 4.15 o’clock: after intensive attempts to save Diana’s life, the doctors Bruno Rioux and Philipe Pavie at the Pite Salpã´triere Hospital, where the emergency doctors had brought Diana, let it be known that Diana, Princess of Wales, died at 4 o’clock in the morning. A BA 146 from the Royal Squadron brings back Diana’s corpse back to Great Britain on that afternoon. The aircraft lands at Northolt airport. Prime Minister Tony Blair is among those who are waiting. The coffin is draped with the royal flag. At midnight the coffin lays in state in the Royal Chapel in St. James’ Palace. 5th September 1997The first live speech from the Queen concerning the death of Princess Diana.6th September 1997For the lengthy procession through London the Princess of Wales’ coffin is borne on a gun carriage escorted by the Welsh Guard. In Westminster Abbey a great funeral service is held. Countless prominent people are present, and the pop star Elton John sings the song “Candle in the Wind”. Especially moving to the watchers is the speech given by Diana’s younger brother, the Earl of Spencer. Approximately two-and-a-half million television viewers followed this speech on the screen. The coffin containing Diana’s body is brought to Anthrop House, the Spencer’s family seat. Diana is buried on a small island in the middle of a lake on the estate.
Childhood
Everything was perfectly prepared. Pale blue baby clothes lay freshly washed and starched on the commode, father Jonnie Anthrop held young Frances’ hand and hoped that everything would very soon be over. Both the two small girls Sarah and Jane were also allowed to stay up for longer on this first of July 1961. They of course wanted to be the first to greet their new little brother. But with the first scream of the child followed the disappointing knowledge: a girl. Yet again no heir to the family title Earl of Spencer! Even when her parents so eagerly wished for a son, Diana experienced a carefree childhood, protected, loved and honoured. Three years later followed the eagerly awaited for son. They christened him after the name of the British heir to the throne, Charles.Diana‘s original name is Diana Frances Spencer. She was born on July 1, 1961. Her native town was Sandringham, Norfolk, England. The girl was not a member of the Royal Family. Dana‘s birthplace was at park House which was built for the future Edward VII in 1870 and still belongs to the country. It was the home that her parents rented on Queen Elizabeth II’s estate at Sandringham, and where her childhood friends were the Queen’s younger sons, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward.Diana later liked to think back to these first years of her childhood. The family lived in a very beautiful and large house on the private estate of the Royal Family at Sandringham. In earlier times Park House served as a royal guesthouse, later it was leased by Diana’s family. It consisted of ten bedrooms and four roomy salons. The wonderful grounds offered the children a great amount of space for games and rollicks. The immediate neighbourliness to the royal country seat brought with it regular meetings between Diana and her siblings and members of the Royal Family. They often met up with Prince Andrew and Prince Edward to go swimming at Park House, or they were invited to a tea party “at the court”. These meetings were completely informal and without courtly ceremony, as the Royals were mostly present during the hunting season and accordingly relaxed. In spite of this Diana’s father paid much attention to good behaviour and etiquette when raising his children. After all he himself, as the descendant of the ancient noble Spencer family, held the high position of Royal Equerry. Diana’s mother Frances, daughter of Baron Fermoy, was a highly educated lady, who warmed the hearts of her four children and her husband.She was the third child and the youngest daughter of Edward John Spencer, the heir to the 7th Earl Spencer. The girl was brought up on the Sandringham estate. At the age of six Diana’s parents had parted for ever. Her father was an aristocrat of the old school. His wife Frances left her four children and married a man many years her senior. Later she got tired of her old husband and left him. Sometimes little Diana hid behind the curtain in the room as she couldn’t listen to her parents quarrels. Remembering it long afterwards, Diana couldn’t forget the sounds of her mother’s footsteps in the hall. They sank deeply in her mind the moment her mother had left the home for the last time.The depression followed her. When a girl, she needed love and understanding. The elder sisters and her younger brother Charles were brought up by the care of nannies where the interchange of them occurred very often. Edward Spencer was an equerry to the Queen then. The girl became Lady Diana Spencer when her father succeeded to the earldom in 1975. Though her friends were the Queen’s sons in her childhood, Diana was eager to share her emotions with somebody else, but there wasn’t anybody to speak with. The school in Norfolk and West Heath School, Kent, gave Diana education. Later she went to Switzerland. Diana returned to England and became a kindergarten teacher at one fashionable school. The sixteen-year-old Diana fell in love with the Prince. The tall, fair-haired girl was used to watch Prince Charles fishing on the banks of the River Lee. She had known him from a distance as a young girl when her family lived next door to Sandringham. Later Diana started spending as much time as possible at a cottage on the Balmoral estate with her sister, Lady Jane. Once Diana declared as a joke:“-It is Prince Andrew, maybe, I am going to marry.”Queen Elizabeth II had four children of her own. Princess Anne was born in 1950, Andrew, Duke of York, in 1960 and Prince Edward was the youngest child born in 1964. Diana’s future husband, Prince Charles, was twelve years her senior. He was thirty years old at that time and needed a wife. The public and his father Prince Philip forced him to marry as soon as possible and begin a family life.There was no doubt in the minds of the members in the Royal Family what Diana’s intentions were. Someone said:“- She went after Prince with one determination. She wanted him and she got him.”
AdolescenceSomething had to happen, so the Earl of Spencer sent his daughter to Switzerland. The right choice appeared to him to be the girls’ boarding school “Institute Alpine Videmanette” in Rouge Mont near Gstaad. Home skills, sewing, cooking, hostess skills, and etiquette – all of this should prepare Diana for life. Yet whilst daddy thought of virtues befitting a housewife, she looked forward to going skiing.In November ’77, on the occasion of a hunting party with a party afterwards, the 16 year-old Diana drove to her father at Anthrop Hall. A visit from those in the highest society had been confirmed. If that were not a reason to overcome the dislike of the stepmother for the space of a weekend! Her sister Sarah had been friends with Prince Charles for a little while now, and now he had confirmed his attendance! At this hunting trip the somewhat chubby boarding school pupil in a thick jumper and rubber boots literally tripped up before the feet of the prominent guest – Prince Charles. The heir to the throne was fascinated by the charm of the young Diana. Certainly he knew the young girl from his childhood, but it was now that he took note of her for the first time. She was so happy, full of a passion for life and amusing. Finally a girl who didn’t gaze at him longingly. How could Diana then have come to such a daring idea? She was after all just the little sister of the heir to the throne’s girlfriend. In December ’77 Diana completed her studies at the boarding school. She returned to Great Britain and moved to London, to her mother. Finally life was supposed to start for Diana. She was so excited. Never having to go to school again. Earning a little bit of money would be the best thing. But what should Diana do? She had no qualifications for a job. Perhaps an apprenticeship? But which? Something like being in an office between nine o’clock in the morning until five o’clock in the afternoon? Certainly not! Good, when one has a pair of friends with whom one can spend the time. Also good when one can lodge free of charge by one’s mother for the time being. The conversations of the friends were always over one theme: young aristocrats. They giggled and fooled around; none of them had yet had any experiences with the other sex. Their favourite activity was shopping. Together they roamed through department stores and boutiques, tried on whole collections under the strict gaze of the sales staff. Bought was – if at all – only little. The young Diana had very little money in her pocket, but a few years later the shops were to be greatly compensated. Already then she loved expensive designer fashion, had to however make do with a jumper and jeans. To her concern Diana was a little chubby; therefore she began to try out certain diets. She was completely convinced that only a true beauty would get an eligible bachelor. But her self-confidence was not yet especially pronounced and she suffered with an inferiority complex. When she was bored she watched American soap operas on the television. Diana dropped on to the sofa, nibbled chocolate bars and biscuits and had a guilty conscience about her figure. Yet she often didn’t manage to satisfy her huge appetite. The more insecure Diana felt, the more she ate. A behaviour which would later bring her many problems. When she felt ill after eating so much she laid in bed and cried. Then she pictured being eternally alone, with a dismal existence as an old maid. Diana was not built for being alone. She needed company. She felt at her best when surrounded by a whole group of friends. Typically Diana had never in her life had a best friend. Already when at school she was always together with more than one person of the same age. And in London she doubly enjoyed herself when she was able out with many female friends. The group gave her security and helped her to conceal her shyness. Yes, Diana could be completely silly and boisterous. She was always available for small pranks, and she developed her own individual humour and wit. The girls could have a good laugh with Diana, she was extremely popular.
In September ’78 her father suffered a stroke and needed four months to recover. Diana was very worried about her father. Diana completed a ten-week course at this time, worked as a baby-sitter and served drinks at the parties of befriended families. This could not possibly be how she would spend her life! In November 1978 followed the next invitation to the palace – and that was much, much more exciting! Prince Charles celebrated his 30th birthday and invited Sarah and Diana. It was a welcome change in her otherwise completely bland life. The relationship between Sarah and Charles was in the meantime over, as Sarah made a great mistake. In reply to a reporter’s question, as to whether she would love Prince Charles and marry him, she answered that she would not love him, and did not want to marry him. In January ’79 the next invitation was already issued. Diana and her sister Sarah were invited by the queen to a hunting weekend at Sandringham. The turning point came on her 18th birthday when she could come into the inheritance of a relative from America. æÃ63,000 – that was a respectable sum! With this money Diana bought a flat in South Kensington, London. And she obtained a position as a kindergarten helper. She only worked for three days per week, but she really didn’t need to do any more. After all, Diana never expected to find fulfilment through a job, so she didn’t worry about starting a career. She moved into the flat with three of her friends. Now finally the dream of freedom and self-determination could be achieved. Her first own car awoke the feeling of possessing wings. Yet unfortunately she soon wrote it off.Diana had a few admirers, but she never thought about binding herself down to a man. She preferred to cruise the bars and clubs of London with her female friends. Diana constantly enlarged her circle of acquaintances and improved her self-confidence and own strength. These were lovely, uncomplicated times. She never considered which path her career would take. After all, at 18 life is just beginning, and the man of her dreams would already be waiting for her somewhere. That he would have to come from high society was without question. An attitude that she shared with all the daughters from old English aristocratic families as self-evident. There were certainly enough admirers, but Diana wanted to save herself for her dream prince. In July ’79 Diana and her sister Jane followed an invitation of the Queen to Scotland at Balmoral Castle, but no romance was in sight. EngagementIn February 1980 Diana spent her first weekend at Sandringham in the company of the Royal Family without being accompanied by a sister. Although she was excited she played down the excitement of her friends: “What do you think would happen, it’s only a weekend hunt at Sandringham.” The interjection “my God, perhaps you’ll be the next Queen of England”, she dismissed whilst she was scrubbing the oven: “I hardly think so. Can you imagine me in rubber gloves and a robe?” Diana travelled to Sandringham together with Lady Amanda Knatchbull. She was the granddaughter of Lord Mountbatten who had been murdered in August 1979 by the IRA, and who Charles had seen as a “substitute father” for many years. A friend of Diana’s, Philip, invited Diana in July 1980 to a barbecue at his parents’ house in Petworth. As his mother was the Queen’s Lady in Waiting, he could promise Diana that she would meet Prince Charles: “You are young, he might like you.” Diana was given a place next to Prince Charles at the barbecue. Both later remembered that they began with friendly pleasantries, however soon came to talk about the magnificent funeral service held for Lord Mountbatten. The entire world knew how much he had meant to Prince Charles, but Diana said it spontaneously: “You looked as sad as you had to walk down the aisle. I have never seen anything so sad before. My heart bled as I saw you so, and I thought: “That is not right, you are completely alone, you should have someone with you who you trust”. With this a spark must have been ignited, as the picture that the twelve years older Charles had previously had of the little Spencer daughter transformed itself decisively. Hardly back home, and Diana first experienced what it meant to be placed into the royal calendar. One Sunday afternoon a telephone call told her that Prince Charles would be prepared to accompany her to a performance of Verdi’s “Requiem” in the Royal Albert Hall. Her grandmother Lady Ruth Fermoy would come as chaperone, and would also be present at a cold buffet in his private quarters in Buckingham Palace. In August 1980 the next invitation arrived. This time she was invited to a sailing weekend at Cowes. At the beginning of September the Prince newly invited Diana to an extended weekend, this time to Balmoral. Fittingly Diana’s sister Jane and her husband lived in a small farmhouse on the Royal Estate. Here Diana could live comfortably, was however repeatedly called by Charles as to whether she would lend him company during a walk, or at a barbecue. Diana had accompanied Charles fishing on the River Dee as the distant flash of binoculars and camera lenses fell on her. As she knew how much her sister Sarah had been upset by attention from the press, she immediately pulled on a headscarf like a cowl and turned herself away. Craftily, and impressing Prince Charles, who remained back, she kept her back to the journalists and observed the photographers using the mirror in the lid of her powder compact. However her anonymity only lasted for one weekend, and with this weekend in 1980 Lady Diana Spencer lost the part of her life as a private person. Already on 8th September the Sun betrayed to the nation that behind the back of public life a Royal Romance had almost started again. The curtain had been lifted.Patiently smiling she bore in public the siege of her apartment block or the “Young England Kindergarten”, being followed in her car and outstretched microphones. Still very naive she tried to shake off the most annoying photographer by promising him that if he never turned up again she would let herself be photographed outside the kindergarten with some of the children. “The professional had promised everything for this photo. He cleverly positioned the innocent group against the sun and took the world famous picture which completely exposed Diana’s legs though a far too thin skirt. At the time the Prince turned up his nose in amusement at the picture and forgave her with the ticking-off: “I knew that you have good legs, but I had overlooked the fact that they are quite so spectacular. Do you necessarily have to show them to everybody?” From then on Diana was on her guard, even when it was difficult. She couldn’t have imagined that this would be her future way of life. The case’ first grew critical when the media presented a newspaper article about Diana having spent the night on the Royal train. They opened the hypocritical discussion as to whether Diana – if she had the nerve to visit her Charles then – was still a virgin or not. The debate over virginity, previous experience and platonic or close friends of the teenage Diana put the court on the spot. Officially the bearer of future heirs to the throne must go into marriage as a virgin, a discussion about this would however always do damage to the reputation of the Palace and the bride. It resulted in a need for action.Diana spent the Christmas of 1980 at Althorp, and then New Year’s Eve with her friends at the shared flat in London. During New Year Diana visited Charles at Sandringham. After this weekend the hysterically speculating press could hardly be held back, all reports screamed about a declaration: Is she the one? Prince Charles however went skiing in January 1981, well knowing that in February Diana would fly with her mother and step-father to their sheep farm in Australia. Charles was supposed to decide there whether he would marry Diana or not. It was not love for Charles, but Diana had all the qualities that one should possess in his social circle. He is supposed to have once told a friend: “I don’t love her, but she has the best qualities”. At the beginning of February Prince Charles rang her from his ski resort of Klosters in Switzerland, just to tell her that after his return there would be something important that he must ask her. Whilst bourgeois lovers perhaps hurry directly to their intended in order to propose to her, royals undertake the hurdles of duty. On 3rd February Prince Charles returned, took part in an aircraft carrier manoeuvre and first managed to ask Diana to come to Windsor Castle on 6th February. There in the so-called nursery, he told Diana how much he had missed her in the Alps and whether she would marry him. Overpowered and embarrassed Diana broke into her typical giggling whereby Charles repeated how serious the issue was to him, as of course she would also one day become queen through it. Later Diana remembered how she heard herself speaking, how she finally agreed and had ever more repeated how much she loved him. To which the Prince answered: “Whatever loves means”.Diana first told her news to her friends in the apartment. Then things undertook a breathless pace. On 23rd February Diana moved out of her apartment in Coleherne Court and into Buckingham Palace, where she should learn correctness and a little knowledge of courtly life. Already when saying goodbye to her friends Diana’s new bodyguard, Paul Officer, ambiguously noted: “You should know that this is the last day of your live as a private person, make the best out of it!” The then very well informed Times already reported on the same day, 24.02.1981 that the official statement went to the press about the engagement. At midday the dream pair gave a television interview in the grounds of Buckingham Palace, the first of very few in Diana’s life.The freshly engaged pair already had their first official appearance on 9th March at a charity event at London’s Goldsmith’s Hall. Diana appeared in a very deeply cut shoulder and backless dress made from silk over a not too certain sitting corsage and as she got out of the car she offered the photographers the second sensational photo to go round the world: pretty sexy Diana. A storm of flashbulbs outside and spotlights inside, the cheering and being at the centre of attention made Diana however feel very insecure. Through brave dieting since the engagement her nerves were thinner, then came Charles’ criticism shortly before they departed: As she proudly appeared in his study in her only dress suitable for the occasion, he complained completely unimpressed, that at court one only wore black when in mourning. At the ball itself a woman, who like her had married into different circles, took away her uncertainty. Princess Grace of Monaco retreated back with her, particularly praised her dress and listened to Diana’s complaints about the sudden isolation and her fears for the future. Her cheering advice was: “Don’t worry; it will all get a lot worse!”Three episodes and an unreasonable demand could have warned Diana at the time, as years later she first saw through how strongly she had been taken in and planned. At her first move from the shared flat into royal Clarence House no-one apart from the lady-in-waiting was expecting and greeted her. But already on her bed lay an invitation, written before the engagement ( well judged ), from Camilla to a ( well planned ) dinner, which very soon turned out to be a strategic dinner to be held when Charles was on a five-week-long trip which would take him to Australia and New Zealand, and finally to Venezuela, Washington and Williamsburg. It annoyed her that Camilla was one step ahead. Directly before his departure Diana was still flirting with her fiance in his Buckingham Palace office, perhaps she had also, as she often enjoyed during the engagement period, sat on his lap, in any case at this moment of saying goodbye the telephone rang, on the other end was Camilla, who also wanted to say goodbye. Diana was unsure at the time as to how she should react, she immediately left the room so as not to disturb the private conversation, and later told friends that the situation, and her own, likewise his reaction, had “broken my heart”. The rivalry instinct was awaken; the aftertaste of the momentary defeat was only with difficulty shaken off. Charles was away for five weeks, the television kept the camera on a visibly upset, blushing Diana, who suddenly burst into tears, whose true reasons for doing so no-one could have imagined.Diana and her own family, mother as well as two sisters, prepared the wedding in BP, and wrote guest lists and ideas for the day together. Many secrets were made about the wedding dress for the dream wedding. It didn’t appeal to Diana any more at the end, as it had to be taken in many times due to her successful dieting. Diana had to realise at this time that different rules were followed at BP to those which she was used to. She also enforced to have things similar to what she was used to at Althorp, for a chat or to make herself a quick sandwich surrounded by her servants in the palace kitchens. This behaviour unnerved the servants, so one of them appointed herself as a speaker and explained to Diana strictly, but clearly, the threshold as being the dividing line between the authorised royal domain and the unauthorised kitchen domain. Two days before the wedding a rather too high-spirited ball took place in the palace, in “Buck House”, for Diana’s bourgeoisie friends.
Marriage
The fairytale wedding was close at hand. She went early to bed on the evening before her wedding, and astonishingly she managed, in the Queen Mother’s house, to soon fall a sleep. Her engagement ring, a æÃ30,000 sapphire ring with 14 diamonds, lay on her bedside table. How would her new life as the Princess of Wales look? Had she made the right decision? Would she be able to bear being constantly under public scrutiny? But for such doubts it was now too late. Early in the morning Diana took a hot bubble bath. Tea and toast with orange marmalade was brought to her room, but she sipped just a little tea. Her heart was pounding! Could not everyone in England hear it? She was overwhelmed by the sight of the celebrating crowds who had already been assembling for days beforehand. Diana’s favourite make-up artist came to Clarence House with a large suitcase full of make-up, powder and rouge. She applied just a little colour on Lady Di’s face, but a great amount of waterproof mascara. Diana should appear fresh and innocent when she appeared at the altar. Then David and Elizabeth Emanuel, the designers of the wedding dress appeared, and helped Diana to get dressed. It was a magnificent gown made from ivory silk with an almost eight metres long veil. The narrow bodice was set with valuable lace, the sleeves opulently gathered up and embellished with little ribbons. It cost £9,000.Unfortunately the dress designers had not made allowances for the lack of space in the glass coach that should bring Diana and her father to St. Paul’s Cathedral. When the bride alighted from the coach the dress was crumpled and full of creases. Yet this circumstance did no damage to the beauty and grace of the bride. Diana appeared to all the observers like a figure from a fairytale. Already Charles, in the gala-uniform of the marines, waited with the Royal Family and all the guests in the cathedral. Diana’s mother Frances and her grandmother Lady Ruth Fermoy were allowed to take places very close to the Royal Family, whilst step-mother Lady Raine and Frances’ new husband had to make do with the pews behind. Over 700 million people from 58 countries followed on the television how the bride with her father walked down the aisle towards the altar. The Earl of Spencer had tears in his eyes, for it was not only a great day in the life of his daughter, but also in his! He hobbled a little, however this did not detract from him showing true royal dignity and pride.The solemn ceremony ran not without a few slips. By her acceptance Diana changed the order of Charles’ forenames, calling him Phillip Charles Arthur George which led Prince Charles to the joke:”Diana, you have actually married my father”. The heir also made a mishap. He declared: “I will share all ’your” goods with you”. Obviously he should have promised to have shared ’his” earthly goods. In addition he placed the wedding ring on the left hand. But the worst thing that happened to Charles was the fact that after the vows he forgot to kiss Diana. Was that a bad omen? The celebration of marriage in St. Paul’s Cathedral, led by the Archbishop of Canterbury, lasted almost an hour and a half. The following coach ride to the palace, the celebrating crowds, the well practised, but still so strange, waving, Diana completed as though in a trance. How did the 20 year-old really feel and think in these moments? She appeared so relaxed, calm and overjoyed. The pressure on her spirit had been removed. Now she had actually managed it. Yes, Lady Diana Spencer was the rightful wedded wife of the future king of England! She enjoyed being bathed in the crowds, the deafening celebrations when she received a kiss from Charles while on the balcony of the royal palace. In these unforgettable moments Diana felt herself chosen by God and the world: I am a princess and will one day become queen of England. HURRAH The dream pair spent the first night at Broadlands, where Charles’ parents had once spent their wedding night. The freshly married pair spent the honeymoon on the royal yacht Britannia. A Mediterranean cruise was on the programme, a gift from the queen. Charles and Diana were, however, not alone and undisturbed. As, naturally, a staff of servants was with them. But not only that. Charles used the free time to read science books and also brought his old fishing equipment with him. What a disappointment for Diana! She dreamt of watching romantic sunsets from the deck, with their arms tightly around each other, wanted to breakfast in bed with him, to dance under a glimmering, starry sky. Queen Elizabeth thought more practically, and built official appointments into the programme: if the pair was already visiting Tunisia, Sardinia, Greece and Egypt, then a few official visits would not harm… The cruise lasted for eleven days, which Diana, in spite of everything, greatly enjoyed.
Finally they sailed for Scotland. The queen and her husband Prince Philip were already waiting for the dream couple. Diana and Charles were meant to pass the rest of their honeymoon in the company of the Royal Family. How wonderfully romantic! The heir to the throne did not notice his young wife’s disappointment. There could not be anything more enjoyable for him than long hacks, walks and hunts. Diana didn’t dare to complain. Before the wedding everyone advised her to be obedient. She was also advised, directly from her father, that to be allowed to marry in to the royal family would mean that she would have to prove her worth. She wanted that, but could she imagine that everything would run with so much difficulty, and with so much formality?ChildrenDreadful headaches, stomach-ache, dizziness, nausea after every bite! Why must a woman be so ill, just because she’s pregnant? Diana couldn’t understand it. She was, after all, pleased about the baby. Finally she would have a task which totally suited her. Yet, on 5th November 1981, just four months after the wedding, as the Queen officially confirmed her daughter-in-law’s pregnancy, Diana’s peace came to an end. Innumerable greetings cards were sent to the palace. “The whole world is watching my stomach”, Diana complained at the time. The media circus, which was already very oppressive anyway, grew to really unimaginable proportions. And it was clear what the people, kingdom and crown wanted: a son, heir and future king!Diana didn’t feel like celebrating. She felt ill! The Queen showed her concern and considerably reduced the number of Diana’s official appearances. It was a very fearful time for Prince Charles. He saw his wife suffering and didn’t know how he could help her. Why couldn’t Diana pull herself together? She was, after all, not the first woman to ever have a baby! Time again Diana managed to keep her composure in public. The entrance to St. Mary’s Hospital had been occupied for days by photographers and onlookers. Half the world was in delivery fever, the newspapers didn’t know any other theme any more. “I believe that the whole of England lay with me during labour”, Diana later said, my fears, and also the pressure which weighed upon me, were dreadful. On 21st June 1982 Diana brought a healthy baby in to the world. Hurrah, it was a boy! William, the heir to the throne! Her hotel room was like a sea of flowers, red roses everywhere. The Princess was totally exhausted, but very, very happy. It was a difficult birth, which took a very long time. But the suffering was very soon forgotten; now the only thing that counted was the sweet baby in her arms. One could hear the jubilant calls from outside: “long lives Diana!” She remained just one day in the hospital. As Charles and Diana stood cradling the baby before the door to the clinic, the crowd applauded and one called out: “Do it once more, Charles!” Relieved smiles on all faces. It was completed, the photographers had their pictures and they could drive home.Diana took a complete rest. A nanny and an infant nurse cared for tiny William. Charles was so excited by his son and heir that were not able to take his eyes from him. He gave his wife a small diamond necklace as a sign of his thanks and happiness. But he forgot to give her the necessary attention and love needed. Diana then suffered from a terrible post-natal depression. She cried a lot, without knowing why. Often she spent an entire day in bed in a darkened bedroom. She felt empty and useless. Charles couldn’t understand this. Why was she not happy and contented? What was Diana lacking? Psychologists were called upon. The Queen was stunned as she heard what was happening in Kensington Palace. Why was her daughter-in-law so weak? She had everything that a woman’s heart could wish for. No-one showed any understanding, neither Diana’s own husband, or the rest of the Royal Family. And time and time again she was bombarded with reproaches; time and time again she had the feeling that she was doing everything wrong. It would have been so simple to have helped her at this time. Diana needed only peace and patience. Luckily Diana was very soon able to overcome her depressive phase. She was happy about the baby and pacified it with devotion. Prince Charles was also completely crazy about the little chap, the three grew into a proper family together Diana cared very intensively for her son, despite the nanny. Charles proved a true talent in baby care. Servants happily reported that the heir to the throne had taken a bath with William. Wills was now nine months old and his parents had to make a state visit to Australia. The journey would take six weeks. For Diana such a long separation would be impossible. She insisted on taking William with her. She also explained this to the Queen, who, as expected, categorically denied this wish. Therefore Diana threatened to stay in London with her son. She left no doubts open about fulfilling her threat. A tricky situation for Queen Elizabeth, as she knew that the Australians would be bitterly disappointed if Charles came alone. Diana remained resolute. The Queen permitted it. The Australian visit was a complete success. Storms of excitement and celebration everywhere. Diana even overcame her shyness and could, without pressure, go up to strangers and chat with them.Even in the same year Diana became pregnant again. Charles reacted to the news with excitement. He obtained complete works about pregnancy and babies. He did not want to hear again the accusation that he could not understand the problems of an expectant mother. He fervently hoped for a cute little girl. But on 15th September 1984 the second son Prince Harry, weighing 3118g, was born.Diana was an inspirational mother for her sons William and Harry. They always took up first place in her life. Diana loved, protected and cared for her children more than anything. They meant everything to her. Already as a small girl Diana wanted to have at least five children. Later, as “Queen of Hearts”, Diana wanted to be the mother of the nation, the mother for the poor and sick of the whole world. William and Harry were her happiness. Diana took on the role of mother with devotion and passion. She wanted her sons to live as normal a childhood as possible, even if that was often difficult to achieve.Like every young mother Diana played and romped around with her boys, and was very careful that the nanny didn’t have too much of an influence. For Diana there was never a question of letting nannies take over the child-raising – something actually routine for aristocratic families. After two dismissals the cheerful Twiggy Legged-Bourke took over the job. And now a true nanny-drama began: Diana insinuated that Twiggy played the role of hostess, flirted with her husband and took over the children. William and Harry truly loved Twiggy, and also today, after Diana’s tragic death, she is a very important close contact for the pair. Diana loved having her sons to herself. She spent as much time with them as possible. Diana was a loving mother and best playmate in one person. There was no childish fun that she had not joined in with: roller skating on the long corridors in Kensington Palace, jelly baby eating competitions, log flume rides or dressing-up as ghosts using bed sheets. Sometimes the three even secretly annoyed the old servants by always hiding certain objects. Prince Charles was not always excited by the boisterous games in his house. He insisted that his sons should be made familiar with their future duties as soon as possible. This included discipline, order, first-class manners and also sobriety. Especially William should be raised after kingly principles. After all, the heir to the throne saw him as one day being his future heir. Charles supported a strict upbringing, as a four-year-old he had already had a private teacher and several nannies. As Diana’s view of child raising, education and childhood was so different, there was often friction between the married couple. Charles wanted his sons in any case to be under the care of a private teacher for the first few years. Diana insisted on a public nursery. There William and Harry could play with others of the same age. Naturally the Queen completely agreed with her son, and it was almost a miracle that the pair actually went to a nursery in central London a few times. Later Diana’s sons went to the public school of Wetherby and afterwards the Ludgrove public boarding school.Even when it is natural in high society to send the children to boarding school, it was however a painful parting for Princess Diana. Because she naturally loved to have her children around her when she was alone in the evening in Kensington Palace and felt alone. In June 1991 Prince William was accidentally hit by a golf club held by a fellow pupil at the boarding school. Diana raced to the hospital. William had a fractured skull; difficult contusions had to be operated on immediately. But Charles left the hospital to keep and engagement. The operation lasted 75 minutes. Diana didn’t understand how a father how a father could leave his son alone at such a moment. As William awoke she was sitting beside him. Diana’s sons were her confidantes. She was not shy of showing her feelings openly and honestly. When Diana once sat crying on the loo, having shut herself in, and did not want to come out again, William pushed Kleenex tissues under the door to his mother. He crouched down by the bathroom door and spoke to her. Somehow he nearly always managed to get her to come out. And then he took her up lovingly in his little arms. Diana avoided criticising Charles. She also didn’t mention his affair with Camilla. But she couldn’t hide her tears from the children. They certainly noticed much about their mother’s unhappiness. Diana always had a bad conscience about this. She knew only too well how much children’s spirits suffer when their parents argue. She wanted to make it better, to save her children all their concern. Diana always had a deep concern for her youngest. He was a sensitive child, so vulnerable and quiet. Harry often spent the day dreaming, whilst William was a proper roughneck. He could be loud and wild, but also conceal a lot of things. His younger brother liked to have a cuddle. There are innumerable photos which show Diana seeking body contact with Harry. Once she strokes his hair, then she takes him by the arm, or by the hand. She always had the feeling that she had to protect him. Harry was pampered by Diana. It was her way of relieving his sadness over the broken home. With William, her beloved older son, Diana behaved differently. He was her ally, her interlocutor and advisor. When a scandal broke out in the press, she drove to his school and discussed everything with him. She explained what had happened to William, and begged for understanding. Also when it handled delicate things like the Camilla tape, the James Hewitt book, or the “octopus conversation”. These must have been dreadfully difficult moments in Diana’s life! And it comforted her to know how concerned William was about her wellbeing.Diana was a devoted mother. But it would be completely wrong to presume that Charles was a bad father. He also loved his sons and tried to make their lives as carefree as possible. He just had a different way with children. Charles couldn’t give them the same tenderness as Diana. The source for this certainly lay in his childhood. As a small boy he was not allowed to show any feelings. And so it is no miracle that he wanted to raise William and Harry as proper men. Charles went hunting or fishing with them. He was proud when they caught a hare or had good grades at sport. Charles clapped his oldest on the back with a wink, as he was caught at 14 with a bottle of champagne on school grounds, and his first sexual contact with girls was talked about. He spent a part of the school holidays with his sons in Scotland, undertook long hikes and explained the beauties of nature to them. Diana preferred to fly to distant lands with William and Harry. The children always had fun with their mother: swimming in the Caribbean, water skiing in the Mediterranean, snowball fights in Switzerland. During the holidays the boys were allowed to do everything, but above all to be children. They were allowed to eat hamburgers from the packaging, read comics, and play with other boys in the hotel. And this all meant a lot, when one had been born into royalty!At home in London or also in the elite boarding school Eton they have to wear special armbands, which are tiny locating devices. In the case of a kidnapping the police can tell at once where the children of the Heir to the Throne are. It is unimaginable how great the loss of their beloved mother is to William and Harry. The picture of how they followed their mother’s coffin with empty expressions remains in the world’s memory forever. And one thing is certain: if Diana had experienced that her heart would have been broken. She was always so concerned about keeping the darker side of life away from her sons. Unfortunately Diana couldn’t prevent the breakdown of her family. On the 28th August 1996 the divorce with Prince Charles was finalized. She never wanted this conclusive step. She wanted to remain married solely for her two sons; they should not have to become the product of a broken home. The negotiations with the lawyers ran with difficulty. Naturally it was about money. But not just that. She fought like a lioness over her children. Naturally she knew that the Queen of England would always have a voice in their upbringing. But she was the mother; she didn’t want to clear the field without stipulating her requirements. The result did not satisfy the Princess, but more was not to be achieved: Diana was made a divorcee, to a mother with joint custody of her sons William and Harry. She would be allowed to spend 57 days in the year alone with the children.
Married life
From the beginning Diana and Charles’ marriage was not blessed with good fortune. Already during the engagement period Diana had had the feeling that Camilla played too great a role in Charles’ life. Diana opened a small parcel, addressed to Charles, and found a gold bracelet with a blue enamel pendant and the initials F & G. Didn’t Charles and Camilla earlier call themselves Fred and Gladys as a disguise? Diana suffered terribly from jealousy. Diana made it unmistakably clear to Charles that he should not send this gift to Camilla, but he did it anyway. Diana pondered even before the wedding about not marrying Charles. Charles even took a photo of Camilla with him on honeymoon. How must Diana have felt there? Diana became sick with worry. She suffered her first case of bulimia.During the pregnancy Diana had depressive phases: she stood under enormous pressure. She had so many roles to perfect as she wanted to do everything properly. The people loved her, but where was the recognition of love from Charles? The female psyche was an unknown giant for Charles. He couldn’t come to terms with Diana’s problems during the pregnancy. He demanded discipline! This simply served to aggravate the situation, and the agenda held a place for the daily squabbles. Through the children for a time they forgot their problems. Charles developed into a model father and relinquished a few official duties which also helped the marriage. They were both very proud of their sons and there were also some very happy moments in their marriage. Unfortunately, however, there were differences later in approaches to childrearing. Charles wanted to raise his children in a royal sense and Diana wanted a natural rising with much freedom for the children.Another problem for the marriage was that Diana became ever more loved by the people. When the royal pair visited a function then the crowds cheered for her, no longer for Charles. The storm of flashbulbs was only for Diana, her beauty, her clothes, her smile. A completely unknown situation for the heir to the throne, he gradually began to feel uneasy. Diana enjoyed the attention which was given to her. Charles viewed the development with concern. He used every opportunity to criticize his wife. One can say that Diana lived in two worlds. The prince gave her the feeling that she was not satisfying her royal duties, that she was immature and moody. Also Charles and the palace criticized Diana’s arrangement for the sick and poor, especially for AIDS victims. But the people celebrated her as a heroine, a goddess, as a model for youth and beauty. The prince became ever more jealous and this resulted in harming the marriage.Charles distanced himself ever more from Diana. The pair never developed common interests. That was the main failure that Charles and Diana made! She could chat for hours with a friend about the latest fashion trends, about cinema films or TV stars. Themes that bored the heir to the throne, he found them banal. He was interested in literature, history, painting, architecture and philosophy. But Diana refused to read a single book on these subjects. Charles preferred walks in the countryside with a rustic picnic. There was simply no common topic for conversation, when one omits childrearing.There was one woman who stimulated Charles’ intellect. It was Camilla! He took up this relationship again during his marriage to Diana and that was the undoing of the couple and the whole family. Camilla was no beauty, no fashion model, was however a woman with wit and intellect. For Charles Camilla was a true friend. She listened to him when he had problems and he liked to follow her advice. The pair met secretly at Highgrove, Charles’ country residence. This place proved to be completely practical, as Camilla lived nearby. Besides, Diana stayed here very seldom; she preferred to stay in London at the weekend. Charles never made a secret out of the fact that he was friendly with the Parker-Bowleses. Should Diana actually once meet Camilla at Highgrove, then this would have made a harmless impression. In any case, Charles’ servants and friends had known exactly this for a long time: The heir to the throne betrays his wife, and, indeed, in the very bed which Diana had once chosen!
The prince fooled himself completely if he thought that Diana had not realized about the infidelity. At first it was only ideas, which however began to gain ever more shape. When there was a conflict between the married couple, Prince Charles drove to Highgrove. Often he first came back in the morning hours and then laid down for the rest of the night on a small bed in his dressing room. Where had he been? Diana surprised her husband at Highgrove, the sofa cushions were rumpled in front of the fireplace, and the servants stared at the floor with embarrassment. Who was still here then? A dreadful situation for Diana. She made scenes in front of him, raged, cried and screamed. It made no impression on him. The princess again began to raid fridges and larders through total frustration. 1985, at the time when Charles re-established his relationship with Camilla, Diana began to mutilate herself. With sleeping tablets, falling down the stairs and self-mutilation she wanted to send out signals, to make clear, that she needed help. But Charles and the royal family were not in the position to pick up on these signals. Diana, the celebrated goddess, the beauty from the fairytale book, was psychologically ill for more than half a decade!It was 1987 when the state of Diana’s nerves and soul were at their lowest point. Diana’s heart was empty and lonely. Yet there was this yearning, her will and desire. A young woman at 26 cannot live without love, without tenderness. Everything began completely harmlessly. Diana sought a riding instructor for her sons William and Harry. James Hewitt, member of the bodyguard, offered his services. He was a charming young man and was sympathetic to Diana from the beginning. Diana was excited by his understanding nature and decided to also take a few riding lessons. James Hewitt burst from pride: he had never had such prominent pupils before. And he quickly noticed that Diana was, very sadly, psychologically pretty unstable. Stealing her heart was an easy game for him. The pair came closer. He offered himself as a trustworthy friend, always listened to her concerns and flattered her. Finally, Diana thought, a man on my side. His game was made easier by the fact that her two sons also liked the nice Uncle James very much. He soon realised that Diana was not the self-confident goddess that he knew from the press reports. She was shy, uncertain, injured and depressed. That was James Hewitt’s great chance! Small reassurances, the first common secrets, a breathless farewell kiss – the fantasy began to work. James Hewitt managed to make Diana devoted to him. He formed the total opposite to Charles, always had time, listened to every word, and took all her dreams seriously. He gave Diana the feeling of being desirable, interesting and exciting. Yes, James saw her as a woman, not as a princess. Diana never wanted to ever break her promise of loyalty made at the marriage altar. She was then so certain that she would love Charles for ever and ever. But the ice cold marriage opened doors for James Hewitt: Diana became unfaithful and had a sexual relationship with the riding instructor.SeparationEngland’s Prime Minister John Major announced on 9th December 1992:“Buckingham Palace has made it known that the Prince and Princess of Wales will separate. Their Royal Highnesses are not seeking a divorce. Their position in the constitution remains the same. This decision has been agreed by both parties, the care of the children will continue to be shared by both.”“They were only a few words, spoken quietly. But they were enough to set the entire nation into shock. So it was now official, what every newspaper reader, every television viewer had long guessed. In spite of this the knowledge was still a shock. The romance of Diana and Charles existed no longer. Over and done with! The pair had actually been on a state visit to Korea in November. All an act! And suddenly everyone remembered that no common ground was to be recognised on the photos any more. Charles and Diana couldn’t even look at each other in the eyes any more. What must have been running through their minds? Today one knows that this state visit must have been a true nightmare. As the official separation resulted in hard wrangling between the lawyers, without speaking of the emotional injuries. All parties realised that the public would take the separation of Charles and Diana very badly. To whom would the most sympathies lie? Who would the guilt for the break-up of the marriage is pushed on to? Would the nation separate into two separate camps? Naturally the Royal Family was keen to set Charles in the best possible light. And surprisingly only five months before Major’s announcement recorded telephone conversations turned up with the most explosive contents. Whispers of love between men called James Gilbey and Diana! It was the infamous “Octopus Conversation”.
Diana: I don’t want to get pregnant.Gilbey: Darling, that won’t happen, OK?Diana: Yes.Gilbey: You can’t think like that. Nothing will happen, darling. You won’t get pregnant.Diana: I watched East Enders today. One of the actresses had had a baby. She thought it was her husband’s. It was another man’s. Gilbey: My octopus, kiss me. O God. Is this feeling not wonderful? Do you like it too?Diana: Yes, a lot.This telephone conversation had already happened in 1989. Amateur funk radio listeners were supposed to have secretly listened to it and then sold it to newspapers two years later. Or was it the secret? The timing of the exposure makes one think. As Diana then appeared guilty for the break-up of her marriage. But what really happened then, in 1989? Did the Princess of Wales have a relationship? And who is this James Gilbey? The pair certainly knew each other and were friends with one-another. He was Diana’s confidant during difficult married years. Diana later admitted to have led this listened to and publicised telephone call. But this was far from a marriage-breaking relationship. The press scandal was perfect. Yet Charles and his people were not allowed to celebrate early. Amateur radio listeners not only listened in to her calls, but also those of her husband. And now for the first time it really got embarrassing: The Prince of Wales was recorded during a highly erotic telephone conversation to his long-time mistress Camilla! He said that he would most like to turn into a tampon, so that he could always be with her. Laughter was able to be heard the whole world over. It is interesting that this conversation had also been held in 1989, and was also publicised in the year of the separation. Coincidence? Obviously the Palace had no concept yet of how it could limit the damage, or how Diana came through all the scandals and sensational stories amazingly unscathed – apart from through gradual exclusion. In fact Diana completed a few official visits alone in 1993. She was in Zimbabwe for four days in order to visit charity groups out there, and in the summer she went to Bergen-Hohne (Germany) as the Honourary Group Captain of the Home Regiment of the Light Dragoons. She appeared decisive about wanting to make something out of the separation. She was strengthened by still being in the centre of public interest. For outsiders it is difficult to imagine how something like this could work: to live two lives – one official and one private. But through a more exact observation one can see that the pair had been doing exactly that for some time. Finally at the beginning of August the last chance for a reconcilement was arranged. The separated pair met in London’s St. James Palace and discussed the possibilities for an arrangement, or reconciliation. One of Diana’s most important demands is said to have been that Charles must avoid any further contact with Camilla. The meeting passed without success.On 3rd December 1993 the obviously pained Diana announced in her speech at a charity event in London that she would withdraw from public life and above all dedicates herself to raising her sons. The emotional speech stirred the whole nation and sympathisers of Diana the whole world over. The Queen had feared exactly that and had therefore tried to stop the daughter-in-law from taking the dramatic step in public.Behind the backdrop a new role for Diana was feverishly being searched for. In April 1994 Diana was named as the Special Ambassador of the British Red Cross and the right path was being taken, however yet again a good starting point was torpedoed through others’ intentions. In August 1994 terrible accusations were hurled at Diana, she had supposedly made nuisance phone calls to Oliver Hoare, a common friend of her and Charles. Desperately she armed herself and informed the press that she could not have made the phone calls as she had not been present at the time of the calls. She accused Prince Charles’ advisors of plotting against her. It did indeed emerge that Diana had not made the calls. Charles’ advisors advised him to talk openly in order to improve his miserable public image. In June 1994 the Prince acknowledged in a television interview that after five years of investing in the stability and to save his marriage this broke up, as he had given up. Once again his already low popularity level sank even lower, the media turned into the laundry room for the Royals’ dirty washing.As the media grew to be even more on the side of the betrayed Diana and idolised the ever more beautiful, ever more excitingly dressed woman, the sensational book “Princess in Love” appeared in the USA. The author was James Hewitt. In the book Diana’s former bodyguard and sons’ riding instructor stated that for five years he had been not only the confidant, but also Diana’s lover. By doing so he broke the code of not exposing the palace through the writing of personal memoirs: Diana had been supposedly desperate, hungry for love and insatiable at that. Every man at Diana’s side finished as her lover. She was accused of being a marriage breaker. She moved from one alleged sex scandal to the next. Diana’s nerves lay blank.The shock for the public was large, puzzling advice about the truth or deception. At the palace they read the alleged scandalous stories with mixed feelings, they hoped ever more for reconciliation between the pair, at least for a limitation of the damage. In a cautious statement from the palace Charles and Diana both announced together that they were neither discussing a divorce nor a financial settlement. The last instalment of the investigative novel followed exactly one year later, in November 1995. On the wedding anniversary of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip the BBC broadcast the interview wit Diana, in which the Princess admitted the affair with Hewitt, she said she had been lonely, the marriage had made her sick and in need of loving care – and she had been a little in love, had however been disappointed. She declared that she was not interested in a divorce and could imagine a role for herself as in the completely unique role of “Ambassador of the Heart” for the interests of the nation. Four days later the nation who had seen the suffering Diana on the television judged wit ha majority of 56 percent that the deeply injured Princess deserved sympathy. Only nine percent voted in the questionnaire in favour of the obviously guilty Charles.The Queen again had to limit the damage of this to the monarchy and still in November she undertook talks with Prime Minister Major in order to discuss the future role of the unbroken, attractive and still socially engaged Diana. In order to end the unbearable public speculation and accusations the Queen ordered, in two separate letters, Charles and Diana to get divorced.On 28th February 1996 Diana had to agree to a divorce.On 15th July 1996 the divorce was presented before the High Court. On 28th August at 10.27 am the marriage was annulled. 20 pounds for administration costs were to be paid. BBC interviewTwo hundred million people show interest as the princess gives an interview to the BBC reporter Martin Bashir on the 20th November 1995 in Kensington Palace.“Your Highness, how prepared were you when you married the Prince of Wales? At 19 one believes that one is prepared for everything. What were your expectations in regards to marriage?I loved my husband and I wanted to share everything with him, and I thought that we were a good team. Did you know what to expect as the future queen? What made the most impression was actually the media attention. My husband and I were told that the media would leave us in peace after the engagement. But that was not the case, and we found that a deep interference. In the course of time one suddenly realises that one is just a good saleable commodity. That people want to make money from oneself. Were you actually completely happy at the start of your marriage?Absolutely. But the pressure from the media on us both was so heavy. We were on our honeymoon in Australia and then I noticed that the media concerned themselves more with me than with him. I found that unfair, I wanted to share it with him. It upset him. It lead to jealousy from many sides and resulted in complicated situations. Shortly after the marriage you became pregnant. What was your reaction as you heard that it would be an heir to the throne?An incredible relief. I think that the whole country felt the same as me. It was really a huge relief for me.How did the rest of the royal family react when they found out that you were expecting a boy? Everyone was fascinated. But it was a difficult pregnancy. I suffered a lot, and when William arrived it was a huge relief. Everything was peaceful and calm again. I had no problems for a while. But then I got postnatal depression, but I don’t like to talk about that. That was naturally not very easy for me. To wake up in the morning and simply have the feeling that one really doesn’t want to get up, one feels misunderstood. I had a bad conscience. I had never experienced that before. But when I analysed it I could see that the changes from the past few years had caught up with me. My body said: take some rest!What treatment did you receive? I was treated through very diverse ways, but I myself knew that I really only needed time in order to adapt. To adapt to the great variety of roles that I had to play. How did the family react to your depression? I was the first in this family who had had such a depression, who had cried in public. And that was naturally disturbing. One had a new label that one could place on me. Diana is not balanced, is unstable, weak. Did you want to mutilate yourself at this time? When no-one listens to oneself everything is possible inside one’s thoughts. One feels pain inside and tries to injure oneself on the outside because one wants to receive help. The people are of the opinion that one just wants attention, although one has already got enough attention from the media. But I called for help so that I would be able to carry on playing my role. Yes, I mutilated myself. I couldn’t cope under the pressure any more. I mutilated my arms and my legs. How did your husband react to this? I didn’t do this in his presence. But whoever loves someone else would have to notice it. I believe that there are really not very many people who take the time to take something like this seriously. Then one heard that you had bulimia. Yes, that is right. I had bulimia for many years, and that is a secret type of illness. One inflicts that on oneself, because one feels bad and because one is of the opinion that one has no value. One fills the stomach four or five times per day, sometimes even more often, and one feels good. That is as though one is being hugged, but that only lasts for a short time. And then one is so disgusted by the bulging stomach, and vomits. And this repeats itself time and time again – a destruction of the true self. It was completely normal for me to come home and go straight to the fridge. It was a symptom for all the things which were happening in my marriage. I cried, I screamed for help, but with the wrong signals. And the people described my bulimia as a breach of etiquette: Diana is psychologically weak. But my husband and I didn’t want to disappoint the public. And of course there was much anxiety in our house.Between you both? Yes.Have you ever sought help from another member of the Royal Family? No, no. If one has bulimia then one shames for oneself. One hates oneself. One doesn’t mention it to other people. The unhappy fact is that one doesn’t lose or put on weight. One can act as though everything were normal. Did the press attention accelerate your illness? That made everything very difficult. Here was a married couple in the same job. My husband talked whilst I shook the hands. However when my husband said that we should take on differing duties I was sad, as I was happy to be together with him. Did the prince respect your interests? I believe that I was not allowed to have any. I was not permitted any. I was always the 18 year old that he had got engaged to. But I had to grow up, and I also grew in stature. No-one ever praised me, but if I made a mistake then I received all the criticism. I cried many tears. Bulimia was my way to escape. In 1986 the relationship between your husband and Camilla Parker-Bowles is supposed to have re-ignited. Did you know about this? Yes, it was obvious to me. I knew that. But I simply couldn’t do anything about it. I had tips from differing people who cared about our marriage.The effect on you? Shattering. I had the feeling that I was not worth anything anymore. Without hope, a failure. With a husband who loved another. The change in his behaviour made me certain. A woman senses these things. My husband’s friends said that I was unstable again and should be placed in a clinic. I was, as it were, an embarrassment to him. A perfect tactical way to isolate a person.
Was Mrs. Parker-Bowles guilty for the breakdown of your marriage? Yes, there were three of us in this marriage. And there was one person too many. The Royal Family were worried. One could see that there would be complications, but one didn’t want to interfere. How did you lead this double life? When we travelled abroad we had separate apartments and rooms on the same floor. Then this was discovered and there were yet more complications. However Charles and I had our duty to carry out, that was the most important thing. In public we were a very good team.In 1992 Andrew Morton’s book about you appeared in which your unhappiness was portrayed. Did you help him? I allowed my friends to talk to him. My nerves were at an end, I was desperate. It was enough for me that I would always be portrayed as a bit frail. I have a strong personality. The book was important. Perhaps there are more women who suffer like me and can never speak for themselves as their feeling of self-worth practically doesn’t exist anymore. What effect did Morton’s book have on your relationship with the prince? He was shocked and horrified. What we meant to have kept hidden had been brought out into the open. The question of separation was suddenly there. At some point we then called the lawyers together and talked about separation. Many people joined in: the Prime Minister, Her Majesty …In December 1992 the legal separation was finalized. How did you feel at this point? Deep sadness. We had fought in order to keep everything going. That didn’t work any more; we had no more energy left, neither of us. And it was a relief for both. My husband wanted the separation, I supported him.It was then not your idea? No. I come from a family with divorced parents and I didn’t want to have to experience that again. Did you say anything to your children? Yes, I travelled to them beforehand and explained to them what had happened. They reacted like all children do, with lots of questions. I hope that I was able to console them. What did the separation change? I was a problem to them. I wasn’t allowed to carry on with many of my former duties. Everything changed when we separated. Life became very difficult. My husband and his friends were very active in demoting me. Then your telephone conversation with James Gilbey was made known. He called you his octopus. I tried to protect James, he has always been a good friend, and I couldn’t bear the fact that his life would be so churned up because he had been in contact with me. In any case the telephone conversation actually took place. James is a very loving person, but we didn’t have a marriage-breaking relationship. How did this conversation get to be in the press? I don’t know. But it was there to injure me and to hurt me. It was the first time that I experienced this sort of thing: what it meant to be outside the safety net and not to be a part of the family any more. My husband naturally held all the best cards. That was like in a game of poker, or a game of chess. And your alleged nuisance calls to the millionaire Oliver Hoare? That was wrongly reported. I was meant to be discredited yet again. I then found out that a young man made most of the telephone calls, but they were blamed on me. I phoned Whore a couple of times, but absolutely not with such a forceful art and means. Did you let yourself be sent away? I fought to the end. Because I believe that I have a role to play, a function, and I have two children who I want to bring up. In 1993 I retreated for a while. With this strategy I confused my enemies who ruined all my duties. It was the fear of a strong woman as my affect in public was greater than that of Charles. Then in a biography your husband admitted his love for Camilla. I was desperate and shattered. But I admired the honesty and openness. Then I drove to the school and told my son William: “When one finds someone who one loves then must one hold one to this person”, that I still love his father but that we can’t live together any more. I take 50 percent of the responsibility for the destruction of the marriage, but no more than this.In a book your riding teacher James Hewitt admitted to having an affair with you. Is that true? He was a very good friend at a difficult time. He was always there and helped me. And I was shattered when this book was published. I trusted him and now he’s making money from me. There is a lot of invention in this book. He phoned me ten days beforehand and said that the book was harmless.Did your relationship go beyond a close friendship?Yes, it did.’Why were you unfaithful? Yes, I loved him and I idolized him. I was in a very bad way. Now you live alone. That doesn’t bother me. I don’t believe that one needs a man.What role do you see for yourself in the future? I would like to be an ambassador for this country; I would like to represent this country and her good qualities abroad. I was in a privileged position for 15 years and have a wide knowledge about people. I know that I can bring love.Are you guilty for the unstable condition of the monarchy at the moment? No, I don’t believe so. I don’t want to destroy my children’s future. I believe, what is most important to me when discussing the monarchy, is that the people don’t become indifferent and apathetic. It is a problem. My children must change the monarchy one day.What do you do to prepare them for this? I visit the homeless and people who are dying from AIDS with the children. I take them overall with me. I give them knowledge and experience, as knowledge is power. I would like them to be understanding. So they can learn about desperation, hope and dreams.What type of monarchy do you expect? One that cared for a close contact to the population. Will you get divorced? I don’t want a divorce, but there is the fact that we should clarify the situation. I am waiting for the decision of my husband for the direction that we shall all take.Does he want a divorce?At the moment we haven’t talked about it.Would you wish it?No.Why not? Because it wouldn’t solve anything. What would then happen to the children, our sons? That’s what matters, don’t you agree?Do you believe that you will ever become queen? No, I don’t believe so. I would like to become the queen of peoples’ hearts. But I don’t see how I can become the queen of this country. I don’t believe that many want that – namely the establishment that I married into. Because it is decided there that I shall never become that. Why?Because I do things differently. I don’t keep to the rules; I act from the heart, not from the head. And if I create problems by being so then I understand that. But one needs someone who loves people and also shows it.Your methods stop you from gaining the throne? I wouldn’t say it like that. I simply don’t have many people who support me. In the palace I am seen as some kind of threat. I want to do well. I am not a destructive person.Why do people see you as a threat? Every strong woman in history has to follow a similar journey. One asks oneself questions: why is this woman strong? Where does she get her strength from? But the public still love me.Do you believe that the Prince of Wales will ever be king? No-one knows the answer to this question.Do you think that he will become king?He was always divided on this matter. Being Prince of Wales already demands a lot of energy. And to be king is yet another huge challenge. I know his character and his personality and I believe that becoming king would be an immense strain for him as he would lose his freedom. And I don’t know whether he would be in the position to allow him to give so much up.Do you believe from the background of your marital difficulties that it would make sense to give the role of the monarch directly to your son Prince William?William is still very young. Should he now already carry such a burden around his shoulders? I cannot answer this question.Would it be your wish that Prince William follows the queen when he is of age?My wish is for my husband to find his inner peace. That is important, and the rest will result from this.Why have you actually decided to give this interview? Why now exactly?This December we will have been separated for three years. The picture that everyone had of me, because it was this or that way portrayed is very inconsistent. Many have doubts about me now. I would like to reassure the people who love me. I would like to say to them that I will never let them down. That is just as important to me as my children are.You mean you can now reassure the people in that you are going public?Yes. The people on the streets are particularly important to me.And if a person retorts about being able to seek revenge from your husband by doing this interview?I am not here for revenge. I am sad that our marriage ended so. Yet I am optimistic about my future, the future of the monarchy and that of my husband.What was it about Diana, Princess of Wales, which brought such huge numbers of people from all walks of life literally to their knees after her death in 1997? What was her special appeal, not just too British subjects but also to people the world over? A late spasm of realism hardly explains it, even in Britain, for many true British monarchists despised her for cheapening the royal institution by behaving more like a movie star or a pop diva than a princess. Too many others, however, that was precisely her attraction.Diana was beautiful, in a fresh-faced, English, outdoors-girl kind of way. She used her big blue eyes to their fullest advantage, melting the hearts of men and women through an expression of complete vulnerability. Diana’s eyes, like those of Marilyn Monroe, contained an appeal directed not to any individual but to the world at large. Please don’t hurt me, they seemed to say. She often looked as if she were on the verge of tears, in the manner of folk images of the Virgin Mary. Yet she was one of the richest, most glamorous and socially powerful women in the world. This combination of vulnerability and power was perhaps her greatest asset. Diana was a princess, but there are many princesses in Europe, none of whom ever came close to capturing the popular imagination the way she did. Princess Grace of Monaco was perhaps the nearest thing, but then she had really been a movie star, which surely provided the vital lustier to her role as figurehead of a country that is little more than a gambling casino on the southern coast of France. The rather loaches glamour of Monaco’s royal family is nothing compared with the fading but still palpable grandeur of the British monarchy. To those who savour such things, British royals are the first among equals of world royalty, the last symbols of an aristocratic society that has largely disappeared in most places but still hangs on, with much of its Victorian pomp intact, in Britain. Even the Japanese Emperor Horopito never forgot being overawed by the style of his British royal hosts on his first trip to Europe in the 1920s. Diana not only married into the British monarchy but was the offspring of a family, the Spencer’s that is at least as old as the British royal family and considers itself in some ways to be rather grander. It is not rare in England to hear the Spencer’s’ Englishness compared favourably with the “foreign” (German) background of the Windsor’s. The famous speech, given by Diana’s younger brother, the Earl of Spencer, at her funeral in London, with its barely contained hostility toward his royal in-laws, moved many people at the time but was in fact an exercise of extraordinary hauteur. So Diana had snob appeal to burn. But that alone would not have secured her popularity. Most of the people who worshipped her, who read every titbit about her in the gossip press and hung up pictures of her in their rooms, were not social snobs. Like Princess Grace of Monaco, Diana was a celebrity royal. She was a movie star who never actually appeared in a movie; in a sense her whole life was a movie, a serial melodrama acted out in public, with every twist and turn of the plot reported to a world audience. Diana was astute enough to understand the power of television and the voracious British tabloid newspapers. And she consistently tried to use the mass media as a stage for projecting her image — as the wronged spouse, as the radiant society beauty, as the compassionate princess hugging AIDS patients and land-mine victims, and as the mourning princess crying at celebrity funerals. However, like many celebrities before her, she found out that she couldn’t turn the media on and off at will, as though they were a tap. They needed her to feed the public appetite for celebrity gossip, and she needed them for her public performance, but what she hadn’t bargained for was that her melodrama ran on without breaks. Everything she said or did was fair copy. After deliberately making her private life public, she soon discovered there was nothing private left.(CNN) — Princess Diana, beautiful, famous and wealthy, won the admiration of millions, but simple happiness eluded her. On Sunday, the 36-year-old princess died from injuries suffered in a Paris car crash that also killed her companion, Dodi Fayed. A year after her “fairy-tale” marriage to Prince Charles ended in divorce; she seemed finally to have found, in Fayed, a modicum of joy. But the pressures of an insatiable press and public never abated. In an interview published last week, she told the French newspaper Le Monde she would like to move to another country but couldn’t because of her sons, who are in line for the British throne. “Any sane person would have left long ago. But I cannot. I have my sons,” Diana said. She had often pleaded with the press — particularly the pack of photographers who followed her every move — to leave her alone. A steady stream of photographs in the tabloids over the past month showed Diana and Fayed embracing, laughing and relaxing in the Mediterranean. Wedding of the centuryIt was on a summer’s day in 1981 that a 20-year-old Lady Diana Spencer married Charles, the Prince of Wales, amid the splendours of St. Paul’s Cathedral. Her wedding, the wedding of the century, came after a courtship that appeared to be straight out of the storybooks. Their marriage captivated not just Britons but the world. Diana was young, diffident, and uncertain. She was not yet used to the formality and rules that governed the House of Windsor, and not accustomed to the unrelenting media spotlight that would become part of her daily existence. The expectation was that she and Charles would continue the line of succession, providing at least one heir who would assume the throne in the 21st century. Just a year after the marriage, their first son, Prince William, was born. He was soon to be followed by another son, Harry. Everything seemed to be going according to the script carefully prepared by Buckingham Palace. Problems in the marriageBut Diana was depressed by her frequent separations from Charles, and by what she perceived as his excessive devotion to royal duty. She hated being away from her sons. And she was both hurt and angered by constant speculation about her husband’s alleged relationships with other women. She spoke later of Camilla Parker Bowles, a long time friend of Charles, as being “the third person” in her marriage. For his part, Charles appeared to resent Diana’s immense popularity with the public, which stole the limelight from him. His interests — the countryside, ecology, fishing and hunting — were incompatible with her interests, including music and fashion. Amid intense media attention, it became clear that the royal couple was growing apart. Newspapers would measure the days the two spent apart. A book, “Diana: Her Story” by Andrew Morton, revealed details of her unhappiness. She had developed eating disorders, and was even reported to have attempted suicide. Separation, then divorceEventually, out of the blue, then-Prime Minister John Major announced that Diana and Charles would separate. The British monarchy had not faced such a crisis since the abdication of King Edward VIII in 1936. But the princess was not to be deterred from maintaining her high public profile. Once the couple’s divorce was confirmed, and she was freed from the shackles of royal protocol, she began to be seen in public with other men. She focused her official life on several charities, ranging from the Royal Ballet in London to the Red Cross campaign against land mine use. In recent months, she travelled to Angola and to Bosnia to see the effects of land mines firsthand as a guest of the International Red Cross, a stand that courted political controversy. She managed to combine her charitable work with a high-profile social calendar. But her liaison with Dodi Fayed, the son of Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Al-Fayed, seemed to be the most serious social engagement she’d had since the break up of her marriage. “She genuinely was saintly,” said Andrew Roberts of the London Sunday Times. “She hadn’t got a vicious bone in her body. And if we had privacy law here, if we had a press law in this country like they had in France, she could be alive today.”Divorce
On 15th July 1996 the divorce is finalized in the High Court.Diana leaves the court sadly but with dignityThe divorce papers which Diana signed with some reluctance were an oppressive contract.
Diana’s duties
According to the contract she has to have the agreement of the Queen for every activity which was in the public eye. She is not allowed to move abroad. She has to have the acceptance of the Queen and the government for all trips, even those with charitable purposes. She must let the Palace check all new activities, even charitable ones.Diana was more constrained than ever before, and added to this, had lost many privileges. She was not a Royal Highness any more; theoretically she would have to formally curtsey before Charles, her own sons, even before distant relatives. She was not allowed to represent England abroad any more. She didn’t receive public money for her work any more.She had to clear her desk in St. James’ Palace. And on events of national importance she would only be able to take part with the express invitation of the Palace.What Charles and his family gave Diana received a settlement of around æÃ33 million. She was allowed to keep her jewellery, including personal gifts to Diana. She remained the bearer of the three Orders which Queen Elizabeth had lent her. Her office where she organised her charitable work was supported by æÃ300,000 yearly. She is allowed to remain living in Kensington Palace until William and Henry come of age. The custody of the children is shared by both parents, as is common in England. Besides this, Diana was allowed to keep using the title “Princess of Wales”.Diana’s divorce certificateOn 28th August the decree of divorce was given at 10.27 am. That was the final stage of Diana’s marriage. Diana drove away crying. Like a soap bubble the dream of eternal luck was burst.
HumanityDiana’s social commitment: Although after her divorce Diana pulled out of being patroness or president over 100 social institutions and charitable organizations, she took her role as patron of the English National Ballet, the Leprosy Mission and the British AIDS Help seriously. As well as these she remained president of the children’s hospital Great Ormond Street and the Royal Marsden Hospital. To the many accolades which were given to Diana, belong the acceptance as Honorary Citizen of Northampton (1989) and the “Prize for Humanity”.Who sees just a beautiful, elegant, well-travelled person in Diana, does her a bitter injustice. Certainly she bathed herself in camera light when she made public appearances. But there was hardly an evening function, hardly a meal, hardly a society duty, for which the Princess was not following a goal: she needed money. Money for children in need, money for people who had nothing more to expect from life and then suddenly did experience more help. Through the serious participation of the Princess of Wales, who at the start of her marriage with the Heir to the Throne had gone calmly naive from hospital to hospital, been given flowers from nurses and serenades from choirs of children, the theme of being charitable acquired a completely new quality in England.Members of the Royal Family were always participants in charitable organisations, opened homes and hospitals. That there was suddenly someone who really was interested in the suffering of the sick, in their chances of recovery, had an effect of almost baffling people. Diana involved herself. And by doing that she very suddenly achieved the respect which was denied to her inside the Windsor family. Certainly Princess Anne was one of the hardest working Windsor’s for do-good organisations. But she always failed to do what Diana knew she could achieve by mastering her charm: she collected a great amount of money in order to do a great deal of good. Diana danced at balls, the gentlemen paid up to æÃ7000 entrance fee in order to hold her just once in their arms. She auctioned her most beautiful dresses in order to help cancer sufferers with the proceeds. She was one of the most active people in raising money for the AIDS foundation in her country, and the Red Cross was more grateful to her than it was possible to express with orders and words. She spoke to and comforted innumerable sick, poor and lepers. She fought for people who had been victims of landmines. Two days after her death a conference was opened in Oslo over the theme of landmines and their terrible consequences for the civilians. This international congress began with a minute’s silence for the princess, who had visited landmine victims in Bosnia a few weeks earlier.
After her separation and final divorce from Prince Charles, Diana had declared her withdrawal from charitable duties for the time being. But she didn’t stick to this statement for long. She quickly realised that in spite of her personal needs and problems the poor and sick in the whole world desperately needed help, her help. There are people who already have simply endured far too much misery in their lives, to let themselves be hoodwinked by beautiful appearances. Such a person is Mother Theresa. After she had met the Princess of Wales a close contact developed between the two apparently so dissimilar women. Mother Theresa (who died one day before Diana’s burial) respected the beauty from Kensington Palace, Princess Diana spoke full of reverence for the ninety-year-old, who worked miracles in Calcutta in India. The two women could have achieved so much more together. A chance which remained denied to the pair.Only two stories from the life which speak for themselves: Winter 1994. Diana drives through the streets of London. It is bitterly cold. She stops by a bridge under which junkies and homeless people are spending the night. Flotsam and jetsam of society. The 23 year-old social worker Paul George: “Diana spoke with us, the poor people!” Diana didn’t just take official appointments seriously, but was also there where she was needed.A ballet dancer is infected with HIV. His death is just a question of time. Diana got to know him through her work with the AIDS-Help. She accompanied him on his difficult way with the illness, and asked him to phone her when he was reaching the end. For two days and three nights she held the hand of the AIDS sufferer, until he breathed his last breath.Diana:“The worst illness of our time is that so many people have to suffer from not ever being loved.”
Diana showed the people her love for them. For this she was loved.Dody all fayed
She was still so young, so full of vitality and a lust for life. Certainly the princess worked hard, but she was also a woman with erotic needs, with an inclination for love and passion. Diana longed for a male shoulder to lean on. At 36 life was not yet over, completely the opposite is true – the divorced princess had the feeling that hers would now properly begin. For Diana getting acquainted with men was always a great problem, and acquiring trust was an ever greater one. Yet in the summer of 1997 the princess tossed her cares aside and once again fell head over heels in love. She gave herself over completely to this wonderful feeling of being in love. This time Diana hoped that he would be the right one. Her choice was called Dodi Al-Fayed.
He was 41 years old and, like her, divorced. On the whole Diana and Dodi had many similarities: both had not been diligent at school, both stemmed from broken homes, both had been left by their mothers as children and grew up with their fathers. Their financial situations were also similar; both had access to fortunes worth more than a million. Accordingly even their luxurious lifestyles were certainly similar. This aspect was not completely unimportant for the Princess of Wales. Only in this way could she be certain that the man who she loved would not be after her money, or would later write some kind of revelation book.Diana and Dodi met at various parties. They both found each other pleasant and came ever closer to each other at the end of 1996. That had certainly also something to do with the fact that Dodi’s father had suddenly placed a lot of money into charity in order to improve his public image. Enough common topics for conversation were in any case at hand. Yet it would be still a few months until true love emerged from inner friendship. In July 1997 Mohamed invited his son, Diana and her children to a Mediterranean cruise on his sea-worthy luxury yacht.They say that it was here that the famous sparks were ignited. They were happy days full of fun and affection. Dodi was an exceedingly charming and attentive man. He fulfilled the Princess’s every wish, showered her with compliments and little gifts. Finally Diana felt like a woman again, loved, honoured and respected. Dodi conquered her heart very gently and without haste. She should slowly gain trust and only then decide whether she would like to enter in to a love-affair. Diana enjoyed this trip very much. Life appeared to her to be suddenly so carefree and joyful. Yes, her heart started to pound again! It was clear to her that she wanted this man. She felt safe, secure and desirable. Two weeks later Dodi and Diana once more undertook a 6-day trip.Dodi’s father owned a dream villa in St. Tropez. That was the right place for undisturbed togetherness! But the journalists naturally didn’t stay in England; they also travelled to the South of France. The pink coloured villa was well known, the yacht too. So they posted themselves with giant telephoto lenses near the action and rented small motorboats, so that they could not miss anything. They certainly got a lot to see: Diana and Dodi canoodling on the deck, hot embraces on the villa terrace, kisses on board, loving little games in the water. There finally was really a story – the journalists celebrated.Diana noticed the photographers. She knew what would soon appear in the papers. She felt terribly worked up and troubled. However she didn’t want to let this ruin her good mood and the fun she was having. Diana didn’t think about keeping in the villa or under deck with Dodi. The sun shone gloriously in the blue sky, and the water shone like silver. She wanted to be happy, to enjoy herself with every fibre of her body. One time the princess even approached the photographers and said to them: “I have a huge surprise for you! You just have to wait a little…” Even though the curiosity of the photographers had been greatly awoken, she didn’t betray any more information.At the same time England wondered why Diana had a round belly in the photos when wearing her swimming costume. She couldn’t be expecting a baby? Was that perhaps the great surprise that she soon wanted to announce? The speculations came thick and fast.Comment: When one considers that Diana and Dodi had been together for only a few weeks, it appears quite sensational to be able to recognise a pregnancy bump. Besides, it is questionable that Diana would consider having a baby with Dodi after such a short time. The photos of Diana and Dodi went all around the world, and a woman called Kelly Fisher from Los Angeles announced herself loudly to the world. In front of running cameras she cried thick tears and cursed Dodi Al-Fayed as a cad and heartbreaker. The former photograph model had been Dodi’s previous lover to Diana. “He promised to marry me”, she accused, “He wanted to marry me this year”. As proof she held her engagement ring, a sapphire set in diamonds, in the air. Yet the press officer for the Al-Fayed family denied this: Dodi and Kelly had been together until January. Since then they had just been friends. The ring was a friendship ring, nothing more. Kelly brought in her lawyer. She demanded compensation of ten million dollars. And because Kelly was so completely disappointed, she sold intimate details to a magazine for a lot of money. Dodi, one could read, was a Playboy, a poor lover and a liar. The entire world asked how Diana would react to this scandal. Was everything over? Would she leave Dodi? Did she cry bitter tears? The Princess of Wales did the opposite. She flew to Sardinia with her lover for a further short holiday. Diana knew from her own bitter experience how terrible it is to read revealing stories in the papers. She didn’t react to the gossip. One can come to the conclusion from this that this experience just brought the pair closer together. They became allies against the rest of the world. The pair took altogether four short breaks to the Mediterranean. It was said that Diana and Dodi were already secretly engaged. Mohamed Al-Fayed confirmed the close connection between his son and the Princess. The wedding should take place in the autumn reported the newspapers. Dodi gave his chosen one a beautiful diamond ring worth æÃ150,000. It bore the inscription “Say yes to me”. The jeweller who made the ring said that as Dodi bought the ring, he said “This ring is for the love of my life”. Diana gave Dodi supposedly antique cufflinks that she had inherited from her father. A very meaningful present, when one considers how much she admired her father. These cufflinks were priceless keepsakes which she would certainly not be easily parted from: they were a proof of love! Besides these she gave him a gold cigarette case with the engraving: “With love, from Diana”.Protocol the last days of her great luck in love: Sunday, 24th August:Early, at four o’clock, Di and Dodi leave the harbour at Monaco in the direction of Portofino on the million pound yacht Jonikal. There the photos were taken which show the pair on deck looking so in love.Monday, 25th August:Diana and Dodi leave Portofino by yacht in a southerly direction and throw down anchor before Portovenere in Italy, a small place twenty kilometres south of La Spezia.Tuesday, 26th August: The lovers are sighted just off the Island of Elba, where the pair spends the whole day.Wednesday, 27th August: The Egyptian and the Princess leave Elba and sail in the direction of Sardinia. Thursday, 28th August: The pair spends some time on the island and is seen in Olbia, in the north-east of Sardinia.Friday, 29th August:They spend a further day there.Saturday, 30th August:Princess Diana and Dodi Al Fayad fly from Sardinia to Paris and land at Le Bourget airport. In the evening they stroll along the splendid street, the Champs-Elyées, and enjoy a concluding dinner for two in the exclusive hotel Ritz, which belongs to Dodi’s father.On the next day Diana wants to hug her children in her arms, pass the last days of holiday with them together. Yet it will not come to this any more. What began as a fairytale ends in a tragedy which will shatter the world.
Accident
It was Saturday, 30th August 1997. A beautiful warm day in Sardinia, yet Diana and Dodi’s holiday had come to an end, and they wanted to go home. The pair didn’t however fly directly to London. They still wanted to enjoy one or two days in Paris. Dodi’s father had placed his private jet at their disposal; a short stop between destinations was therefore not a problem. They landed in the city of love at 15.15. The lovers were at once followed by the press. The pair viewed a Paris town house owned by Mohamed Al-Fayed. Then the pair drove to the Al-Fayed private villa. A cool drink, a little brush up, pull on comfortable clothes. Dodi and Diana wanted to spend the weekend completely casually and intimately. Towards evening they drove to the Champs-áµlysã´es, Diana wanted to view the beautiful shops on the magnificent avenue. The pair strolled down the street, she in light coloured trousers and a dark blazer, he in jeans and a leather shirt. They looked like completely normal tourists; no-one showed the famous lovers any great attention. Later they decided to have dinner at the Ritz hotel. It belongs to Dodi’s father.
Here they could sit in a peaceful corner of the restaurant. And as there was always a roomy suite for Dodi reserved in the Ritz, the pair could freshen themselves before they dined. Diana arranged for a hairdresser to attend to her, but didn’t feel like getting changed. Dodi too remained casually dressed. They didn’t feel very hungry and in the restaurant they ordered a little fish, white wine and coffee. Somehow the pair was nervous. They wanted to drive immediately to Dodi’s private villa, the journalists were not supposed to get the opportunity to follow.
Was the dinner in the Ritz just an evasive action? Should the photographers believe that Diana and Dodi would spend the night in the hotel? In any case Dodi arranged evading tactics with the hotel staff’s chauffeur drove his limousine from the main entrance, turned round after a few kilometres and returned back to the hotel. And yes, the photographers followed on their motorbikes. Yet they soon realised that something was afoot, and remained on the hotel forecourt. At 19 minutes past midnight Diana and Dodi were ready to go. They chose the back exit which led out on to the narrow street Rue Cambon.They also didn’t take the normal Mercedes 600, instead taking an inconspicuous model, a Mercedes 280. The second security man at the hotel, Henri Paul, should drive the car. Bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones sat in the front seat, Dodi and Diana in the back. The car drove away. At the Place de la Concorde the car with the prominent passengers was followed by the photographers, who were ever in the hope of taking good photos. They grew ever larger in numbers, the photographers probably stayed in contact using mobile phones. Henri Paul gave gas. He wanted to outdrive the paparazi under all conditions. With squeeking tyres he accelerated away. He drove faster and faster. Henri Paul took the fast road at the harbour of the river Seine, raced then into the tunnel under the Place de Alma. The speed limit is 80 kilometres, he drove a full 180. Shortly after the entrance to the tunnel he completely lost control of the heavy car. The car skidded, lurched from side to side and finally crashed at high speed into the 13th concrete post! An explosion happened on impact. It was exactly 0:25. The driver was dead at the scene. The bodyguard lay in a critical position on the passenger side. He was unconscious, but alive. Dodi like Henri Paul lost his life at the scene of the accident. Diana, who was sitting next to her lover, lay crunched up in the back, her head clamped between the two front seats. She was still breathing. Miraculously she had hardly any bleeding wounds. By chance on the opposite carriageway a doctor was driving. He saw the car accident and stopped his car at once. Dr. Frederic Maillez reached for his emergency bag and ran to the crashed car. He didn’t know who the passengers were. But he recognised that the driver and the man sitting in the rear of the car were both dead. The external injuries of the second man at the front appeared the worst to him, so he first gave the bodyguard medical attention.
Diana made rowing movements with her arms, when injured people do this it means that they are not receiving enough oxygen. The medic laid an oxygen mask over the unconscious Princess’s mouth. The ambulance was meanwhile underway. It took almost an hour until the victims could be taken out of the wreck. The car had to be first cut open using metal shears.At half-past one in the morning Diana came into the La Pitié-Salpêtriére hospital: emergency operation. The surgeons opened her ribcage “and discovered a torn vein. Massive inner bleeding! They managed to close the vein. But suddenly her heart stopped. The medics tried to bring the Princess back to life using heart massage. The fight lasted until shortly before four o’clock in the morning. Then the doctors had to agree that they had lost the fight. Diana was dead!The Princess of Wales died on 31st August 1997 at 3.57 am. After the initial shock at the tragic death of the Princess many questions were raised. How could it have come to this pointless death? Then the photographers were blamed for not giving the car enough room, following the car, and therefore being responsible for the accident. The paparazzi had certainly not played a laudable role in this drama, but one cannot give them the complete guilt. As Henri Paul, the chauffeur was completely drunk! He had exactly 1, 75 millilitres of alcohol in his blood. That is the same as about eight whiskies. Henri emerged as a dry alcoholic, his liver readings were normal. In spite of this he must have been pointlessly drunk on this evening. But this was not all. The medics could also detect traces of drugs in his blood. A hellish combination when together with alcohol. How was it possible that a drunken security guard would place himself behind the wheel of a car?How did no-one notice his condition? Mohamed Al-Fayed released the video from the security cameras at the hotel. One can recognise Diana as well as Dodi and Henri Paul. The security guard didn’t sway! A photographer reported after the accident that on the night in question in front of the Ritz Paul had told them: “You won’t catch us tonight”. Did he over judge himself, and did Henri want to organise a race? Perhaps even impress the Princess? It is also strange that only the bodyguard had worn a safety belt. Would it not have been his duty to have at least move Diana and Dodi to put it on? And why had the lovers not tried to get the driver to keep the speed down? It is so unbelievable for the entire world that Diana is no longer alive. Wild speculations soon took hold: late witnesses claimed to have seen a white Fiat Uno, which was supposedly caught up in the accident, it could however also have been a white Citröen. There were also splinters of glass on the concrete post and on the Mercedes which prove this. In November 1998 the “Final Report” was given over Diana’s accident. It was a normal tragic accident.MourningIt was Sunday, 31st August 1997. The Queen. Her husband Prince Philip, Charles, and the children William and Harry were spending a few days in Scotland at Balmoral Castle. During the night Charles learnt about his ex-wife’s terrible accident. He stayed awake for the rest of the night to find out how Diana was. As Prince Charles was informed of the tragic death of his former wife he fell into shock and could hardly speak a word. He went at once to his mother’s chambers and told her the terrible news. Queen Elizabeth was also completely at a loss. Charles returned to his bedroom. He wanted to be completely alone for one moment. Then the most difficult job of his life stood in front of him: He had to wake his sons and tell them that their beloved mother was dead. William and Harry were still half-asleep as their father told them the gruesome truth. It took quite a while until they could understand what he was talking about. Whilst he was doing this more and more lights were being turned on in the castle. The Queen’s Private Secretary rang his colleagues in Buckingham Palace and got them out of bed, as much had to be organised.The fact that the royal family drove – with the children of Charles and Diana – to the normal service seemed a little strange. Diana’s name wasn’t even mentioned. The children, which hadn’t even really understood the death of the mother, had to bear the onlookers and the many press photographers. Nobody can anticipate which feelings the children of the dead mother had to bear.In the meantime the whole world was shocked. Mourning citizens went to Kensington Palace or Buckingham Palace and laid down flowers. In the course of one week until the burial the courtyards turned into true seas of flowers with over a million of them being laid there. Yes, all over the world one could see crying faces. On the television one could see live reports from the Parisian tunnel. TV and radio programmes were postponed – the world cried over Diana.Also on the same morning Prince Charles flew to Paris with Diana’s two sisters Sarah and Jane. They wanted to bring the Princess of Wales’ corpse back home. Diana was laid out in the hospital; her beautiful body was covered with a simple silk sheet. Her hands were folden, a white rose lay on them. Two large candles brought light to the bare room. Charles, Jane and Sarah had tears in their eyes as they glanced at Diana for one last time. Then they joined hands and said a quiet prayer. An undertaker came with a heavy oak coffin; the Princess was laid on soft silk pillows. The Windsor family flag was draped over the coffin, and soldiers carried it out with great dignity.The Princess, who was only allowed to live to be 36 years old, flew back on her very” ‘last flight.” In London the bodily remains were laid in St. James’ Palace. Countless mourning people wrote messages in the books of condolence left out there. That morning Diana’s brother made a speech in which he accused the Paparazzi of being guilty for the death of his sister. On the day of death, Sunday, the Queen and her husband drove to morning service – Diana’s name was not mentioned once. Whilst the population openly showed their sadness over the death of Diana, the Queen, Charles and the children remained at Balmoral. That made the people feels very angry against their queen. She should also show her participation in the general mourning. The newspapers became ever more severe: “Ma’am, have you no heart?” stated the headlines. Besides this it was still completely uncertain as to how the burial would operate. The Queen didn’t want to honour her former daughter-in-law with a state burial, after all, after the divorce she was no longer a member of the Royal Family. Yet as the public pressure grew ever stronger, she admitted that there would be a unique ceremony for a remarkable woman. The Queen was also under pressure from the people to lower the palace flag to half-mast, something which she reluctantly did after a few days.On Friday, a day before the funeral, the Royal Family returned to London and viewed the sea of flowers surrounding Kensington Palace. Diana’s sons appeared quite collected and also spoke to the people, exactly like their mother would have done. Yet how it looked behind the facade is anyone’s guess.On the same evening the Queen of England gave the long-awaited televised speech about the death of Diana. At this point I must mention that the Queen had wanted to keep to regulations which had been set a long, long time previously. On Saturday, 6th September 1997 a quite majestic, very dignified funeral took place, which came very close to resembling a pompous state burial.Burial6th. September 1997:Never was it so still in London. Planes were only allowed to fly over the city at an extreme height. Shops were shut. All sports fixtures were cancelled. The world cried over “England’s Rose”. The sun shone over London.11:08 am: The death knell from the tower of Westminster Abbey rings for the first time. The funeral procession leaves Kensington Palace, Diana’s final residence. From now on the bell rings every minute – until the arrival at Westminster Abbey.The princess’ coffin rests on a gun carriage from the year 1904 from the royal cavalry artillery. Six centimes have been hitched up in order to accompany her on her last journey through London. The blue-red-gold royal standard is wrapped over her coffin. Three white flower arrangements adorn it. The first is a small, round arrangement of small white roses. In the arrangement a letter from Harry. One can read the hand-written word “mum”. In the middle lays a large white arrangement of lilies. The favourite flowers of the Princess. They come from her brother, Earl Spencer. Behind these white tulips with a gold ribbon. These are the last greeting from Diana’s son William. People cry and scream “Diana, Diana,..” time and time over. Twelve soldiers of the Welsh Guard, the Princess of Wales’ regiment, in red jackets and with black bearskin hats, flank the coffin. Overall between the masses of people on the roadside are standing security officers from the English Secret Service MI5.12:09 am:The queen, her two sons Edward and Andrew, Princess Margaret, Fergie and her two daughters and a few ladies-in-waiting stand at the gate to Buckingham Palace. They wait for the funeral procession. 12:18 am: Diana’s coffin passes the royal palace. The world watches the reaction of the queen: silently she bows once before her dead ex-daughter-in-law. The coffin continues on its way; and the queen returns to the palace. 12:23 am: The gun carriage reaches St. James’ Palace. Charles’ residence. Diana had previously lived here with him. Now waiting are Prince Charles, the two sons William and Harry, the queen’s husband, Prince Philip. And Diana’s 33-year old brother Earl Spencer. All wear black suits with black ties. Only Prince Charles’ double-breasted suit is navy blue. The only person to cross himself on first seeing Diana’s coffin is her brother. There are still one and a half kilometres to Westminster Abbey. It will be the toughest journey that Diana’s sons have ever made. The five start to proceed silently behind the coffin. Only seldom do the young princes raise their gaze. Prince William appears shorter than he actually is. He walks with a stoop. The male royals are followed by 533 representatives of 106 charitable organisations which the princess had worked together with. Some of them have crutches, some are in wheelchairs. Many of them are wearing the sashes and decorations of their organisations. Time and time again one hears “Diana, Diana” calls. Yet again fly flowers under the hooves of the centimes. One sees cardboard placards displaying “Diana, we love you”, “Good-bye Diana”. The flags of all nations line the sides of the streets.12:44 am: The queen leaves Buckingham Palace in a black Rolls-Royce. Then the thing happens that England has waited seven days for: the flag of the United Kingdom – the Union Jack is flow at half-mast. At this moment ten-thousand clap their approval. For days the resentment of the subjects against Her Majesty has grown. The people did not understand the silence kept by the queen up to the previous day. Again and again arrive the invited guests at the venerable coronation church, among whom Hillary Clinton, Henry Kissinger, Margaret Thatcher, Edward Heath, James Callaghan, Imran Khan, Jemima Goldsmith, Karl Lagerfeld, Sting, Danatella and Santo Versac, Chris de Burgh, George Michael, Cliff Richard, Tom Cruise, Stephen Spielberg, Tom Hanks. Germany is represented by the ambassador Gerhard von Moltke. As it is not an official state funeral the heads of state are missing. Wearing a black suit Dodi Al Fayed’s father enters the church with his young Finnish second wife. Luciano Pavarotti is supported by two women. One of whom is his 23 year-old girlfriend Nicoletta. He was asked whether he wanted to sing to Diana’s honour. But Pavarotti declined as he couldn’t trust his emotions. His pain was so strong.1:00pm: The 1900 mourners fill Westminster Abbey, filling all the seats. Ten minutes beforehand Queen Elizabeth II entered. After the singing of the national anthem æ°God Save the Queens all eyes are fixed on the church portal. Eight Welsh Guards carry the oak coffin on their shoulders into the basilica. They set it down before the altar. Four large candles frame it.The queen and her husband Philip lay down a small white bouquet. Prince Charles and his two sons step up. They too lay down a small arrangement. Prince Charles crosses himself afterwards. The funeral service begins.Lady Diana’s family arranged the order of events. This incorporated a mixture of traditional ceremony and a completely personal parting. The two sisters of the deceased began to speak. The first, Lady Sarah, who quoted from a poem:“Should I die and leave you for a time, do not be like the others, bitter, despondent. Those who stay long awake in silent fog and gush tears. Go back into life and smile for me. Strengthen your heart and your shaking hand, in order to do something that will comfort other hearts to your own. Finish my unfinished duties which were so important to me, and with this I will perhaps give you consolation.”Next spoke Lady Jane. She read the following verse:“Time elapses too slowly for those who wait, too quickly for those who fear, it is too long for those who enjoy themselves, but for those who love time, time is eternal”. Next a passage from Verdi’s Requiem was sung. Prime Minister Tony Blair read, obviously moved, from the 1st letter to the Corinthians, the 13th chapter, whereby he replaced the word used in the English Bible >charity< with the word >love<: “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal”.A high-point of the funeral: Diana’s close friend Elton John placed him at the piano and sang his song “Candle in the Wind”. In memory of Lady Diana he changed the text to “Goodbye England’s Rose”. As he sings Princes William and Harry also cry. As a matter of responsibility the BBC gave its camera crew the strict instructions not to focus on the grieving family members during the service. They kept to this. Next Diana’s brother Charles spoke. Time after time he struggled too with the tears. The young Earl wrote his text himself and had not laid it in front of the royal family beforehand. He wanted to prevent anything being struck from his text. From an extraordinary and very personal viewpoint he paid tribute to his dead sister. His speech however contained a hardly concealed critique of the English royal court. Diana was a person with natural nobility, classless, and someone who proved in the last year, that one doesn’t need a royal title in order to keep a special magic. And he promised to protect the two princes from the coldness of the palace, so that their souls would not simply be submerged in duty and tradition, but would be able to sing freely. The congregation broke into spontaneous applause – etiquette was disregarded. At this moment only the feeling of the individual counted. For the first time since the year 1065 when the originally Norman nave had been consecrated there is applause in the place of worship, Westminster Abbey. And outside on the streets of London, in Hyde Park, where hundreds of thousands follow the funeral service on giant cine-screens, the people celebrate like at a rock concert. Archbishop George Carey speaks to the mourners. He praises Diana’s involvement with people suffering from AIDS, victims of landmines and completely normal people. He is the only one at this point to also mention Diana’s partner Dodi Al-Fayed, the dead driver and the seriously injured bodyguard.
14.00 hrs: The service is over. The eight guards carry out the coffin. This is followed by a minute’s silence. Diana begins her final journey. The soldiers place the coffin in a black hearse. 123 kilometres north of London, in Althorp, she is to be buried in the presence of her family at the Spencer family estate. The limousine drives slowly through London. Overall on the sides of the streets stand people who want to say goodbye to Diana. They throw flowers on the roof, on the bonnet, on the bumper. Sometimes the driver has to turn on the windscreen-wipers in order to be able to see the way ahead. The car joins the motorway. It is flanked by police on motorbikes. On the opposite side of the motorway the cars have stopped. The people get out and wave at Diana one last time. Diana should actually be laid to rest in the Spencer family grave in the village church of St. Mary the Virgin. The 400-soul village Great Brington has just one postoffice, one pub and one village stores. Everyone knows everyone else. In order to prevent the small village becoming a place of pilgrimage the Spencer family chose a small wooded island on the estate lake to be Diana’s final resting place. The giant 240 hectare estate Althorp is protected by a two metre high russet stone wall. In this way Diana’s sons William and Harry have the opportunity to visit their mother’s grave.17.30: Diana has returned home. The large wrought-iron gate of Althorp House closes behind her for a final time.18.00: Diana is buried in complete silence. Only Prince Charles, the two sons, Diana’s siblings, her mother, Diana’s best friend and a clergyman are present. A few weeks beforehand Diana had ordered a black long-sleeve wrap-around dress from her clothes designer Catherine Walker. She wears it on this memorable day for the first time and for eternity. In her hands a rosary, which Diana had once received as a gift from Mother Theresa.Princess Diana’s Death: Introduction & Overview
Ever since Princess Diana’s tragic death on August 31, 1997, millions of words have been written and spoken about what really happened the night she died, and why. Perhaps, not unlike the murder of JFK, we will never truly know the whys and wherefores of that night. To put things into perspective, let’s take a look at that fateful night.
WHAT HAPPENED THAT NIGHT: THE ACCIDENTAt precisely 12:15 A.M. on Sunday, August 31, 1997, the security staffs of the Ritz Hotel were alerted.
Dodi and Diana were ready to depart through the rear entrance of the hotel. The green Range Rover and the decoy black Mercedes (the latter driven by the hotel’s senior limousine driver) pulled out into the Place Vendome, circles the square and then returned to their parking spots. The photographers there were stymied.
Meantime, the second black 1994 Mercedes S-280, with Henri Paul at the wheel and Trevor Rees-Jones in the passenger seat, sped away from the rear of Ritz; Dodi was behind Paul, Diana on his right, behind Rees-Jones. In the excitement, only Rees-Jones fastened his seat belt. It was 12:20 when the car sped south on Rue Cambon, then went along Rue de Rivoli and past the splashing, illuminated fountain and Egyptian obelisk of the Place de la Concorde. By the time the Mercedes was hugging the Seine and heading toward the underpass, the few paparazzi on motorbikes had dropped behind. Photographs of speeding cars (more to the point, of their occupants) are notoriously difficult to obtain at night; besides, the windows of the Mercedes were heavily tinted. Nor did any of these men wish to risk their lives by edging their bikes close to a speeding vehicle.Hence, the “Paparazzi killed Diana” theory turns out to be bull.
By the time Henri Paul and his passengers entered the Alma tunnel, the photographers were almost a quarter mile behind, keeping the car in sight but not endangering themselves by approaching the speeding Mercedes. It would be enough to arrive at Dodi’s apartment, where several other colleagues of the pursuing paparazzi had already been alerted.
But another limousine driver entered the tunnel not far behind Paul, and this driver made a sworn statement of what happened—events that occurred within a few seconds, changing the course of countless lives and, it may be said without hyperbole, altering the course of late-twentieth-century history. The driver’s account, it must be said, was in every way supported by police and by later forensic investigations of the site. And it is important to add that allpolice and official investigations discounted the proximity of paparazzi with blinding flashbulbs, on motorcycles.
Paul entered the tunnel on the left of two lanes and speeding at sixty to perhaps eighty miles an hour, which is not at all unusual in European cities—and then he found his car was behind a slower vehicle. Careful though this driver might otherwise have been, it is easy to imagine Dodi urging him on: “Faster! Lose them! Go on!”— as friends and colleagues recalled, he usually did. Life was a chase Dodi wanted to win, a game in which he wanted both to be in the limelight and to retain his privacy. Henri Paul, in a healthier condition, may well have been more cautious, but as Claude Luc said, Fayed employees did what they were told—period.
Paul veered the Mercedes to the right, to pass the car ahead of him in the left lane. But then everything went out of control, and the right rear of the Mercedes swerved and hit the right wall of the tunnel with a loud crash. Attempting to correct the situation, Paul turned sharply left—and within seconds the Mercedes crashed into one of the reinforced concrete dividing pillars that separated the lanes from oncoming traffic and also supported the roof. The time the sound, like an explosion, was nearly deafening.
The car ricocheted again, hurtling across the drive and spinning around before coming to a full stop. It has been immediately reduced to a barely recognizable mound of steel: the front end telescoped into the engine, which was forced almost through the driver’s seat. Inside the pile of rubble, Henri Paul and Dodi al-Fayed were dead, their bodies hideously mangled. Trevor Reed-Jones was seriously injured, but Diana, Princess of Wales, was near death. It was 12:24 AM. Princess Diana’s Death: Conspiracy Theories The Queen did it. Or maybe it was M.I.6, the British secret service. The motive: to prevent Princess Diana from marrying Dodi Fayed, bearing his child—step sibling to a future king— and becoming a Muslim. Or maybe the motive was to protect the new world order from an activist princess with inconvenient ideas, such as banning land mines. How did the killers do it? Small bombs placed on the front and roof of the Mercedes in which she and Dodi rode. Or maybe the Mercedes was sabotaged with a remote-control device that locked the wheels and steering column at the flick of a switch in some far-off location—say, Balmoral. Some anti-Royals believe the queen pushed the button herself.
Like most conspiracy theories, the scenarios spun since Diana’s death lead everywhere and nowhere. Many of the juiciest theories circulate on the Internet, where postings about Diana are rapidly becoming as numerous as those about the deaths of JFK, Marilyn Monroe and the king of the after world, Elvis Presley. But it is Egypt, homeland of the Fayeds, that has become the center of a booming conspiracy-theory industry.
Already at least half-a-dozen books about the dead princess are on sale in Cairo. One called “Who Killed Diana?!” was written in three days and is selling briskly enough, at $1.47 a copy, to warrant a second edition, out this week. Author Mohamed Ragab maintains that Britain’s royal family and “Jewish circles” ordered the deaths to keep Diana from marrying Dodi. In the daily Al Ahram, Anis Mansour, a former adviser to Anwar Sadat, said Diana was “killed by British Intelligence to save the monarchy.” A well-known Egyptian film director, Khairy Beshara, is writing the script for a movie about Diana’s life. He has some reservations about the conspiracy theories, but he says she “suffered from cruel traditions” imposed on her by her in-laws.
Egyptians jumped to ugly conclusions about Diana’s death partly because of a deeply ingrained feeling that the British, who ruled them until 1952, regard them as inferior. Egyptians say “a Dodi cannot marry the Princess of Wales, and the British would go as far as having them killed,” says newspaper columnist Mohamed Sid Ahmed. “Conspiracy theories are a stock in trade here,” says Tim Sullivan, a political science professor at American University in Cairo. He traces the cause to a sense of powerlessness. “When you think you don’t have control over your life and over events,” he says, “then conspiracy theories explain what is happening.”The First Diana Conspiracy Site popped up on Internet in Australia only hours after the death was announced. “The whole thing seems too pat and too convenient,” it said, putting blame for the crash on Western governments, arms manufacturers and the royal family. One reporter heard the theory about the remote-control device in Paris, London, Los Angeles, and Milan, where a bodyguard claimed that the Mercedes S-280, the model used by Diana, often figures in murderous “accidents.”
In Los Angeles, Leslie Barry, 35, voices another widely held theory. “I’m sure the royals did a blood test on her body and found out she was pregnant,” Barry says. “They’ll probably now use this to blackmail Diana’s family, especially if her brother tries to have more contact with the boys.” Other people think the crash was aimed at killing Dodi, not Diana. “I heard he stiffed some people in his business here,” says a well heeled Beverly Hills resident.
Then there are the true believers who think Diana is still alive. Subscribers to this theory, say she was fed up with the intrusions on her private life and used the resources of the Fayed family to fake her death. One message on the London Net Web site says Diana and Dodi are living on “a small tropical island near the Middle East,” communicating with her sons by “satellite video conferencing.”
While no solid evidence exists, conspiracy theories about the death of Princess Diana continue to grow and flourish. To many it doesn’t seem fitting, or even reasonable, that somebody as special and unique as Diana should die in something as common as an automobile accident. Perhaps they are right.Princess Diana’s Death: Her Driver’s Last Night The last night on Earth, Dodi and Diana’s lives were in the hands of a third person. While paparazzi may have hovered around the fatal events, the card was under the command of Henri Paul, al Fayed’s trusted deputy security chief at the Ritz. It was a misplaced trust: a series of autopsy results showed not only that Paul was drunk, his blood alcohol nearly four times the legal driving limit, but also that he had ingested a troubling combination of prescription drugs. In reconstructing the last hours of Diana and Fayed, leading media opinion makers uncovered the wanderings of the man who drove them to their death. And while the details shed light on the tragedy, they raise new mysteries and deepen the senselessness of the loss.
The last day of Henri Paul’s life began with his usual Saturday-morning tennis game. He left the central Paris apartment where he lived alone to join his close friend Claude Garrec at the courts. The men played from 10 until 11, then stopped at the Pelican bar. There Paul drank only Coca-Cola. That didn’t surprise Garrec, who knew his best friend to enjoy the occasional wine or pastis (a French liqueur flavoured with aniseed that is about as potent as whiskey). At 12:30 Paul said his farewells, telling Garrec that he had to meet Diana and Dodi at Le Bourget airport, where their private jet would touch down from Sardinia at 3:15 p.m. When Paul wheeled up to the private airstrip, he found something else that had become usual, the waiting paparazzi. At this time, Paul was behind the wheel of the black Range Rover that carries the couple’s luggage. He followed a Mercedes 600 driven by Dodi’s regular chauffeur Philippe Dourneau. The two-car convoy was dogged by paparazzi for much of the way but apparently managed to slip past them at some point. Paul turned off and delivered the baggage to Dodi’s apartment near the Arc de Triomphe. Dourneau, with Di and Dodi in the rear, continued on, arriving around 3:45 at the Villa Windsor, the former home of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, now leased by Dodi’s father Mohammed. According to sources close to the investigation. Dourneau testified to police that Dodi congratulated him on losing the paparazzi on the way from Le Bourget.
Around 4 o’clock, the Mercdes, bearing Di and Dodi, would go to the Ritz, followed by Paul in the Range Rover. For the next three hours, Paul remained at the hotel, where, according to several employees, he had several glasses of Ricard pastis at one of the hotel bars. At 7 p.m., Dourneau drove the couple from the Ritz to Dodi’s apartment. It was 7:05 and Paul considered himself off duty.
He appears to have walked to Harry’s New York Bar, two minutes away at 5 rue Daunou. Since the accident, the bar’s manager has systematically thrown out prying reporters, and he insists that Paul was never there. But the French journalist Guilhem Battut of the Journal du Dimanche says he interviewed two employees who positively identified photos of Paul, saying he was in Harry’s bar the night of the accident from about 7:30 to about 9:45. One bartender said Paul had “two or three whiskeys,” ate nothing while there and left after receiving a call on his portable phone.
From there Paul apparently went on foot to the rue Chabannais, where his car was parked across the street from a bar called Champmesle. The Champmesle is a lesbian bar, where, despite his gender, Paul was a regular customer.
Josie, the bartender knew him well. “He never drank much,” she says. Leaning on the bar under a garish mural of nude women. “Ive had known him for 20 years. He was a nice guy, gentle. He’d drink Coke, Perrier, maybe a beer.” Josie emphatically denies Paul was an alcoholic and says he appeared perfectly normal that night. “If he’d been drunk, we would have known about it,” she declares.
Paul came into Champmesle late, around 10, but didn’t drink anything there. He didn’t have time. He had just got a call on his cell phone and announced, “Gotta go to work. See you later.” He jumped into his black Austin Mini and headed to the Ritz. Surveillance camera videotape released last week shows Paul’s car pulling up in front of the Ritz. Though there was enough space there to park a couple of moving vans, Paul curiously executed several unnecessary back-and forth manoeuvres. It was then about 10:08, exactly what he did during the more than two hours it took Di and Dodi to finish their meal is unclear. The French daily Liberation last week quoted an unnamed Ritz employee saying Paul cooled his heels in the hotel’s Hemingway bar drinking pastis. When Paul got up to go, says the paper, he staggered and “knocked into a customer.” The article also said Paul often drank in the Hemingway bar.But employees in the Hemingway bar told leading media opinion makers that the Liberation account was “exaggerated.” Echoing barkeeps in Paul’s neighborhood, they describe Paul as a moderate drinker. “Often?” says one.
“He came in maybe once or twice every three weeks or so for a drink or two.” Answer employee at the Hemingway agrees. “Occasionally he would have a special cocktail I prepared for him, and at hotel staff parties he would drink,” he recalls. “But he was not a big boozer.” In the private Ritz Club downstairs, an employee says, “everyone here knows what really happened, but we’re afraid to talk.” He adds, “Monsieur Paul was not responsible. He just took orders.”
Who actually gave the orders remains a mystery–and on that could hinge liability on the part of the Ritz. Paul’s immediate supervisor was away that night. But why bring in Paul to drive? “Because Dodi trusted him,” explains a Ritz staff member. In fact Dodi trusted him all summer, with Paul personally overseeing security for Dodi, Diana and her sons during their July vacation in St.-Tropez. Ritz staff members suggest it was Paul who persuaded Dodi to let him drive and do what he thought he did best: shield the couple from the paparazzi.
But could he do his best if he was drinking? A second set of analyses of his blood had confirmed the original tests taken on August 31: Paul had between 1.75 and 1.87 grams of alcohol per litter of blood, nearly four times the legal blood-alcohol limit of 0.5. To that, eventually, were added explosive toxicology results: Paul’s blood also contained “therapeutic” amounts of Fluoexetine (the generic name for the antidepressant Prozac) and trace amounts of tiapride, a drug used to treat various conditions and is sometimes prescribed to quiet symptoms of agitation and aggressiveness in patients being treated for alcoholism. Alcohol (in Paul’s case, equal to eight or nine shots of straight whiskey) combined with the anti-depressant would greatly intensify the side effects of drowsiness, impairing reflexes and vision. Paul’s physician, Dr. Diane Beaulieu-d’Ivernois, says his last visit was only two days before the accident; she refuses to discuss his medical records or say why he received the prescriptions.
The final glimpses of Paul on the video inside the hotel show him walking in the corridor, talking with Dodi’s security guards and, at the end of the footage, waiting at the back entrance for the Mercedes S-280 to be driven to the door. French police now say it was Dodi’s bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones who decided to switch drivers: to have Dourneau, who had driven the couple all day, take the wheel of the Range Rover to decoy the paparazzi and have Paul drive Dodi and Diana. It is impossible to judge from the jerky, heavily edited tape whether Paul was steady or wobbling as he prepared for his assignment, in the last image of him alive, Paul pulls away from the curb at a normal speed and heads down the rue Cambon.
Princess Diana’s Death: The French Connection The six-inch thick dossier compiled by the Prefecture of Police in Paris is labelled simply “Accident Mortel de la Circulation Date 31/8/97 Heure 00h30.” The file name is dry, but its contents are provocative. Nestled among sheets of police reports, carefully sketched diagrams and statements from witnesses are photographs of Diana in the wreckage of the Mercedes. Taken by paparazzi, Diana, eyes open, appears conscious and unhurt; there is no sign of blood. Appearances aside, Diana was hurt—badly hurt. And less than four hours later, she was dead.
The world still wonders what, exactly, happened that night. With painstaking detail, the French police have put together a file that answers many of those questions. The dossier and interviews with those on the scene of the accident reveal surprising new details about the crash that on August, 31 killed Diana, her lover Dodi Fayed and driver Henri Paul, and seriously injured bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones.
The file begins at 12:23 a.m., in the Place de l’ Alma Tunnel. It notes that paparazzi, who had been stalking Diana and Dodi since their arrival earlier that day in Paris, appeared on the scene two minutes after the collision. A minute behind them was Frederic Mailliez, an emergency doctor employed by SOS Medicines, a private firm. In an interview with “Newsweek,” he described what happened next. “I held her hand and spoke to her, took her pulse, put the resuscitation mask on her, assured her that she was safe.” He also called for help. Within five minutes of the accident, two ambulances arrived, each with a doctor.
It took the emergency workers a full fifty-two minutes to place Diana in the ambulance. It proceeded slowly along the Seine, led by a motorcycle escort. At the Point d’ Austerity, a short distance from the hospital, the motorcade pulled off the road; Diana’s heart had stopped beating. She was injected with a strong dose of adrenaline, and the ambulance continued on. Finally, at l:05 in the morning, 43 minutes after leaving the scene, Diana arrived at the Pitie-Salpe-triere Hospital, a 3.7-mile trip. After trying for two hours to save her, doctors at 4:05 a.m. officially pronounced Diana dead.
To many, the elapsed time from the arrival of the ambulance at the accident scene to the hospital— a total of one hour and forty-five minutes—seemed inordinately long. Diana, after all, didn’t have to be cut out of the car (though both Rees-Jones and Paul did). In addition, the ambulance bypassed at least two major hospitals. To Parisians, the pace of the trip was entirely understandable. French ambulances are always staffed with a fully qualified doctor and are considered an extension of the hospital; driving slowly is standard. “It’s worse to go fast,” says Mailliez. “Braking and accelerating can literally kill your patient, because the blood races to head and feet alternately.” And the Pitie-Salpetriere has the best-equipped emergency room in Paris.
In the end, Diana’s internal injuries were so massive (most important, a severe lesion to her pulmonary vein) that even if the accident had happened in front of an emergency room, she couldn’t have been saved. In lay terms, “her heart had been ripped out of its place in her chest,” says Mailliez. “There was no chance for her.”
No chance even for her to speak? News reports said the Fayed family had been giving a message containing Diana’s final requests, but a spokesman at the Pitie-Salpetriere said that “during her hours at the hospital, Diana, Princess of Wales, was unconscious and could therefore make no statements or remarks. If Diana had any last words, Mailliez probably heard them. The paparazzi at the scene have been quoted as saying that Diana told rescue workers, “Leave me alone” and “My God.” Mailliez would not tell “Newsweek” what Diana said. “I must respect the privacy of the patient.” Could she have left any message to pass on to family? When you’re in that kind of pain, you don’t about giving testaments to the next generation. The only thing you think of expressing is the pain.”
Locating the car and its driver would help confirm the investigators’ working scenario of the crash. Police believe that driver Henri Paul broke suddenly when he came upon a slow-moving car in the Alma tunnel, then sped up and tried to pass the car on the left. Tire tracks a few feet farther into the tunnel suggest that in trying to regain control of the car, Paul stepped on the gas— and lost control.
The French police by reconstructing the accident in the Alma tunnel two weeks ago and consulting photographs taken at the scene, they have solved some of the mystery. The pictures (most confiscated from the paparazzi) showed that, contrary to what was at first thought, six cars passed the wreck before traffic was stopped. During the reconstruction, everyone noticed that the tunnel’s yellowish lighting greatly distorted color.
It had been assumed that all of the photographers were some 200 meters behind the Mercedes when it entered the tunnel from the Place de la Concorde. But there is significant evidence, “Newsweek” has learned, that at least one was on a motorcycle in front of the Mercedes. Mark Butt, a friend of Dr. Mailliez’s who arrived on the scene with him, said that as they approached the tunnel from the west, they saw a motorcycle with a single rider emerge from the east—travelling in the same direction as the Mercedes. Butt says it stopped, made a U-turn and drove against the direction of traffic back into the tunnel.
If Diana had died in the United States, someone could ultimately be held financially responsible for her demise. But, the Princess of Wales died in France, where massive punitive awards are neither the custom nor the law.Doctors: Diana’s injuries impossible to surviveLONDON (CNN) — Princess Diana’s injuries from the Paris car crash were so severe and her blood loss so massive it would have been impossible for her to survive, British doctors said Sunday. As details emerged about the accident that killed the princess and her millionaire Egyptian companion Dodi Fayed in Paris, medical experts in London heaped praise on their French counterparts and said they had done everything possible to save her life. “I think one would say they were unsurvivable injuries,” said Alistair Wilson, the director of emergency services at the Royal London Hospital. “The French ambulance service, the people doing the extrication (from the mangled wreck) and the hospital certainly appear to me to have done extremely well. On the evidence I’ve got, they get top marks for doing all and a bit more,” he added. Diana, 36, died of cardiac arrest after doctors at Paris’ Hospital La Pitie Salpetriere repaired a tear in a ruptured pulmonary vein and massaged her heart for two hours in an effort to get it pumping again. Last-ditch attempts not rareDoctors’ last-ditch attempts to save Diana, including the lengthy heart massage, are considered extreme but hardly rare, especially for healthy young victims of auto accidents. When Diana arrived at the hospital, she was bleeding heavily from the chest. Dr. Bruno Riou, head of the hospital’s intensive care unit, said doctors opened her chest and found “an important wound of the left pulmonary vein,” which carries blood from the lungs to the heart. The wound, the apparent source of the bleeding, was closed. The doctors tried to revive her with the chest massage — first externally and then directly to the heart — but it failed and she was declared dead about four hours after the crash. ‘Not just celebrities’“It’s not just celebrities who get that kind of treatment,” said Dr. Thomas Martin, an emergency medicine specialist at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle. “It’s probably not much different than would be done for any other young healthy person.” When the heart stops beating, doctors have about four minutes to restore blood flow before permanent brain damage sets in. Even if the heart fails to begin pumping again on its own, however, doctors can often prevent brain injury by pushing on the heart to restore circulation. In cases of cardiac arrest following multiple severe injuries, such as bad car crashes, doctors may open up the chest both to look for sources of bleeding and to give them direct access to the heart. Standard cardiopulmonary resuscitation — CPR — performed externally on the chest, typically pumps about 10 percent of the usual amount of blood. But massaging the naked heart directly can achieve almost normal circulation. “Opening up the chest is only done as a last-resort measure to try to salvage somebody. But if you don’t open up the chest, you might as well pronounce them dead,” said Dr. David Frankle of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Victim’s age a factor“Typically, depending on the case, after 30 or 40 minutes, you would stop,” said Dr. Kathleen Raftery of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. One exception is if the heart resumes beating on its own for a few minutes and then stops again. In such cases, doctors might keep massaging the heart for several hours, hoping to revive the victim. Doctors say they will go to great extremes in such cases, especially if the victims are young. In older victims, resuscitation attempts are often complicated by clogged arteries, which impair the flow of the manually pumped blood to the brain. But the young sometimes are able to come through such extreme trauma reasonably well. This can be especially true in situations where damage to a major blood vessel is causing bleeding near the heart. “Sometimes if you get in quickly and clamp it off, you can dramatically resuscitate these people,” said Martin. “That’s probably why they went to the unusual step of opening the chest.” Pulmonary vein crucialRiou, from the Paris hospital, told reporters the surgeons stopped trying to restart her heart after massive internal bleeding in the chest, despite repairs to the ruptured left pulmonary vein. The pulmonary vein is one of the most important because of its close proximity to the heart. Blood flows away from the heart in arteries and back to it in veins. The left pulmonary vein, Wilson said, “Bleeds a lot if it gets torn and it can let air into the left side of the heart, which means air can be pumped into the body, so it is an extremely dangerous injury indeed.” Doctors first tried to revive the princess at the scene of the accident in a road tunnel in the French capital and surgeons later opened up her chest to perform a thorocotomy — surgery to repair the pulmonary vein to stop the bleeding. ‘Right hospital at the right time’“Clearly they found that there was something they could do which they felt could save her life and they were absolutely right in that. I believe they must have had the right surgeons in the right hospital at the right time,” Wilson said. But he said that due to a number of factors — other injuries, blood loss, air that got into her system — they were unable to save her. “After a cardiac arrest it is really difficult to resuscitate people,” he added. John Pepper, a consultant cardiac surgeon at London’s Brompton Hospital, said the French doctors had tried to control the bleeding, but Diana’s heart was already functioning badly and was too severely damaged. “When the pulmonary vein ruptures you can lose a huge amount of blood in a very short time,” he said. The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Princess Di: What Happened That Night after The Crash? Approaching in his car from the opposite direction. Dr. Frederic Mailliez stopped and ran to the spot. He saw at once that two of the passengers were dead, but that two others, including a blond woman, were perhaps still alive. Within seconds, the pursuing photographers had caught up. At the same time, police and firemen arrived, alerted by cars exiting the tunnel ahead of the Mercedes; very soon, they identified the woman passenger.
By 1:15, the bodies of Henri Paul and Dodi al-Fayed had been removed from the wreck ; later, after repeated toxicological tests, it was determined that Paul’s blood contained four times the legal amount of alcohol permitted for drivers.
There was also, in his system, evidence of two prescription medications for psychological and emotional stress: these we’re flexitime, which is the generic name for the American drug Prosaic, and tiapride, a European compound often used to calm aggressive patients being treated for alcoholism.
Diana and Rees-Jones—both of them barely alive—took longer to extricate. Jean-Pierre Achievement, the Interior Minister, was contacted by senior police officials and sped to the Hospital de la Pitie-Salpetriere, where Diana and Rees-Jones were taken. They arrived at 2:00 that morning.
A team of surgeons and nurses set to work on Rees-Jones, who underwent the first of many operations to reset and restructure his shattered jaw and broken arm. Subsequently, he was in a coma for weeks and had little memory of anything after the car left the hotel. Diana’s condition was terminal, and fading fast.
A surgical team laboured over her for almost two hours. She had sustained massive chest injuries and had bled profusely, and now a vein was severed and her blood pressure dropped to a dangerous level. At first it seemed that her age and fitness might grant some hope even on light of these traumas. But then it became clear that, despite the successful repair of the torn vein, all her internal organs were gravely damaged. She suffered cardiac arrest, and her heart failed to respond to open massage. Electric shocks were unavailing.At 4:00 that morning, August 31, 1997, Diana – Princess of Wales, was pronounced dead.Princess Diana’s Death: Our Conclusion – CoverUps.comNow that we’ve reached the one year anniversary of Diana’s tragic death, the media is crawling with “new” Diana stories.
After twelve months of investigation, the French government has finally completed its report on the crash The September 1 National Enquirer claims to have the world exclusive on the 5,000 page report.
Among the supposed details revealed in the report:1. Driver Henri Paul had five drugs in his system, including the mind bending sex drug Ecstasy, as well as a high level of alcohol.2. Di suffered massive injuries that would have been fatal no matter how quickly paramedics got her to the hospital, but she died peacefully.3. The princess was the only victim besides bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones not killed outright in the crash.4. Although awake immediately after the crash, she was unconscious by the time she reached the hospital, and could not have uttered the last words attributed to her thereThe more reputable USA Today had its own updates. Julian Nundy’s August 28th story revealed, “…Al Fayed has suddenly turned on Rees-Jones and Kes Wingfield, another bodyguard who was driving a decoy car. Fayed has accused the men, who have both left their jobs with him, of being incompetent and unprofessional. This is a far cry from his first allegations that Diana and his son were deliberately assassinated in ajoint operation by the British and French secret services in a plot to stop the mother of the heir to the British throne from marrying a Muslim. Putting the blame on the two bodyguards could be a way of diverting attention from the Ritz…”
As to the famous mystery car, which may have sideswiped Diana’s car, leading to the disaster, it still remains at large, if it ever existed.
A year later, much mystery still surrounds the tragic death of Princess Diana. At this rate, it may always be so.
Diana’s body arrives in BritainLONDON (CNN) — The coffin carrying the body of Princess Diana arrived at an airport Sunday night near London, and was put into a hearse by an honour guard as Prince Charles and other family members watched in silence. The cortege then slowly drove away. Flags flew at half-staff as Britons mourned the death of Diana after a car accident in Paris early Sunday morning. Also killed were her companion Dodi Fayed and the chauffeur. A body guard in the car was seriously injured. The coffin, draped with the official flag of the British royal family, arrived at Northolt Royal Air Force base. The body reportedly was taken to a private mortuary. No funeral plans have been announced. Prince Charles, visibly shaken by the turn of events, and Diana’s two older sisters — Lady Jane Fellowes and Lady Sarah McCorquodale — went to Paris to retrieve Diana’s body from the Salpetriere Hospital, where doctors had desperately tried to save her. Prince Charles and French President Jacques Chirac, who was with the prince at the hospital, thanked the doctors for their efforts. A British embassy spokesman said that before Diana’s body was released by the hospital, her sisters spent a few moments alone with their sibling. Physicians said the 36-year-old Diana died from internal bleeding stemming from major chest, lung and head injuries she suffered in the accident that also killed her companion Dodi Fayed and the chauffeur. The fourth person in the car, a bodyguard, was seriously injured. There was no word on his condition. Attempts at heart massage failed“Diana’s body arrived in a condition of serious hemorrhage and shock. Shortly thereafter, she went into cardiac arrest,” said Dr. Bruno Riou, an anaesthesiologist at the hospital. “An urgent surgery showed a severe wound to the left pulmonary vein. Despite the closure of this wound and the two-hour external and internal cardiac massage, no official respiratory circulation could be established, and she died at 4 a.m. Paris time,” he said. Fayed’s body was to be flown to Alexandria for burial, according to Egyptian state television. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles said in statements early Sunday that they were “deeply shocked and distressed by this terrible news.” The Prince of Wales woke his and Diana’s children, Princes William, 15, and Harry, 12, and informed them of their mother’s death at Balmoral Castle, Scotland, where they were spending the summer. British Prime Minister Tony Blair said, “I feel like everyone else in this country: utterly devastated. … She was a wonderful, warm human being.” Photographers who trailed car taken into custodyThe Mercedes crashed in a tunnel at the Pont De l’Alma Bridge along the Seine River. Immediately afterward, police detained seven photographers who reportedly were pursuing the car in a high-speed pursuit of photos. On Sunday afternoon, police announced a further step: The photographers had been placed in formal custody, and the probe would be handled by a special police unit usually assigned to high-priority terrorism cases. Bernard Dartevelle, a lawyer for Dodi Fayed’s father, Mohamed Al Fayed, said Sunday the family may file a civil lawsuit when the results of an investigation are complete. The car was travelling at 80 to 85 mph (128 to 136 kph) when it slammed into a concrete abutment in the narrow tunnel, careened into a wall and was crushed like an accordion, police said. According to witnesses, paparazzi — the commercial photographers who constantly followed Diana — were pursuing the car on motorcycles. Police seized two motorcycles and a motor scooter believed used in the chase. France Info radio said at least some of the photographers took pictures before help arrived — and that one of the photographers was beaten at the scene by horrified witnesses. “Serious questions will need to be asked as to whether the aggressive intrusion into her privacy has contributed to this tragedy,” said British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook. Was alcohol, speed to blame?PARIS (CNN) — Disclosures on Monday that speed and alcohol contributed to the crash that killed Princess Diana took some of the heat off seven free-lance photographers, or paparazzi, who have been blamed for following the car. French police expanded their investigation after learning the driver was legally drunk. Sunday’s accident also killed driver Henri Paul and Diana’s companion Dodi Fayed. A bodyguard, Trevor Rees-Jones, remained in grave condition, and had not yet spoken to investigators. Lawyers for the photographers were buoyed by the latest developments and denounced what they said have been a witch-hunt, saying their clients have been turned into scapegoats. “What is the responsibility of photographers in a crash in which the driver was drunk? … This changes everything,” attorney Gilbert Collard said. But Bernard Dartevelle, a lawyer for Dodi Fayed’s father, Mohamed Al Fayed, said the photographers were still responsible because they had hounded Fayed and Diana on their French vacation. That led to last-minute security changes after the couple dined at the Ritz Hotel that night, and the choice of Paul as a substitute driver. Police on Monday extended the detention of the photographers, who were taken into custody at the scene, after reports that they may have been chasing the car. They also were accused of snapping photos of the victims after the crash and of blocking some rescue efforts. Prosecutors were weighing possible charges ranging from manslaughter to failing to assist people in danger, a crime under French law. Police were examining about 20 rolls of film they seized from the photographers, and on Sunday they searched the offices of news agencies where the photographers work — Sygma, Sipa, Stills, Gamma and Angeli — to look for photos taken before or after the crash. The Le Monde newspaper reported Monday that Paul was trying to drive around a slower-moving vehicle in front of it when the Mercedes crashed, but there was no confirmation of this by police. Dartevelle also said a witness had seen a motorcycle zigzag in front of the Mercedes before the crash. The attorney said Paul, a security officer at the Ritz, owned by Al Fayed, was recalled from home to drive the car while Diana’s regular driver drove in another direction in an attempt to lure the photographers away. Driver was legally drunkA spokesman at the Ritz described Paul as an experienced driver who had received special security training from Mercedes-Benz at a center in Germany. She said he had experience handling armoured vehicles. A judicial source, who asked not to be identified, said Paul had a blood-alcohol level of 1.75 grams per liter of blood — well over France’s legal limit of 0.5 grams and the equivalent of a blood-alcohol reading of .175 percent in the United States.
According to France’s National Association for the Prevention of Alcoholism, Paul’s alcohol level was the equivalent of drinking nine shots of whiskey in rapid succession, or nearly 11 ounces. Doctor said he aided Diana at the sceneDr. Frederic Maillez, who happened to drive by shortly after the accident, said he found Diana in the wreckage moaning and gesturing in every direction. He said he adjusted her position so she could breathe. Rescuers said it was 40 minutes before they realized the woman in the car was the princess. According to Le Monde, some photographers were taking pictures of the victims within 30 seconds after the crash. Citing at least a dozen unnamed witnesses, the newspaper said some of them pushed away rescuers and two policemen who arrived on the scene, saying they were ruining their pictures. But Maillez said on French TV that he was not hampered in his efforts by photographers. He said they moved aside when he said he was a doctor.“Candle in the Wind” (Revised) by Bernie Taupin & Elton JohnGoodbye England’s Rose May you ever grow in our hearts.You were the grace that placed itselfwhere lives were torn apart.You called out to our country,and you whispered to those in pain.Now you belong to heaven,and the stars spell out your name.And it seems to me you lived your lifelike a candle in the wind:never fading with the sunsetwhen the rain set in.And your footsteps will always fall here,along England’s greenest hills;your candle’s burned out long beforeyour legend ever will.Loveliness we’ve lost;these empty days without your smile.This torch we’ll always carryfor our nation’s golden child.And even though we try,the truth brings us to tears;all our words cannot expressthe joy you brought us through the years.And it seems to me you lived your lifelike a candle in the wind:never fading with the sunsetwhen the rain set in.And your footsteps will always fall here,along England’s greenest hills;your candle’s burned out long beforeyour legend ever will.Goodbye England’s rose,from a country lost without your soul,who’ll miss the wings of your compassionmore than you’ll ever know.”You called out to our country,and you whispered to those in pain.Now you belong to heaven,and the stars spell out your name.And it seems to me you lived your lifelike a candle in the wind:never fading with the sunsetwhen the rain set in.And your footsteps will always fall here,along England’s greenest hills;your candle’s burned out long beforeyour legend ever will.Loveliness we’ve lost;these empty days without your smile.This torch we’ll always carryfor our nation’s golden child.And even though we try,the truth brings us to tears;all our words cannot expressthe joy you brought us through the years.And it seems to me you lived your lifelike a candle in the wind:never fading with the sunsetwhen the rain set in.And your footsteps will always fall here,along England’s greenest hills;your candle’s burned out long beforeyour legend ever will.Goodbye England’s rose,from a country lost without your soul,who’ll miss the wings of your compassionmore than you’ll ever know.”You called out to our country,and you whispered to those in pain.Now you belong to heaven,and the stars spell out your name.And it seems to me you lived your lifelike a candle in the wind:never fading with the sunsetwhen the rain set in.And your footsteps will always fall here,along England’s greenest hills;your candle’s burned out long beforeyour legend ever will.
1. Perfectly – tobulai (7)2. Native – gimtas (8)3. Deeply – giliai (8)4. Confirm – patvirtinti (9)5. Pupil – auklėtinis, mokinys (9)6. Giggle – kikenimas (10)7. Eternally – amžinai (10)8. Female – moteris (10)9. Bland – mandagus, mielas, nuobodus (11)10. Admirer – gerbėjas (11)11. A barbecue – rėmas, ant kurio kepama skerdiena (12)12. Magnificent – ddingas, nuostabus, puikus (12)13. Aisle – perėjimas, tarpas (12)14. Amusement – linksminimasis, juokinimas (13)15. Guard – sargyba (13)16. Virginity – nekaltybė, skaistybė (13)17. Flashbulb – blykstė, blyksnio lempa (14)18. Demand – reikalavimas (14)19. Rivalry – konkurencija, varžybos (15)20. Domain – valda, teritorija (15)21. Scrutiny – žvilgsnis (15)22. Altar – altorius (15)23. Dignity – orumas, kilnumas (16)24. Pride – išdidumas, pasididžiavimas (16)25. Mishap- nelaimingas nutikimas (16)26. Gift – dovana (17)27. Honeymoon – medaus mėnuo (17)28. Dreadful – bauginantis (18)29. Nanny – auklė (18)30. Childhood – vaikystė (19)31. Hostess – šeimininkė (19)32. Playmate – žaidimų partneris (19)33. Skull – kaukolė (20)34. Deep – gilus (20)35. Possible – įmanomas (21)36. Bottle – butelis (21)37. Hamburger – mėsainis (21)38. Armband – rankovės raištis (21)39. Victim – auka (22)40. Jealous – pavydus (23)41. Common – bendras (23)42. Concern – nerimas, rūpestis (24)43. Nightmare – košmaras (25)44. Demand – reikalavimas (26)45. Acknowledge – pripažinti (27)46. Cautious – apdairus (27)47. Reaction – reakcija (28)48. Weak – silpnas (29)49. Vomit – vėmimas (29)50. Relationship – savitarpio santykiai (30)51. Sadness – liudesys (31)52. Guilty – kaltas (32)53. Believe – tikėti (33)54. Huge – didžiulis (33)55. Advantage – pranašumas (34)56. Tabloid – bulvarinis laikraštis (35)57. Century – amžius (36)58. Profile – profilis (37)59. Jewellery – papuošalai (38)60. Divorce – skyrybos (39)61. Humanity – žmonija (40)62. Misery – kančia (41)63. Yacht – jachta (42)64. Loudly – garsiai (43)65. Accident – atsitikimas, įvykis (44)66. Afoot – rengiamas (45)67. Between – tarp (46)68. Sway – siubuoti (47)69. Burial – laidotuvės (48)70. Rest – ilsėtis (49)71. Basilica – bazilika (50)72. Applause – plojimai (51)73. Soldier – karys (52)74. Almost – beveik (53)75. Tunnel – tunelis (54)76. Blame – kaltė (55)77. Paparazzi – paparaciai (56)78. Videotape – vaizdajuostė (57)79. Symptom – simptomas (58)80. Speed – greitis (59)81. Pulse – pulsas (60)82. Ambulance – greitosios pagalbos automobilis (61)83. Massive – sunkus (62)84. Vein – vena (63)85. Blood – kraujas (64)86. Pulmonary – plautinis (64)87. Emotional – emocinis (65)88. Drug – vaistas (65)89. Trauma – trauma (65)90. Embassy – ambasada (67)91. Chase – persekiojimas (68)92. Beaten – sumuštas (68)93. Lawyer – advokatas (69)94. Vehicle – transporto priemonė (69)95. Legally – legaliai, teisiškai (70)96. Candle – žvakė (71)97. Wind – vėjas (71)98. Sunset – saulėlydis (72)99. Footstep – žingsnis (72)100. Whisper – šnabždesys (73)
Princess Diana‘s life
The most charismatic and publicly adored member of the British royal family, Diana, Princess of Wales not only imposed her own distinctly modern style and attitudes on Great Britain’s traditionalist monarchy, but served to plunge that institution into its lowest level of public unpopularity, fueling support for Republicanism and, after her death, forcing the Royal family to moderate its aloof image. However, as a glamorous and sympathetic icon of an image-driven and media-fueled culture, Diana’s celebrity status and considerable influence traveled across continents. Diana was the most photographed woman in the world, and from the time of her marriage to her premature and appalling death in 1997, she forged a public persona that blended her various roles as princess, wife, mother, goodwill ambassador for England, and international humanitarian. Diana’s fortuitous combination of beauty and glamour, her accessible, sympathetic, and vulnerable personality, and an ability to convey genuine concern for the affairs of ordinary people and the world’s poor and downtrodden, set her apart decisively from the distant formality of the British monarchy. She became an object of near-worship, and her lasting fame was ensured. Ironically, the intense media attention and public adulation that came to define her life were widely blamed for the circumstances of her death. Her untimely demise, however, served only to amplify the public’s romantic perception of her as a modern goddess cruelly destroyed by a faithless husband, unsympathetic in-laws, and prying paparazzi. The life and death of the Princess of Wales, is, indeed, a monument to sad contradictions and ironies.Diana’s childhood. Everything was perfectly prepared. Pale blue baby clothes lay freshly washed and starched on the commode, father Jonnie Anthrop held young Frances’ hand and hoped that everything would very soon be over. Both the two small girls Sarah and Jane were also allowed to stay up for longer on this first of July 1961. They of course wanted to be the first to greet their new little brother. But with the first scream of the child followed the disappointing knowledge: a girl. Yet again no heir to the family title Earl of Spencer! The girl was brought up on the Sandringham estate. At the age of six Diana’s parents had parted for ever. Her father was an aristocrat of the old school. His wife Frances left her four children and married a man many years her senior. Later she got tired of her old husband and left him. Sometimes little Diana hid behind the curtain in the room as she couldn’t listen to her parents quarrels. Remembering it long afterwards, Diana couldn’t forget the sounds of her mother’s footsteps in the hall. They sank deeply in her mind the moment her mother had left the home for the last time.Wedding of the century. It was on a summer’s day in 1981 that a 20-year-old Lady Diana Spencer married Charles, the Prince of Wales, amid the splendor of St. Paul’s Cathedral. Diana was young, diffident, and uncertain. She was not yet used to the formality and rules that governed the House of Windsor, and not accustomed to the unrelenting media spotlight that would become part of her daily existence. Just a year after the marriage, their first son, Prince William, was born. He was soon to be followed by another son, Harry. Everything seemed to be going according to the script carefully prepared by Buckingham Palace. Problems in the marriage. But Diana was depressed by her frequent separations from Charles, and by what she perceived as his excessive devotion to royal duty. She hated being away from her sons. And she was both hurt and angered by constant speculation about her husband’s alleged relationships with other women. Separation, then divorce. Eventually, out of the blue, then-Prime Minister John Major announced that Diana and Charles would separate. The news of Princess Diana’s death sent shock waves around the world and plunged millions into a near-hysterical frenzy of grief. In Britain, sporting events were postponed, bells chimed every minute, and a moment of silence was observed before the take-off of each British airline flight in memory of the princess.The British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, however, addressing the nation on the Sunday morning following the accident, dubbed her “The People’s Princess.” So she was, and so she is remembered