DIANA: The Queen of Hearts
Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Robert Runcie, joined them together in matrimony at St Paul’s Cathedral on July 29, 1981. He described their romance as “a fairytale”.Diana was trembling walking on the arm of her father, Earl Spencer in the Cahedral. The ceremony was broadcasted nearly a billion people all over the world. Lady Diana slowly made her way past over two thousand five hundred quests who admired the future couple from the moment they entered the Cathedral. The bride’s twenty-five feet train was left behind the ivory silk dress embroidered with pearls and sequins.“It was such a long walk up that aisle,” she said later of her 650 ft trip to the alter. On the occasion Diana muddled up the order of Prince Charles’s Christian names. Charles, too, fluffed the words of his vows. But the nation didn’t pay attention to the mistakes the future couple had made. They deeply believed in the love of a fairy late.People on the road cheered them – Charles and Diana – man and wife, when the couple had left St Paul’s Cathedral for the reception at Buckingham Palace.The audience of seven hundred million on television admired the kiss on the balcony of Buckingham Palace on the ceremony.Recalling their wedding day, the Prince said:“That day we were carried along on a wave of enormous friendliness and enthusiasm. It was remarkable. I kept telling myself to remember this for a long as I could because it was such a unique experience.”Charles was moved by the reaction of his young bride as concerning the ceremony. He continued:We still cannot get over what happened that day. Neither of us can get over the atmosphere. It was electric, I felt, and so did my wife. I remember several occasions that were similar, with large crowds: the Coronation and the Jubilee, other nation occasions.”
MotherhoodPrince William of Wales was born less than a year after the wedding. At 9.03 in the evening on June 21, 1982, ten days before Diana’s twenty-first birthday, the future mother gave birth to a son in the private Lindo Wing of St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington. He because the first heir to the throne to be born in hospital. Their first child in full was named Prince William Arthur Philip Louis of Wales.William’s father confessed:“I found it rather a shock to my system.” After birth of their son Charles’s happiness was obvious. So was Diana’s.“There was a contentment about her,” her old flat mate Carolyn Bartholomew noted.On this occasion Charles really spoke for both of them. Proudly announced:“The birth of our son has given us both more pleasure than you can imagine.”Charles and Diana took great pride in their son and in each other. But it was not to last long. The gulf that had already opened up between them was too wide to build a bridge. Diana came to the conclusion that her youth was slipping away. While Charles was very with the problems of youth unemployment and modern architecture, Diana, as befitted her age and education, was more interested in clothes, parties and other priorities of her peer group.Their both had wanted to make a success in their marriage. The public interest in their every move was enormous. It wasn’t easy for them to be every time on the top. Diana’s image continued to rise while Charles found himself on the side. This was a new experience for him.
BornDiana Spencer was born on 1 July 1961. Her family were wealthy and important. In 1975 her dad became Earl Spencer. This title meant he was a senior member of the aristocracy, Britain_s old ruling class. Diana_s parents split up in 1967. Diana stayed with her dad. She had two older sisters and one brother.After school Diana worked in London as a nanny and nursery school teacher. When she was 20 she married Prince Charles.
Fairytale princess A billion people tuned in to Diana_s marriage to Prince Charles in July 1981.1981 was a difficult year. Loads of people lost their jobs when UK factories shut down. The world was changing and Britain was losing out to countries who made better goods for less money.Celebrating the wedding showed there were some things Britain could still do well. Diana was at the centre of all this, she became an important figure of hope to many people. Unhappy wife Charles and Diana split up in 1992. People had grown very fond of Diana. They blamed Charles for things going wrong because he had been seeing Camilla Parker Bowles throughout the marriage. The Royal Family looked out of touch with modern Britain. Diana seemed more normal and the public felt sorry for her. She lost her fairytale image and became a real person with real problems like an eating disorder called bulimia. Diana said she had other boyfriends while married to Charles. Tragic death The Princess of Wales died in a car crash in Paris on 31 August 1997.The world was shocked. Diana had been such a big part of peoples_ lives for so long that they felt they knew her. Some of the grief turned in to anger when the Royal Family were slow to realise just how upset the public were.The funeral was a big show of emotion. Diana_s life and death had put Britain more in touch with its feelings. She is remembered by many as the nation_s _Queen of Hearts_.