Autobiography of Princess Diana in Russian. The story of Princess Diana: from a simple girl to the queen of hearts

Meet the woman whom even death could not deprive of people's love! Diana, princess

Welsh, born Lady Diana Francis Spencer (Diana, princess of Wales, Diana Francis Spenser) was, as we all know, the wife of the heir to the throne of Great Britain, Prince Charles, and bore him two crown princes William and Harry.--

Lady Diana came from a noble family, of course, not royal, but quite famous in Europe.-
Prince Charles met her when she worked as a teacher in an “elite” kindergarten. She immediately attracted the attention of the royal family and journalists, since Charles’s friendship with such a bright woman could not escape prying eyes.

-
Charles soon "realized" his romantic feelings for Diana and decided to marry her. The wedding, which took place at St. Paul's Cathedral in London, was extremely magnificent and solemn.

However, whether because she was not very well received in the royal family and surroundings, or because she and Charles were actually very different people, or because Lady Di felt uncomfortable under the constant “sight” of the paparazzi - in She had huge problems in her relationship with her husband. Despite two children, it turned out to be impossible to save the marriage, and the ex-future queen divorced her husband.

-
Having left Charles, Diana did not disappear from the media's radar. She devoted her life to charitable activities: she spoke out in defense of rare animals, led companies against the most inhumane types of weapons of mass destruction, helped hopeless patients, in a word, actively did good deeds around the world. - She was even given the title of “the most famous woman of the 20th century” , and it was also common knowledge that the British people's love for Diana far exceeded their love for Charles.

-
The personal life of the former princess also began to improve, her acquaintance and relationship with Dodi Al-Fayed was widely discussed in the press. However, the tragic death in a car accident (al-Fayed also died along with her) cut short the life of a young woman. News about this terrible incident caused a flurry of worries and condolences around the world, of course, especially in the UK. It was an unprecedented emotional response from millions of people who adored Diana.

Diana belonged to the ancient English family of Spencer-Churchill. At the age of 16 she met the Prince of Wales, Charles. At first, the prince was expected to marry Diana's sister, Sarah, but over time, Charles came to the realization that Diana was an incredibly "charming, lively and witty girl who was interesting to be with." Returning from a naval campaign on the ship "Invincible", the prince proposed to her. The wedding took place 6 months later.
Some saw signs of an unhappy marriage in the ceremony.
While pronouncing his marriage vows, Charles got confused in his pronunciation, and Diana did not say his name quite correctly. However, at first peace reigned in the relationship between the spouses.
“I am crazy about marriage when there is someone to whom you devote your time,” Princess Diana wrote to her nanny Mary Clark after the wedding. Soon the couple had two sons: in 1982, Prince William, and in 1984, Prince Henry, better known as Prince Harry. It seemed that everything was going perfectly in the family, but soon rumors leaked to the press about the prince’s infidelity and that he often leaves his young wife alone. Despite the insults, Diana, according to her nanny, truly loved her husband. “When she married Charles, I remember writing to her that he was the only man in the country whom she could never divorce. Unfortunately, she could,” Mary Clark recalled. In 1992, a sensational announcement was made in Great Britain about the separation of Charles and Diana, and in 1996 their marriage was officially dissolved. The reason for the separation was the difficult relationship between the spouses. Diana, hinting at her husband's longtime close friend Camilla Parker Bowles, said that she could not bear a marriage of three.
The prince himself, according to their mutual friends, never tried to hide his love for Camilla, with whom he began a relationship even before the wedding. It is not surprising that after the divorce proceedings the public was on Diana’s side. After a high-profile divorce, her name still did not leave the pages of the press, but this was a different Princess Diana - an independent, business woman, passionate about charitable activities. She constantly visited hospitals for AIDS patients, traveled to Africa, to areas where sappers are working hard, removing numerous anti-personnel mines from the ground. Significant changes also took place in the princess's personal life. Diana began an affair with Pakistani surgeon Hasnat Khan. They carefully hid their romance from the press, although Hasnat often lived with her in Kensington Palace, and she stayed for a long time in his apartment in the prestigious Chelsea district of London. Khan's parents were delighted with their son's companion, but he soon told his father that marrying Diana could turn his life into hell due to the deep cultural differences between them. He claimed that Diana is “independent” and “loves going out,” which is unacceptable to him as a Muslim. Meanwhile, as close friends of the princess claimed, for the sake of her fiancé she was ready to sacrifice a lot, including changing her faith. Hasnat and Diana separated in the summer of 1997. According to a close friend of the princess, Diana was “deeply worried and in pain” after the breakup. But after some time she began an affair with the son of billionaire Mohammed Al-Fayed Dodi. At first, this relationship, according to her friend, served only as a consolation after the breakup with Hasnat. But soon a dizzying romance broke out between them; it seemed that a worthy and loving man had finally appeared in Lady Di’s life. The fact that Dodi was also divorced and had a reputation as a social philanderer all the more increased the interest in him from the press. Diana and Dodi had known each other for several years, but only became close in 1997. In July, they spent the holidays in Saint-Tropez with Diana's sons, Princes William and Harry. The boys got along well with the friendly owner of the house. Later, Diana and Dodi met in London, and then went on a cruise in the Mediterranean Sea on board the luxurious yacht Jonical. Diana loved to give gifts. Dear and not very dear, but always imbued with her unique care for everyone who surrounded her. She also gave Dodi things that were dear to her. For example, the cufflinks that the most beloved person in the world gave her. August 13, 1997 The princess wrote the following words about her gift: “Dear Dodie, these cufflinks were the last gift I received from the person I loved most in the world - my father.” “I give them to you because I know how happy he would be if he knew into what reliable and special hands they fell. With love, Diana,” the letter says. In another message from Kensington Palace, dated August 6, 1997, Diana thanks Dodi al-Fayed for a six-day vacation on his yacht and writes of her "endless gratitude for the joy he has brought into her life." Towards the end of August the Jonical approached Portofino in Italy and then sailed for Sardinia. On August 30, Saturday, the couple in love went to Paris. The next day Diana was due to fly to London to meet her sons on the last day of their summer holidays. Later, Dodi's father stated that his son and Princess Diana were going to get married. A few hours before his death in a car accident in Paris, Dodi al-Fayed visited a jewelry store. Video cameras captured him choosing an engagement ring. Later that day, a representative from the Ritz Hotel in Paris, where Diana and Dodi were staying, came to the store and picked up two rings. One of them, according to Dodi's father, was called "Dis-moi oui" - "Tell me yes" - worth 11.6 thousand pounds sterling... On Saturday evening, Diana and Dodi decided to have dinner at the restaurant of the Ritz Hotel, which he owned Dodie.
In order not to attract the attention of other visitors, they retired to a separate office, where, as was later reported, they exchanged gifts: Diana gave Dodi cufflinks, and he gave her a diamond ring. At one o'clock in the morning they prepared to go to Dodi's apartment on the Champs-Elysees. Wanting to avoid the papparazi crowding the front entrance, the happy couple used a special elevator located next to the hotel's service exit.
There they got into a Mercedes S-280, accompanied by bodyguard Trevor-Rees Jones and driver Henri Paul. The details of what happened a few minutes later are still unclear, but the terrible truth is that three of these four died in an accident that occurred in an underground tunnel under Delalma Square. It was not without difficulty that Princess Diana was removed from the crippled car, after which she was immediately sent to the Petey Salptrier hospital. The doctors' fight for her life was unsuccessful. The accident, which occurred on the night of August 31, 1997 in the Alma tunnel in Paris, was the result of the flagrant negligence of the driver of the car, who got behind the wheel while intoxicated and drove the Mercedes at an unacceptably high speed. The provocateur of this accident was also the pursuit of the princess's car by a group of paparazzi photographers. It was a death due to negligence. That was the jury's verdict at the six-month trial that ended Monday evening at London's High Court. This verdict is final and cannot be appealed. The longest and most intense trial in the history of British justice, I would like to believe, dotted all the i’s. In more than ten years since the death of the “people's princess,” there have been about 155 statements about the existence of a conspiracy to kill Lady Di. The leading violin in defending this version has been played all these years by the most offended person involved in this case - billionaire Mohammed Al-Fayed, owner of the largest London department store Harrods, the Fulham football club and the Ritz hotel in Paris, the father of the person killed in this accident Dodie. He literally declared “war” on the British royal family and publicly named the queen’s husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, as the instigator of the plot to kill the son and princess. The executor is the British intelligence services. It was Mohammed Al-Fayed who insisted on holding a trial with a jury; it was he who persistently demanded that the Duke of Edinburgh and Diana's sons, Princes William and Harry, appear in court. The royal family was not summoned to appear in court. British democracy, for all its enviable ripeness, has not yet matured enough to issue subpoenas to its monarchs. Only the press secretary of the Duke of Edinburgh appeared at the trial, presenting to the investigation a hitherto unpublished correspondence between Diana and her father-in-law, touching in its warmth. About 260 witnesses appeared at the trial for the deaths of Diana and Dodi. Testimony was given via video link from the United States, France and Australia. Titled ladies of the court, Diana's friends, testified. Her butler Paul Burrell, who made a considerable fortune for himself from fiction about the princess. Her lovers, who revealed to the world the details of their romance with the princess. The only survivor of the accident was bodyguard Trevor Rhys-Jones, who was severely crippled. The pathologist who performed Diana's autopsy and confirmed in court that no signs of the princess's pregnancy were found, but that it was not possible to detect them in a very short time. And therefore, Diana took this secret with her to the grave. Mohammed al-Fayed unveiled a monument to his son Dodi and Princess Diana at his London department store Harrods. The opening of the new monument coincides with the eighth anniversary of the death of Dodi and Diana in a car accident, the Guardian reports. Bronze Diana and Dodi are depicted dancing against the backdrop of waves and the wings of an albatross, symbolizing eternity and freedom. According to Mohammed al-Fayed, this monument seems a more appropriate sign of remembrance than the memorial fountain in Hyde Park. The sculpture was sculpted by Bill Mitchell, an artist who has worked for al-Fayd for forty years. At the opening of the monument, Mohammed al-Fayed said that he named this sculptural group “Innocent Victims”. He believes that Dodi and Diana died in a fake car accident, their untimely deaths being the result of murder. "The monument is installed here forever. Nothing has been done so far to perpetuate the memory of this amazing woman who brought joy to the world," al-Fayed said.

Diana, Princess of Wales (photo posted later in the article) is the former wife of Prince Charles and the mother of the second in line heir to the British throne, Prince William. Just when she seemed to have found new love, she tragically died along with her new friend.

Diana, Princess of Wales: biography

Diana Frances Spencer was born on 07/01/1961 at Park House, near Sandringham, Norfolk. She was the youngest daughter of Viscount and Viscountess Elthrop, the now late Earl Spencer and Mrs Shand-Kydd. She had two older sisters, Jane and Sarah, and a younger brother, Charles.

The reason for Diana's lack of self-confidence should be sought in her upbringing, despite her privileged position. The family lived at the Queen's estate at Sandringham, where the father rented Park House. He was the royal equerry to the king and the young Queen Elizabeth II.

The Queen was the chief guest at the wedding of Diana's parents in 1954. The ceremony that took place at Westminster Abbey became one of the social events of the year.

But Diana was only six when her parents divorced. She will always remember the sound of her mother's footsteps walking down the gravel road. The children became pawns in a bitter custody dispute.

Lady Diana was sent to boarding school, and eventually ended up at West Heath School. Here she excelled in sports (her height of 178 cm helped this), especially in swimming, but failed all her exams. However, she subsequently remembered her school days fondly and supported her school.

After finishing her studies, she worked in London as a nanny, cook and then as an assistant teacher at the Young England nursery school in Knightsbridge.

Her father moved to Althrop near Northampton and became the 8th Earl Spencer. Her parents divorced and a new Countess Spencer emerged, daughter of the writer Barbara Cartland. But Diana soon became a family celebrity.

Engagement

Rumors spread that her friendship with the Prince of Wales had developed into something more serious. The press and television besieged Diana at every turn. But her days at work were numbered. The palace tried in vain to cool the speculation. And on February 24, 1981, the engagement became official.

Wedding

The wedding took place at St Paul's Cathedral on a perfect July day. Millions of television viewers around the world were mesmerized by the event, and a further 600,000 people gathered along the route from Buckingham Palace to the cathedral. Diana became the first Englishwoman in the last 300 years to marry the heir to the throne.

She was only 20. Under the gaze of her mother, leaning on her father’s hand, Diana of Wales (photo posted in the article) prepared to take her wedding vows. The only time she showed nervousness was when she was trying to put her husband's many names in the correct order.

Welcomed the newcomer. It was a moment of special satisfaction for the Queen Mother, who herself came from a simple family and had also walked this path 60 years ago.

Popularity

After the wedding, Diana, Princess of Wales, immediately began to take an active part in the performance of official duties of the royal family. She soon began making visits to schools and hospitals.

The public noted her love for the people: she seemed to sincerely rejoice in her stay among ordinary people, although she herself was no longer like that.

Diana brought her own fresh style to the mix that was the House of Windsor. The idea of ​​royal visits was nothing new, but it added a spontaneity to it that captivated almost everyone.

On her first official trip to the United States, she provoked near-hysteria. There was something special about someone other than the American president becoming the center of attention, especially among Americans. Since her dazzling appearance during her first public appearance with her husband, Diana's wardrobe has become a constant focus of attention.

Charity

Princess Diana of Wales, whose rise to popularity owes much to her charity work, played an important role in raising awareness of the plight of people with AIDS. Her speeches on this issue were frank, and she put an end to many prejudices. Simple gestures, such as Diana of Wales shaking hands with an AIDS patient, proved to society that social contact with patients was safe.

Her patronage was not limited to boardrooms. Sometimes she went to tea at the charities she supported. Abroad, Diana, Princess of Wales, spoke about the plight of the disadvantaged and marginalized. During her visit to Indonesia in 1989, she publicly shook hands with lepers, dispelling widespread myths about the disease.

Family life

Diana always dreamed of a big family. A year after her marriage, on June 21, 1982, she gave birth to a son, Prince William. In 1984, on September 15, he had a brother, Henry, although he was better known simply as Harry. Diana advocated raising her children as normally as royal circumstances could allow.

William became the first male heir to be raised in kindergarten. Private teachers did not teach their sons; the boys went to school with others. Their mother insisted that their education be as normal as possible, showering them with love and providing entertainment during the holidays.

But by the time Prince Harry was born, the marriage had become just a façade. In 1987, when Harry entered kindergarten, the couple's separation became public. It's a holiday for the press.

During an official visit to India in 1992, Diana sat alone at the Taj Mahal, the great monument to love. It was a graphic public announcement that, although the couple technically remained together, they had in fact broken up.

Revealing book

Four months later, the publication of Andrew Morton's Diana: Her True Story put an end to the fairy tale. The book, based on interviews with some of the princess's closest friends, and with her own tacit consent, confirmed that the relationship with her husband was cold and distant.

The author recounted the princess's half-hearted suicide attempts during the early years of her marriage, her struggle with bulimia, and her obsession with the belief that Charles continued to love the woman he had dated several years before her, Camilla Parker Bowles. The prince later confirmed that he and Camilla were indeed having an affair.

During a state visit to South Korea, it was clear that Diana and Charles, Princess of Wales, were growing apart. Soon after, in December 1992, the divorce was officially announced.

Divorce

Diana continued her charitable activities even after the disagreement. She spoke about social issues, and sometimes, as in the case of bulimia, her donations were based on personal suffering.

Wherever she went, on public or private business, often with her children to whom she devoted herself, the media was present to document the event. It became something of a PR battle with her ex-husband. After her divorce, Diana, Princess of Wales, showed her skill in using the media to present herself in a favorable light.

She later spoke about what she believed her ex-husband's camp was doing to make her life more difficult.

On November 20, 1995, she gave an unprecedented and surprisingly open interview to the BBC. She told millions of television viewers about her post-natal depression, the breakdown of her marriage to Prince Charles, her tense relationship with the royal family in general and, most shockingly, she claimed that her husband did not want to be king.

She also predicted that she would never become a queen and that she would instead like to become a queen in people's hearts.

Diana, Princess of Wales and her lovers

The pressure on her from the popular newspapers was relentless, and stories about her male friends destroyed her image as a resentful wife. One of these friends, army officer James Hewitt, became the source of a book about their relationship, to her horror.

Diana of Wales accepted the divorce only after insistence from the Queen. When things came to a head on August 28, 1996, she said it was the saddest day of her life.

Diana, now officially Princess of Wales, abandoned most of her charitable work and began to look for a new field of activity. She had a clear idea that the role of “queen of hearts” should remain hers, and she illustrated this with visits abroad. In June 1997, Diana visited who was in poor health.

In June, she auctioned off 79 dresses and ballgowns that appeared on magazine covers around the world. The auction raised £3.5 million for charity and also symbolized a break with the past.

Tragic death

In the summer of 1997, Diana of Wales was spotted with Dodi Fayed, the son of millionaire Mohammed Al-Fayed. Photos of the princess with Dodi on a yacht in the Mediterranean Sea appeared in all tabloids and magazines around the world.

The couple returned to Paris on Saturday August 30 after another holiday in Sardinia. After dinner at the Ritz that evening, they left in a limousine and were pursued by photographers on motorcycles who wanted to take more pictures of the couple in love. The chase led to tragedy in an underground tunnel.

Princess Diana of Wales was a breath of fresh air and brought glamor to the House of Windsor. But she became a sad figure for many when the truth about her failed marriage was revealed.

Critics accuse her of stripping the monarchy of the mysticism so important to its survival.

But by the strength of her character in difficult personal circumstances and the unflagging support she provided to the sick and disadvantaged, Diana of Wales earned respect for herself. She remained a figure of public admiration and love to the end.

The book “The Real Diana” by Lady Colin Campbell, the same aristocratic writer close to royal circles who has already written a book about the Queen Mother that shook the whole world, has appeared on the shelves of British bookstores. Now she has revealed unknown facts about Diana's life in the royal family.

Lady Campbell claims that Diana's father, the ambitious Lord John Spencer, harbored a plan for many years to marry his daughter to Prince Charles. But it wasn’t Diana who was meant at all, but her older sister Sarah.

And when Charles’s father, Prince Philip, began looking for a bride for him, Sarah Spencer was one of the first to be considered. But this union did not take place because Sarah’s statement was published in the press: “I don’t care whose wife I become, a prince or a garbage man, as long as there is love between us!” After all, the Queen, as you know, cannot stand anyone from her family discussing their personal life in public.

The future Princess Diana was the youngest of the three Spencer daughters. "Diana's family hoped she would marry Prince Andrew," writes Colin Campbell. - Diana kept his photograph on her bedside table the entire time she was studying at West Heath school. Her family even nicknamed her the Duchess - that would have been Diana’s title if she had become the wife of Andrew, Duke of York.”

The youth of aristocratic families have known the young offspring of the royal family since childhood, so Diana knew everyone - Charles, Andrew, Anna, and Edward. But it was with Andrew that she had a childhood friendship - according to Lady Campbell, in infancy they played together on the grounds of the royal Sandringham estate, where the Spencers rented a mansion. This right was granted by King George VI to his friend, Diana's maternal grandfather. In addition, the Windsor and Spencer families had long-standing connections: one of Diana's great-grandmothers was the mistress of George IV and, according to rumors, even gave birth to an illegitimate child. And grandmother Ruth (as well as grandmother Cynthia on her mother’s side) served as a maid of honor to the Queen Mother. John Spencer himself performed the honorary duties of Queen Elizabeth's equerry.

After Sarah left the race, the Spencer family council decided to urgently replace her with Diana, the writer claims. Diana was ordered to attend all events where Charles appeared. And then the opportunity to get closer to the heir to the throne finally came - at one of the country receptions, Diana saw that Charles had gone for a walk alone. “In a field, near a haystack, the prince stopped and sat down. Diana came up and sat down next to her: “You really miss Lord Mountbatten, right? Now you really need someone to take care of you!” - she said. Not long before this, Charles had lost his beloved great-uncle and mentor, Lord Mountbatten, and he really needed sympathy,” says Lady Campbell.

The butler Paul Burrell, who served there at that time, writes about how Diana first arrived at the royal Balmoral Castle as Charles’s personal guest (he, in turn, also wrote a book about Diana, “Royal Duty”).

The fact is that Diana made a mistake - she brought with her only one evening dress for three days. She was lucky - the evenings turned out to be warm, and everyone gathered in an informal setting - in a barbecue house. So no one except Paul Burrell noticed her miscalculation. However, it’s forgivable - Diana was only nineteen years old, while the rest of Charles’s company were over thirty, or even forty. Moreover, even though she was an aristocrat, she worked as a modest teacher in a kindergarten and lived in a rented London apartment, and not at all with her father and stepmother, with whom she felt uncomfortable. “She acted modestly and often blushed,” recalls Paul Burrell. - Over time, the ladies of the court noticed the meagerness of her wardrobe and ordered something for her: a blue skirt, a collarless jacket of the same color, matching shoes and a white blouse with a stand-up collar.

It was this costume that the princess wore when her engagement to Prince Charles was publicly announced on February 24 at Buckingham Palace.”

Lady Colin Campbell believes that this same suit later played a bad joke on Diana: “She put on a ready-made blue suit, which fit her baggyly. In it she seemed much fuller than she actually was. When she saw photos of herself in the press, she muttered, “Oh my God, I’m so fat!” Charles tried to console her by saying that she looked great. And at the same time he pinched her on the fold of fat on her waist.” Lady Campbell believes that it was this moment, after which Diana set herself the goal of losing weight before her wedding, that was the beginning of her notorious bulimia.

“For three days Diana starved herself, after which she broke down and ran to the nearest candy store for candy. She only stopped when she had eaten the entire box. After which she was horrified, rushed into the bathroom and used the well-known “two fingers in the mouth” method. Deciding that this was a great way out of the situation, Diana began to do this every day,” writes Lady Campbell. The dressmaker who was working on the wedding dress grumbled - once again the outfit had to be sewn in. After all, Diana lost 12 kilograms in a short time. She looked great. The same could not be said about the state of her nerves. “As usually happens with bulimia, she began to have mood swings, and there were causeless bouts of sobbing. Over time, Charles had to take a sip of all this,” says Lady Campbell.

According to her information, Diana showed a tendency towards bulimia from school. It was difficult for young Lady Spencer to control how much she ate. “Classmates recall that she could eat a dozen slices of bread at one time. And then three more full bowls of baked beans,” the book says. And it started at the age of eight - that is, exactly when Diana’s parents were getting divorced.

DID DIANA HAVE THE RIGHT TO MARRY CHARLES?

The divorce of John and Frances Spencer became one of the most discussed social scandals of the late 60s. Everyone condemned Frances, who, without waiting for a divorce, took a lover. No one wanted to hear that the real reason she left her husband was abuse.

Diana's mother claimed that her husband beat and humiliated her. But she had no witnesses... As a result, custody of the children - three daughters and a son - went to John. “And he soon sent them to boarding schools and took himself a new wife, whom his offspring hated,” writes Lady Campbell. At the same time, the children also condemned their own mother. “She should have stayed with us! I would never, ever abandon my children! It would be better if I died! - Diana said, even as an adult.

Lady Campbell claims that Charles also lacked parental love since childhood: his mother Elizabeth was too busy with government affairs, and his father subjected his every action to ruthless criticism, from which Charles developed something like a neurosis.

They say that even as an adult, Charles once could not resist tears when he heard from his father: “Everything you say is complete nonsense!” - in response to discussions about architecture, which Charles was well versed in. Charles's first (and, as it turned out later, only lifelong) love, Camilla Shand, chose the handsome royal guard officer Andrew Parker-Bowles over him, whom she married, despite Charles' persistent courtship.

And when, six years after her marriage, Camilla, having lost interest in her husband, nevertheless responded to the love of the Prince of Wales, their marriage was no longer possible - even if she had divorced, the heir to the throne cannot marry a divorced woman. Nevertheless, at the ball at the Royal Polo Club, these two kissed in front of everyone.

It was then that Prince Philip urgently began to look for a bride for his son, for whose role Diana was somewhat hastily chosen. Lady Campbell believes that for some time Charles believed that young Spencer would be able to give him what he so passionately dreamed of - that is, selfless and reckless love. “But here’s the problem: Diana, who really sincerely liked Charles, also suffered from a “dislike complex,” therefore, instead of loving someone, she needed someone to love her herself,” writes Campbell.

Preparations for the wedding were kept secret for as long as possible. Paul Burrell recalls: “When the royal jeweler David Thomas brought a case containing a selection of engagement rings to the palace, the servants were told that it contained rings intended as a gift for Prince Andrew on his 21st birthday.

Although the rings were obviously women's. Charles asked the Queen to make the choice. Diana later told her friends: “I would never have chosen such a tasteless ring. I would prefer something simpler and more elegant."

According to Lady Campbell, when Charles proposed to Diana, he implored her to think carefully before answering. After all, a member of the royal family has many responsibilities, every step is visible, you need to be able to keep your face, and you can immediately forget about personal freedom. “But Diana agreed instantly, without any hesitation. It seems that she simply could not imagine that any difficulties could follow her wedding with the prince. She was raised on the romance novels of Barbara Cartland, where after the wedding the ending immediately comes: “And they lived happily ever after, loving each other...”

Lady Campbell writes.

Previously, there was no doubt that Diana at least met one of the main requirements for the bride of the heir to the throne. It is known that before the wedding, the queen’s personal gynecologist examined her and declared that Diana was healthy and innocent. On this occasion, one friend of Camilla Parker-Bowles even quipped: “It may well be that Lady Diana was chosen precisely because she remained the only virgin aristocrat of marriageable age in this country.” But Lady Colin Campbell, having interviewed Diana’s school friends, makes a sensational statement: “Diana was only seventeen when she met young Daniel Wiggin. The son of a baronet, he was a friend of her brother Charles.

And he became her first lover. Soon Diana met the next one - James Coltrust, also the son of a baronet. He was very physically attractive to her, he was just her type of man - tall, dark, muscular.” In addition to them, Lady Campbell lists five more of Diana's premarital lovers. Moreover, the future Princess of Wales, according to her information, was so close to Guardsman Rory Scott that she spent weekends at his parents’ farm, washing and ironing his shirts. And Rory confirmed to the writer that his relationship with Diana was “determinedly not platonic.” Little of! Allegedly, he was not Diana’s first yet.

According to Lady Campbell, there was one more thing that could have upset the wedding if it had been known in 1981.

“The fact that Diana's mother's great-great-great-grandmother Eliza Kewark was an Indian, born in Bombay, was one of the Spencer family's best-kept secrets,” writes Lady Colin Campbell. “After all, if anyone had found out about this, then none of Frances Spencer’s three daughters would have ever been able to marry successfully.”

IS THE PRINCESS TOO FRIENDLY WITH THE SERVANTS?

And so on July 29, 1981, in St. Paul's Cathedral, 32-year-old Prince Charles married 20-year-old Diana Spencer. The ceremony of the fabulous wedding, by all accounts, was watched by 75 million people. It is known that at the wedding, Queen Elizabeth, to celebrate, slightly picked up her skirt and famously danced a jig. It seemed to everyone that this marriage would bring happiness to both the newlyweds and England.

But for Charles and Diana, these hopes were dashed during their honeymoon, which they spent on a cruise in the Mediterranean Sea on board the royal ship Britannia. According to Lady Campbell, it was there that it became clear that Charles was not able to devote enough time to his young wife, by her standards, and Diana was not able to come to terms with this. The prince plunged into his own affairs several times a day - looking through business papers, or even just for fun reading something on philosophy. Meanwhile, Diana was languishing with boredom and complaining about life. “Bulimia had by then severely undermined her nervous system,” writes Lady Campbell. It ended with Charles having an irresistible desire to call Camilla Parker-Bowles directly from the yacht Britannia, locked in the bathroom of his own cabin.

Diana accidentally overheard their conversation. There was gossip about Charles' affair with Camilla in royal circles, but until recently Diana led a completely different life, and these rumors did not reach her. Now she found out everything and demanded that her husband end his relationship with Camilla.

“The worst thing was that the newlyweds, apart from a passionate desire to be loved and happy, had very little in common,” says Lady Campbell. So footman Paul Burrell, who after the wedding was made the personal butler of the Prince and Princess of Wales, recalls how Charles used to sit all evenings downstairs in the library, listening to Haydn, while Diana was playing Whitney Houston in her room on the second floor. In terms of her interests, she was an ordinary resident of London.

Perhaps she is kinder and more sympathetic - this is what her work with children taught her. Having become Princess of Wales, Diana had the opportunity to do what she had long been disposed to do - help people. Paul Burrell tells of the horror he experienced when he was driving somewhere with the princess, and she suddenly stopped next to a vulgarly made-up girl in a short skirt, freezing in the damp wind. While the butler was breaking out in a cold sweat, imagining the headlines of tomorrow's newspapers: “Princess Diana spends time in the company of prostitutes,” his patron handed the girl 100 pounds and said: “Buy yourself something warm. And so that the next time I pass here, you are better dressed.” Moreover, after a couple of weeks, Diana actually made sure that the girl was now waiting for clients in a warm leather jacket.

But Diana did not share Charles’s interests in art, philosophy, fishing and hunting. When, after her first participation in the royal hunt, according to the ritual, her cheeks were smeared with blood taken from the belly of a freshly killed deer, cut with a hunting knife, Diana shuddered in disgust. But not so long ago, Charles initiated Camilla into a hunter in the same way, and she was delighted with the medieval rite! “Even the sports in which Diana was strong - tennis, swimming, dancing - were not those that Charles appreciated, who preferred horse riding,” Lady Campbell claims.

In the first months, Diana and Charles lived in Buckingham Palace, which, as you know, is a real labyrinth of endless corridors, halls and rooms. As soon as Diana moved further away from her apartment, she became lost. After all, no one thought to give her a tour of the palace.

Somehow Diana learned the way to the pool and also to the throne room, where she was allowed to take ballet and tap dancing lessons. Diana fluttered there in tights, not far from two ancient thrones, standing on their gilded legs under a heavy burgundy canopy with gold tassels. One higher, for the Queen, the other lower, for the Duke of Edinburgh.

As for Charles's parents, in their own way they tried very hard to be affectionate and hospitable with Diana. Every now and then in the evenings, when Diana got tired of sitting alone, she called the royal page: “Please find out, will the Queen be dining alone today?” He went to report and received the answer: “Please tell Lady Diana that I will be happy to have dinner with her at 8:15.” The crowned mother-in-law never refused her.

But the atmosphere was too formal for intimate conversations. What can we say about the crowded receptions that Diana now had to attend. The Queen, being an excellent hostess, always made sure that no guest sat at the table twice with the same neighbor. And Diana always wanted to sit with Prince Charles.

In a word, irritation accumulated. According to Lady Colin Campbell, even the royal dogs began to seem disgusting to Diana: “During tea parties with her mother-in-law, these corgis hovered around Diana like a little demon, dripping saliva onto her shoes. And she slowly kicked them in the side. And then she complained to her husband: “They smelled me! Do they think my legs are steaks?” Diana also disliked the labrador Sandringham, who belonged to Charles himself.

She complained: “You pay more attention to this animal than to me.” In the end, Charles, tired of quarreling with his wife over the dog, found nothing better than to take Sandringham to the veterinarian and euthanize him. Although Diana did not ask for anything like that. She just wanted Charles to spend more time with her, because she felt so lonely... “After the death of the dog, to which Charles was very attached, something seemed to die in the prince himself,” writes Lady Campbell.

With whom the princess found an outlet, it was with the servants. She often sat with the silverware keeper, Victor Fletcher. Or chatting in the kitchen with chef Robert Pine, who regaled her with rustic jokes and homemade ice cream. Or in the pantry drying dishes with Paul Burrell. “It ended with Prince Charles, to his great surprise, finding footman Mark Simpson in the princess’s bedroom.

He sat on the edge of the bed and calmly talked with Diana, who was not at all embarrassed that she was not dressed decently enough,” recalls Burrell. This Mark smuggled a Big Mac from McDonald's into the palace for her.

It was thanks to her friendship with the servants that Diana learned that her husband, in her absence, still maintained a relationship with Camilla. One day, while waiting for Burrell in the pantry, she looked into the notebook where he wrote down the guests expected at the table. "Mr and Mrs Oliver Hour and Mrs Parker Bowles for dinner", "Mrs Candida Lucette-Green and Mrs Parker Bowles for dinner", "Mr and Mrs Parker Bowles with children."

DIANA STRIKES BACK

Subsequently, collaborating in 1992 with journalist Andrew Morton, who wrote the book “Diana. Her true story,” the princess said that, while pregnant with William, she threw herself down a wooden staircase in front of her husband. Out of despair and powerlessness to change anything. Lady Colin Campbell writes: “In fact, according to the testimony of the servants present at that scene, everything was not so. She simply slipped on the slippery wooden steps and fell. Fortunately, everything worked out - for both Diana and William." According to her information, Diana more than once tried to play on Charles’s feelings, imitating suicide attempts. Once, in the heat of a quarrel, she took a penknife and held it over her wrist - however, without even scratching herself. Another time she poked herself in the leg with a lemon squeezer.

Well, Charles... “At the slightest sign of an impending showdown, he simply turned and left,” writes Lady Campbell.

According to the writer, the affairs that Diana eventually began to have on the side were explained partly by the need for happiness and love, and partly by the desire to arouse at least jealousy in her husband. But Charles did not react. “Knowing his wife’s relationship with banker Philip Dunne, the prince personally invited him to join them on holiday in Switzerland,” Campbell claims. Diana's father-in-law and mother-in-law viewed Diana's novels completely differently. When they heard rumors about their daughter-in-law's next hobby - her own bodyguard Barry Mannaki - he was hastily transferred to a run-of-the-mill police department. Diana was most amazed that her lover so easily agreed to break up with her.

After all, he could, in the end, resign! It soon became clear that the story did not end there. “Barry was going to sell the Diana love story to one of the tabloids,” writes Lady Campbell. “Not even a few weeks passed before he died. Diana did not believe that his death was accidental, seeing it as the machinations of the secret services.”

As for the red-haired officer James Hewitt, with whom Diana also had an affair and whom many now believe is Prince Harry's biological father, Lady Campbell firmly rejects this possibility. According to her information, Diana had an affair with Barry after Harry was born, and with Hewitt even later. By the way, the same story ended up repeating itself with Hewitt - the palace found out about their relationship, and Diana’s lover was transferred to serve in Germany for two years.

But trying to prevent a scandal was as useless as trying to hold back water with a sieve.

At first, Diana and Charles decided to separate, which was impossible to keep secret. Then the same book by Andrew Morton came out, written based on conversations with Diana. And to top it all off, the princess herself gave a television interview in which she told the whole world about her problems with piercing frankness: “I loved my husband very much and wanted to share both grief and joy with him. I thought we were a very good couple." - “Do you think that Mrs. Parker-Bowles played a role in the breakdown of your marriage?” - “You see, there were three of us in this marriage. A little cramped, isn’t it?” In the same television interview, Diana spoke about her bulimia.

And when asked if she plans to eventually become a queen, Diana replied: “I would like to be the queen of people’s hearts, but I can’t imagine myself being the queen of this country.” Finally, she also admitted that she had an affair with James Hewitt.

This interview truly turned the already popular Diana into the queen of people's hearts. Millions of people reasoned: not only is she actively involved in charity work, she brings hope to people with cancer and AIDS, the homeless, the poor, those affected by landmines... She is also a sincere, loving and at the same time deeply unhappy person. But Diana became a decidedly unsuitable person for Windsor Castle.

PINK GRANDMOTHER, BROWN GRANDMOTHER

The Queen could not ignore the scandals surrounding her son's marriage indefinitely, and eventually made the difficult decision to officially divorce. Considering that there was no actual marriage for a long time, this struck Diana terribly. Paul Burrell recalls: “On the table lay a letter on the stamp paper of Windsor Castle, written in the Queen’s recognizable clear handwriting. It began with the words “Dear Diana...” and ended, as usual: “With love, from mom.” The princess was greatly offended by the letter's mention that the queen had consulted the government and the church. “But this is my marriage! No one has the right to interfere in my husband’s and my problems! - she shouted. - They are telling me about the interests of the country.

But why doesn’t anyone care about my interests or the interests of my children?” Diana sat down at the table and wrote to the queen, asking for time to think. But the very next day a letter arrived on the same topic from Prince Charles. To Diana's fury, some of the wording in the letters from her husband and mother-in-law coincided verbatim. For example, “a personal and national tragedy” or “a depressing and confusing situation in which we all find ourselves.”

After the divorce, Diana lost her title of Royal Highness and from now on had to curtsey even to her own sons at official events. She was even more upset that Charles now went entirely to her hated rival, Camilla. However, the new situation also had its advantages. For example, freedom.

Now Diana has access to cash again. Throughout the marriage, she had to use only the card or sign checks: “Welsh”. But it’s awkward to somehow pay in this way at the cinema or in a fast food restaurant. In addition, all expenses were in full view of the mother-in-law, which was also tiring. Paul Burrell recalls: “The first thing Diana did was to take twenty of her dresses and suits to a second-hand store, and from this alone she earned about 11 thousand pounds in cash. So the young princes saw paper money for the first time, and they really liked it. Especially because the queen's face is on the banknotes. The princes immediately nicknamed the five-pound note “blue grandmother,” the ten-pound note “brown grandmother,” and the fifty pounds “pink grandmother.” It was the “pink granny” that William and Harry vied with each other to try to grab when their mother, laughing, handed them money.”

And then Dodi al-Fayed appeared in Diana’s life.

“No one would have traded her for a career under any circumstances - Dodi’s special attitude towards work gave him a lot of free time, and he willingly devoted it to Diana in whatever quantities she wanted,” writes Lady Campbell. - In addition, they had a lot in common: they loved the same films, books, music. These two could have found true happiness and lived together until old age, if not for that terrible accident. By the way, the only person who survived in her, bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones, having restored his memory, said that the last sound he heard from the dying Diana was a groan: “Dodie”...

The causes of the accident have not yet been figured out. “The only thing that can now be said with almost certainty, many years later, is that the paparazzi following the princess’s car were not directly to blame for her death, as originally thought,” writes Lady Campbell. “The investigation, which lasted several years, established that there were traces of white paint on the mangled remains of Diana’s black car. This means that the cause of the accident was a collision with a mysterious car that fled the scene. Despite years of joint searches by French and British police, this car was never found.”

Reflecting on all this, the writer recalls Diana’s plans to move with her sons to America, which Paul Burrell told her about. “These plans were unlikely to please the British elite,” she claims.

The butler himself recalls it this way: “The princess showed me a magazine with a plan of a house that was sold in California on the ocean coast. We sat down on the floor in the living room and began to plan: here will be William’s room, here will be Harry’s, here will be the main hall, and here will the servants live. She dreamed of morning runs on the beach, of bright sunshine, unlike London. “We could also get a dog there,” Diana said. - Labrador...”

Fifteen years ago, on the night of August 31, 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales, died in a car accident in Paris.

Diana, Princess of Wales, née Lady Diana Frances Spencer, is the former wife of the heir to the British throne, Prince Charles, and the mother of Princes William and Harry.

In 1975, Diana's father Edward John Spencer assumed the title of Earl.

Diana studied at Riddlesworth Hall School in Norfolk and West Heath School in Kent, then at school in Chateau d'Oex in Switzerland.

After finishing school, she returned to England and began working as a kindergarten teacher in London.

Their first son, William, was born on June 21, 1982, and their second son, Harry, was born two years later on September 15, 1984.

After the divorce, Diana was deprived of the right to be called a member of the royal family, but she retained the title of Princess of Wales.

There are several versions of the cause of Princess Diana's death.

In January 2004, hearings were launched to establish the circumstances of the death of Dodi al-Fayed and Princess Diana.

The hearing was adjourned pending an investigation into the Paris car crash and was resumed on 2 October 2007 at the Royal Courts of Justice in London. The jury heard testimony from more than 250 witnesses from eight countries.

Following the hearings, the jurors came to the conclusion that the illegal actions of the tabloid journalists who were pursuing their car, and the careless driving of the car by the driver Henri Paul. The main cause of the accident was said to be drunken driving by Henri Paul.

By the end of 2013, Kensington Palace, where Princess Diana lived after her divorce, . The couple will move into the new wing, which was occupied by Queen Elizabeth II's sister, Princess Margaret, until her death.

On June 21, 2012, on his thirtieth birthday, Prince William inherited it from his late mother. The total amount was ten million pounds sterling (about $15.7 million).

Many books have been written about Princess Diana, films have been made, including the film “Unlawful Killing” directed by Keith Allen, which was shown at the 64th Cannes Film Festival.

In September 1997, the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund was founded using public donations and proceeds from the sale of souvenirs, including Elton John's single "Candle In The Wind" dedicated to the princess. fund).

In March 1998, it was announced that the foundation would provide grants of £1 million to each of the six charities officially supported by Princess Diana (English National Ballet, Leprosy Mission, National AIDS Society, Centrepoint, Children's Hospital Great Ormond Street, Royal Marsden Hospital).

Grants of £1 million were also provided to the Children's Osteopathic Center and organizations that help landmine victims. A further £5 million was shared among around 100 other charities in the arts, health, education, sport and children's sectors.

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources