17 Pics That Prove Princess Diana Was Despised By The Queen (And Royal Family)
There is no denying that Princess Diana was a force to be reckoned with. In the space of just 15 years, she went from shy, teenage girl and young royal bride to a confident, caring mother-of-two who was recognized around the world for her humanitarian work. Sadly, it was her personal life that often ended up overshadowing all her charity work and her world was one of the scandalous affairs, jealous love triangles and constant bitter battles with the palace. There were two sides to Diana and the royal family knew this better than anyone else.
In a letter dated six days after her death, the Queen wrote to her close friend, Lady Henriette Abel Smith, she said, "It was indeed dreadfully sad, and she is a huge loss to the country. But the public reaction to her death, and the service in the Abbey, seem to have united people around the world in a rather inspiring way. William and Harry have been so brave and I am very proud of them."
Although the words come too late, we're sure if the Queen had known just how little time she had left with the mother of her two grandsons, she would have been more tolerant of the Princess. Here we look at the pictures that captured the moments when the palace couldn't take Diana's unconventional and un-royal behavior.
17 Those Side-Eyes She Got Walking Down The Aisle
More than 600,000 lined the streets of London in 1981 to catch a glimpse of 19-year-old Diana on her wedding day. Diana had only met with Prince Charles thirteen times before they were married, she revealed, "He'd ring me up every day for a week and then he wouldn't speak to me for three weeks. And the thrill when he used to ring up was so immense and intense."
During a Channel 4 documentary Diana: In Her Own Words, footage of Diana shows her telling close friend and voice Peter Settelen that it was "the worst day of my life." She added, "If I could write my own script I would have my husband go away with his woman and never come back." Judging by the looks she received as she walked down the aisle - she was never fully welcome in the royal family.
16 When She Caused A Sensation In THAT Dress
Diana always dared to be different and during her first official engagement with Charles she certainly made a huge impression. At the charity concert in London, Charles got out the car and told the press, "Have you brought your fashion editor?” Shortly after, Diana emerged wearing a low cut, strapless black gown - something the royal press had never witnessed before.
The dress caused such a sensation it was quite clear from the beginning that Diana didn't want to be a woman who just walked in her husband's shadow. Also, judging by the smirk on her face, she was happy with all the attention at the event. She is pictured standing next to Princess Grace of Monaco - another great beauty who was also killed in a tragic road accident aged 52-years-old.
15 There Was Little Warmth Between The Queen And Diana
The Queen already had bad feelings about Diana before she married Prince Charles and she was "deeply concerned" about the marriage. A close friend to the royals Harry Hebert revealed in the ITV documentary Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy, "The Queen wanted to talk to me about it because she was so worried. She was so, you know, worried about Diana."
He added, "And the Queen wanted to know how was Diana feeling - and was it as bad as it was. And it was a sad discussion - a sad moment really because that was everything at its worst." The Queen's feelings were right, as the marriage between Charles and Diana was not the huge success the royal family wanted it to be. Instead, there was rumors of affairs, bitter arguments and Diana's emotional outbursts - behavior the Queen wanted to avoid being made public.
14 She Hated Public Affection From Charles
This photo was taken during a tour in Jaipur, India, on Valentine's Day. The press wanted to capture a kiss between the royal couple but when Charles went in for the intimate moment - Diana turned away. According to tape recordings from Diana: In Her Own Words, the couple was only intimate once every three weeks throughout their marriage. Diana revealed, "There was never a requirement for it from his case."
Prince Harry remembers a lot of "fights on the backseat" as they traveled between their parent's homes. He recalls, "The two of us were bouncing between the two of them. We never saw our mother enough we never saw our father enough. There was all of that to contend with. It was an interesting way of growing up."
13 The Queen Was Not Happy With The Media's Diana Obsession
'Shy Diana' was the image the Princess often portrayed in the media but behind closed doors, it was a very different story. Lady Pamela Hicks, who was one of the Queen's bridesmaids, was given the role of teaching Diana how to be more of a royal and less of a celebrity. Lady Hicks told The Daily Mail that Diana found it all "boring", she revealed, "She didn't want to be told anything. 'That's boring', she'd say."
Wherever Diana went, there was a huge amount of press that followed. Lady Hicks added, "She had no need to try because she saw the people admired her. She reckoned she was the star." The Queen's expectation of Diana as the perfect royal and future queen was not quite going to plan. Something which frustrated her even more.
12 Diana Never Met The Queen's Expectations
The Queen was desperate to find Charles a wife especially as he was in his 30s. Although Diana appeared the perfect match, she didn't live up to her majesty's high expectations. In the documentary Diana: 7 Days That Shook The Windsors, one source revealed that the Queen thought Diana was "a misfit who didn't quite contribute to the things they did and what they wanted her to do in the family." In a private letter to a close friend, Diana said that she felt "extremely isolated" by the royal family.
Diana's former butler, Paul Burrell, revealed that he Diana never intended to divorce Charles. He told Yahoo!, "It is a myth the princess wanted a divorce. She didn't want a divorce, she wanted a separation." Diana divorced Charles, lost her title of Royal Highness and any future claim to the British throne.
11 Camilla And Diana Constantly Competed Over Charles
Princess Diana and Camilla Parker Bowles - who married Prince Charles in 2005 - were always fighting over the man they had to share. Since the 1970s, Charles had been madly in love with Camilla for a long time however she was not future Queen material as she didn't "appear virginal." Instead, Diana was chosen as his bride and the rest of the marriage was a history of scandal.
They finally came to blows when Diana attended the 40th birthday party for Camilla's sister and according to former bodyguard Ken Wharfe, when Diana walked in, Camilla shouted, "Why did that f****** b**** have to come?" According to the Channel 4 documentary, Diana approached Camilla and said, "I would just like you to know that I know exactly what is going on. I'm sorry I'm in the way. It must be hell for both of you… don't treat me like an idiot."
10 Was Diana Doing Everything She Could To Anger The Royals?
According to many royal insiders, Diana was a nightmare to be around towards the end of her marriage and she did everything she could to anger the Queen. When she was invited to the Queen's 67th birthday tea, she arrived with Prince William and Prince Harry carrying balloons and paper crowns - both of which the Queen despises.
Royal biographer Penny Junor also described in her tell-all book how after her divorce from Prince Charles, Diana had become the "ex from hell." She writes: "In many ways, Diana had been the ex from hell. She'd spied on him, made it difficult for him to see his sons, upstaged him, embarrassed him, leaked stories to the Press." Since her passing, the press has calmed down as biographer Richard Fitzwilliams told The Huffington Post, "The paparazzi and press intrusion is still an issue, but it's certainly not the issue that it was when Diana was alive."
9 Diana Caused A Huge Rift Between The Queen And Prince Phillip
As the Queen grew distant from Diana, Prince Phillip decided to attempt to help save his son's marriage by writing dozens of letters to Diana, especially as he accused the Queen of "procrastinating" on the issue. In one of the letters, he wrote: " (I will try) to do my utmost to help you and Charles to the best of my ability. But I am quite ready to concede that I have no talent as a marriage counselor!"
In another letter, he also wrote: "We do not approve of either of you having lovers. Charles was silly to risk everything with Camilla for a man in his position. We never dreamed he might feel like leaving you for her. I cannot imagine anyone in their right mind leaving you for Camilla. Such a prospect never even entered our heads." The letters were intimate and not approved by the Queen - causing an even bigger rift in the family.
8 The Picture That Spoke A Thousand Words
The last nail in the coffin for Princess Diana and Prince Charles was during their 1992 tour of India. The bench outside of the Taj Majal is saved for VIPs to capture the perfect shot in front of the iconic building. Charles and Di were supposed to visit the romantic spot together but instead, she went on her own. The bench is now known affectionately as "Lady Di's Chair."
The image was shared on the front page of newspapers around the world and it captured Diana and all her loneliness. When asked by the press how she felt in the moment, she revealed, "It was a fascinating experience - very healing." The picture didn't lie as just months later the couple officially separated before divorcing in 1996. It was another moment where Diana used the media to get across exactly what she wanted to say.
7 The Divorce Became A Tabloid Frenzy
When Prince Charles and Princess Diana decided to divorce they both went for each other's throats - climbing over each other to release their side of the story first. According to Lord Rothermere, publisher of the Daily Mail and the London Evening Standard, he said, "(They) had each recruited national newspapers to carry their own accounts of their marital rifts."
The press intrusion and this reveal that the tabloid gossip was fueled by the warring couple angered the Queen's private secretary. He told the Press Complaints Commission, "The recent intrusive and speculative treatment by sections of the press - and indeed by broadcasters - of the marriage of the Prince and Princess of Wales is an odious exhibition of journalists dabbling their fingers in the stuff of other people's souls." He raged on, "Such prurient reporting must add to the burdens borne by children whose lives are affected and greatly increase the difficulties for members of the Royal Family in carrying out their obligations to the public."
6 Caught Out Risqué Sunbathing
Two years after her separation from Prince Charles, the former Princess enjoyed a girls' holiday in Malaga, Spain, and believing she was in a private garden - she removed her bikini top. Paparazzi caught the moment on camera and the pictures of a topless Diana were circulated around the media. It was once again another red-faced embarrassment for the royal family.
This level of intrusion was very familiar for Diana, the former press secretary for the palace told Vogue, "One of the greatest violations was when she went on a visit to Egypt. Diana loved to swim every day. A couple of the photographers actually booked rooms in an office building overlooking the ambassador's residence and took long shots with telephoto lenses of her swimming. Now, that is tantamount to an invasion of privacy."
5 Flirting With Celebrity
When Diana visited America as a guest of President Reagan, she took the moment to enjoy a midnight dance with one of the hottest celebrities of the decade - Grease star John Travolta. That was when this iconic photo, which was one of the first to merge the royal family with celebrity, was captured forever.
During an interview with Good Morning America, John Travolta said of the moment, "Yes, I danced with Princess Diana in 1986, I believe. That was one of the highlights of my life, so that's probably the best moment of the eighties." It's quite widely known that Prince Charles was never the best dancer. So this moment was likely one where Diana finally got to meet her match when it came to a dance partner.
4 THAT Panorama Interview That Revealed Everything
Princess Diana's BBC Panorama interview with Martin Bashir was one of the most damning for the royal family. She spoke openly about her battles with self-harming, bulimia and of course - her husband's affair with Camilla Parker Bowles. When Bashir asked Diana, "Do you think Mrs. Parker-Bowles was a factor in the breakdown of your marriage?" She replied openly, "Well, there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded." The condemning interview was watched by more than 21 million people.
The Queen was so angered by the interview that she 'sacked' the BBC as the producers of her special annual Christmas message - instead, they moved the message to ITV for the next two years. After all that, Diana deeply regretted the interview as her former press secretary revealed, "I think by the time of the broadcast, she deeply regretted it, not least because it did nothing to advance her cause."
3 Her Publicized Romance With Dodi Was Hated By The Royals
Following her divorce from Prince Charles, Diana began a romantic affair with the son of Harrod's boss Mohammed Al Fayed - Dodi. Tony Blair was the Prime Minister at the time and in his memoir, he recalls how he went a walk with the Princess to express how her new relationship made everyone feels "uneasy." Blair wrote, "It had not been all that easy. (Her relationship) was a problem. This was not for the obvious reasons, which would have made some frown on him; his nationality, religion or background don't matter a hoot to me. I couldn't frankly say, but I felt uneasy."
On August 31st, 1997, Diana was killed in a car crash in a tunnel in Paris alongside Dodi Fayed and the driver, Henri Paul. Only Diana's bodyguard, Trevor Rees-Jones, survived the crash. It was a tragedy that many still have not recovered from.
2 They Hated How The Media Displayed Her In A Sensual Light
When the paparazzi stalked out Diana throughout her life, they would pick the pictures that sold the most and these were often her most intimate shots. When it came to snapping a picture of Princess Di, they would often use some shocking tactics. The former press secretary for the palace told Vogue, "When William and Harry had their sports day - they used to have them at a private club - the media would put their stepladders up against the wall and take photographs over the wall. Before the press regulation came in about photographing children, they did anything and everything to get photographs."
Looking back, Prince William remembers having a happy childhood and wishes his mother was still around today. Prince William told British GQ magazine, "I would like to have had her advice. I would love her to have met Catherine and to have seen the children grow up. It makes me sad that she won't, that they will never know her."
1 There Were Candid Photos Displaying Diana's Sadness And Inner Turmoil
Princess Diana tried to hide her secret suffering from the public - which was the wishes of the palace - but when you're one of the most photographed women in the world, it's hard to hide the tough times. During her Panorama interview, Diana revealed that she cut herself to deal with the pain she was feeling inside, she revealed, "I did inflict upon myself. I didn't like myself, I was ashamed because I couldn't cope with the pressures. I just hurt my arms and my legs, and I work in environments now where I see women doing similar things and I'm able to understand completely where they're coming from."
She also suffered from bulimia and revealed, "I had bulimia for a number of years. You inflict it upon yourself because your self-esteem is at a low ebb, and you don't think you're worthy or valuable. You fill your stomach up four or five times a day - it's like having a pair of arms around you. Then you're disgusted at the bloatedness of your stomach, and then you bring it all up again." It was quite clear from her comments that Diana had suffered for a very long time.
