Diana, Princess of Wales - Myth, mystery and truth

I do not think she would have been able to function without it. She would have gone into full blown culture shock and I believe that she would have been unable the adjust well to it. Most middle class housewives go into shock if their husbands leave them and then end up having to adjust to a working class life and I also believe that Diana would have been unable to handle the loss of "Princess of Wales" that would have removed her completely from the royal scene. This is someone who thought that waiting in line was an entertaining novel experience and who didn't discover microwave meals until near her death and she was still getting haute cuisine, not fast food as her only option a a result of a reduced budget to live on. If she had had to fly coach as a result of being required and not out of a form of entertainment, she would have had a literal seizure. She would not have been able to just waltz in on whim and would have had serious problems learning how to handle being treated with a considerable lack of respect that comes with being first class throughout one's life. I also believe that she would have freaked out at not being as coddled in terms of fawning staff.

If she had married Dodi or Hasnat Khan, she would have ended up being losing "Princess of Wales" and who knows what else. She is not someone who ever really knew what it was to seriously budget and even as a high school dropout, she was living in London, doing a handful of small token 'jobs,' and was someone who still went to posh upper tier parties and it is clear that for someone without qualifications, she was doing quite well. There is no way that Diana would have been allowed to retain any kind of royal rank and there is no way she would have been able to fit a fraction of her wardrobe in Hasnat's home. There is also the question of where they would live and if she had married Hasnat, she would have struggled to adjust to the culture shock that came with the loss of the rest of her titles and deference she still received. "Lady Diana Fayed" would have had doors shut in her face that were open to "Princess of Wales" and then there would have been the reality that her toady celebrity friends would have cut her out and she would have struggled to realize that it took more than looks and titles to make her way in this world. There is no way that she would have been able to function as a middle class doctor's wife and there is no way that Diana would have been able to end up handling life as a wife of Dodi Fayed. Despite his wealth, he would not have been able to give her the kind of respect that as mother of a future king (something she would never stop rubbing in everyone's face at every chance) the kind of life that Charles gave her. With Charles, Diana was received by heads of state and fawned over by charities and other cultural institutions. With Dodi, those doors would have shut in her face and second, the value system of the world that she epitomized at the time would have turned on her with a vengeance. There is also no way that either Hasnat or Dodi would have been able to teach her to handle worse press, or less respect than that she was used to. It is also clear that she would have been dropped by both men after both got sick of her natural condescension (something she hid well from the public) and there is no way that either would have put up with her temperamental behavior or put up with her self destructive personality traits. Dodi would have tolerated it more since his father would have never stopped giving Dodi anything he asked for, but after a few years of Diana reminding him that she was the mother of the future king, I believe he would have lost patience and kicked her out of his life.

She was in the first flush of her freedom from a toxic situation, of course she loved it. She didn't have state banquets or any kind of real standard or schedule that she had to adhere to. It's not like she had yet experienced any negative press, or experience the press moving onto the newest hottest public figure. She was fresh from it and the world would like to see what she would make of her new life. Then there was the fact that she was still viewed and marketed as the victim by the press that was still dominant in deciding who was liked and who was not and she was their little darling. She had also just inaugurated the era of celebrity activism, which resulted in a lot of entertainers believing that their looks and wealth entitled them to influence politics or diplomacy more than someone who has dedicated their lives to one subject or another. I honestly believe that it is frustrating that the media gives airtime to some airhead entertainer and not to someone who is actually educated on the topic and has actual experience. I resent this 'activist' approach that far too many 'modern' royals have in regards to actual serious topics. Despite their limitless resources (I mean, the Norwegian and Swedish royals meet Nobel Laureates EVERY YEAR) they are woefully under-educated and I GET IT that they have degrees, but so does everyone else on this planet. I honestly wish the UN would put a stop to celebrity speeches and put a stop to these morons being allowed to waste space and time just pushing themselves into discussions that they are not qualified to listen in on.

Diana was someone very special and I bitterly regret that she was not as intellectually trained as she should have been. It is also bitterly regrettable that she was overthrown before she was able to really bloom as a Princess Consort and it is bitterly regrettable that the mistress was allowed to become a wife. She NEVER should have been treated with such disrespect and it is clear that Camilla had a LOT of GALL meeting with a Ladyship who was WAY above her in rank and allowed to condescend towards her at all. Diana at the time of her engagement was also just about to be Princess of Wales and as a result, future QUEEN CONSORT and it is clear that Camilla was railroading Diana into unwittingly 'agreeing' to 'terms' and that would somehow signify that Diana approved of Camilla being official mistress. That scene of Camilla chatting with Diana at that lunch in "The Crown" is possibly the most unnerving scene in the entire series. A Ladyship and soon to be royal princess consort is in fact being fast talked by a woman who has nothing but ill intentions and is talking down on someone  who is already higher rank. Camilla was gentry and was someone who had no business pulling what she did. On anyone. Even then it is clear that Diana's higher rank and future increase in rank meant nothing to Camilla.

As for Charles, I regret that he was never groomed out of his uptight nature and if he had been, he might have felt more secure about his wife's popularity. I also think that a huge part of his insecurity comes from the fact that he was not educated in anything practical and as a result, lived a fruit loop life without realizing that there were ways to attain the respect and substance that he craved. Diana would have been better suited to be married to a politician, not a prince. Her love of crowds and personality would have made sure that her husband would have attained and kept office and he would NEVER have let any sidepiece cross any lines. If Charles had had a more political mindset, he would have turned out better and had a much better appreciation for the good things in his life. He had his dream house, he had a beautiful young wife, two fine sons and the ability to have more. He also would have had a mistress who was still happily married to her first husband and living an undemanding privileged life. Win-win really and he would have not had the self pitying mindset that he had throughout the best setup of his life. Right after his marriage he had it ALL and just NEVER appreciated it.

If anything good comes out of this pandemic, it is the fact that celeb/activism culture will be dead as a door-nail. I do not think that most celeb activists will understand that Diana was not 'one of them' and she was never really a woman who was 'just' rich and young and attractive, she was the consort of the Prince of Wales. That is how she got the kind of access that she did. Not because she was famous. A lot of celebs really rode on her coattails and it is creepy how Elton John just refuses to get on with life and still fixates on something that happened thirty years ago (almost) and how he attended the weddings of William and Harry despite the fact that neither is a relative and neither seems close enough to be had at their wedding. Elton talks about the press hounding her, but it does not take into consideration that Diana did tip off the press and that Diana was under scrutiny since she was married to Prince Charles. There was legitimate public interest. It wasn't because of a modeling career or a hit film, it was something else entirely. If she had not been as celebritized as she was, she would have been a much more effective consort.

If Camilla hadn't overthrown her, being a roving ambassador for UK charities and culture would have been a solidly effective double act. Imagine being able to expand the Prince's Trust to the Commonwealth countries and basically knit the Commonwealth countries together to the UK via that. Forget about Europe or the Middle East, the Commonwealth countries would be bound together better and quite honestly, that would have been the best possible asset.

Of course she did, who wouldn't? She didn't marry a monk or a regular doctor, she went after and landed a prince.

Pity they didn't realize the same. Elton really does think that Diana was just like him and that he has some kind of proxy-parent status with the princes and it is clear that too many entertainers think of themselves as somehow royal. Elvis with his preference for Camilla and others with their often expressed snobbery. Diana was where she was because of her status as a royal consort; others (for some reason) receive entertainers knowing that if they do not indulge the delusions of these entertainers, they can't get autographs for their kids. As for Jolie and Rihanna, it still isn't the same, really it isn't. They didn't make Diana's same personal sacrifices.

I really wish that certain lines had no been blurred and it is regrettable that Diana was befriending members of the press like Arthur Edwards and others who got WAY to emotionally and psychologically involved with the lives of William and Harry in ways that were NOT healthy. Is it any wonder that things became a huge mess? She was only flawed in the area that she mistook public popularity as a validation for more delusional aspects of her mindset. She made the mistake of thinking that it would be okay to 'let them in' and took it for granted that they wouldn't cross certain lines that she did not think would be crossed.

She somehow went astray and didn't value the staff that were just trying to help her stay on track and out of that media mess and at some point, she just went too far with Panorama and mistakenly thought that challenging Charles to give up his mistress or give up his position, publicly, would be the most insane act of her life. He should have been given that ultimatum, but not by Diana, but by either the Queen or Parliament, not his consort. At that point in time, she really did think that she could use that fame and adulation to control her husband and the rest of the dynasty, but she never, never realized that it wasn't her place.

Regrettably, like a lot of celebrities, she failed to realize that fame and adulation does not translate into the right to make choices over something that is set in stone. I can't get over how she openly declared war on her husband like that. War on the succession, literally.