On July 29, 1981, Lady Diana Spencer took "Philip Charles Arthur George"
— she mangled the order of Prince Charles'' names during her vows — as her
lawful wedded husband and entered a family hidebound by practices no outsider
could fathom.
It turned out to be much more than she bargained for. It also turned out
to be much more than they bargained for. But for the media, it was a golden
bonanza.
The Media Maelstrom
"The media changed dramatically in that decade of the 1980s," says Bob
Houston, publisher of Royalty Monthly magazine.
"Diana was the spearhead of the American invasion of Britain, the celebrity
culture," says Houston.
"The British media is changing. It is becoming much more celebrity-driven.
And we had this No. 1 celebrity."
Diana, with her photogenic good looks, her sympathetic gestures and an
air of vulnerability, seemed much more relaxed than the other royals, and
much more accessible. She instantly clicked with the public, who couldn''t
get enough of her.
"From the time she entered public life, Diana conveyed her vulnerability
with her eyes, her gestures, her speech, and her touch," Sally Bedell Smith
wrote in her book Diana in Search of Herself. "Alongside her beauty, this
evident fragility made her a star."
Newspaper editors found the public was eager to lap up articles about Diana,
her clothes, her style, her public engagements, how she was raising her
two young sons. The ''80s, says Houston, were "the Decade of Diana."
The ''90s were also good for the tabloids and royal watchers. By the late
''80s, the press — and the public — had caught on to the fact that Diana
and Charles were rarely together. By 1990, many were aware the marriage
of the Prince and Princess of Wales was far from happy. But divorce did
not seem like a possibility.
Fairy Princess and Everywoman
Then, in June 1992, the carefully constructed façade imploded with
the publication of Andrew Morton''s Diana: Her True Story. The book — written
with Diana''s cooperation — exposed the princess''s battles with bulimia
and depression, and reviled Charles as an unfaithful husband.
The revelations of Charles'' relationship with a married woman, Camilla
Parker Bowles, sent the Prince of Wales'' popularity plummeting. But the
revelations of Diana''s problems did not decrease the public''s affection
for her. It only increased their appetite to know more.
"Once the breadth and depth of her emotional struggle became known," wrote
Smith, "she struck an even deeper chord: She became the fairy-princess
version of the troubled everywoman."
The tabloid fodder kept coming: There was the royal separation, the two
camps'' attempts to woo the public, the televised admissions by both Charles
and Diana of adultery. After the divorce became final, in 1996, the media
continued to follow Diana''s every move. And then, on Aug. 31, 1997, came
the car crash in a Paris tunnel that claimed her life.
The massive outpouring of public grief made the Windsors sit up and take
notice. "The amazing eruption of emotion over her death got through to
them that their world has had to change," says Houston.
Charles Gets the Message
The person who really got the message was Prince Charles, who witnessed
not only the public reaction but the grief of his own sons, William and
Harry.
"One of the great discussions, especially since Diana''s death, is, How
does the House of Windsor modernize itself?" says Houston. "They certainly
learned the lessons from the decade of Diana in terms of accessibility,
shedding some of the more pompous aspects of formality."
Charles, along with his sister Princess Anne, have tried to bring the monarchy
more in line with the times, although they''ve faced opposition from some
of the older royals, like Prince Philip, Houston says. "It''s very difficult
to teach old dogs new tricks."
Since her death, there have been several books touting new revelations
about Diana. Smith suggests the princess may have suffered from "borderline
personality disorder." Shadows of a Princess, by Diana''s former private
secretary Patrick Jephson, paints the princess in a rather unflattering
light, describing her as insecure, volatile and vindictive.
Houston doesn''t think negative portrayals have hurt Diana''s image as the
"People''s Princess." "She was manipulative," he acknowledges, "it''s just
an aspect of her people didn''t realize."
It does not detract from what he sees as the princess''s greatest legacy:
her sons. Diana was determined that William and Harry would have as normal
lives as possible. During the four years since her death, Houston says,
"the grand work that she has done bringing up the boys" has been very evident.
"Charles has picked up the baton and is running with it very well," he
says. "Credit should go to Charles for carrying that on. [But] Diana had
them as children."
With the death of the fairy princess, the media and the public has felt
a void. "One of the greatest challenges the royal family faces is to overcome
the apathy" of the public regarding the monarchy, says Houston.
On the other hand, he says, the future looks bright for the royals. "I
think they''ve got a trump card in William."
Queen Camilla?
Since Diana''s death, one of the big questions surrounding the future of
the monarchy has been: Can Camilla ever become queen?
Prince Charles has gradually become more public about his relationship
with Mrs. Parker Bowles. In June, royal watchers were abuzz with the news
that Charles had greeted his longtime love with a kiss — on the cheek —
at a charity reception she hosted. British bookmakers immediately slashed
the odds that the couple would marry within the next two years.
The public has become more accepting of Charles'' relationship with Camilla
since the death of Diana. But a marriage might rock the boat.
Parker Bowles is divorced, an obstacle, given Charles'' future position
as head of the Church of England. And he could not marry without the queen''s
approval.
"Will she ever be Queen Camilla? There are people who thump the table"
in anger at the suggestion, says Royalty Monthly''s Bob Houston. "The younger
generation wonders what all the fuss is about."
Diana''s summer romance with Dodi Fayed turned out to be her last chance
at love. But despite reports that Fayed had planned to present the princess
with an opulent ring on the night they were killed, few royal watchers
think Diana would have married him.
In fact, Diana hooked up with Dodi when she was on the rebound. Her two-year
romance with Hasnat Khan, a Pakistani surgeon who worked at a London hospital,
had just collapsed. Khan''s family said he couldn''t cope with the media
attention, which was interfering with his practice of medicine.
