Diana, Princess of Wales (UK)

[nuharoo]

bagatelle said:

The thing that really bugged me about Diana was she didn't seem to appreciate all she DID have. I have read Morton's book and have seen a number of programmes on the CBC (that originated at Granada and the BBC) and they all are now saying she had some serious mental problems.

The girl had everything! More than the rest of us will ever have. Great looks, wonderful, healthy kids, a huge amount of money, an extravagant lifestyle, nannies, world adoration, people who really wanted to be her friend, access to everything from celebrities to energy healers. So ONE guy didn't love her. IT HAPPENS! Appreciate all the fabulous things you were given in life and be content with it. Be grateful!

If ONE GUY can cause you to have such misery, with sharp mood swings, feelings of loneliness, boredom and emptiness and impulsive behavior such as binge eating and self-mutilation -- and you still have this chronically and persistently YEARS after the divorce and years after you have had a few nice love affairs yourself, (the doctor, the Squidgie guy, Hewitt, her body guard, Dodi)... well then I do think you have some mental problems.

I agree. It makes my brain hurt with all the things she had. I read a book briefly called "The Princess and the Duchess" and it described in detail the luxurious things that Diana and Fergie could indulge in. When I work at my little icky job stocking produce and dealing with one irate customer after another it burns that Diana could possibly want more of anything. Seriously top position in society, security, and two healthy kids. I don't think she ever learned how to appreciate things.

[Deleted]

I don't hate her or love her, but one thing always bothers me about the tell-alls-yes, she got fed a shit sandwhich (nods), but at the same time, did she ever stop and think about how her villifying Charles would affect her sons? Like it or not, when you're a parent, you almost always should stop and think how something like that would affect your kids.

So yes, leave the guy, but don't start dishing all the naughty little details when you have two children in the spotlight.

I think the best comparison to Diana would be Queen Alexandra, wife of Edward VII. (Hell one of HIS mistresses was Camilla's great-grandmother!) Alix also had to deal with a philandering husband and although I would imagine that Queen Victoria was more sympathetic to Alix than Elizabeth was to Diana, she wasn't the easiest person to live with. Also Alix was deaf and had a borderline retarded child (the eldest, Prince Eddy, who thankfully died and put his brother, George, in line for the throne).
She had that mixture of extreme selfishness (kept her daughter Victoria as a virtual slave all her life and never let her marry) and generosity (befriended Joseph Merrick, aka the Elephant Man and kept a regular correspondance with him until her death; probably the one who cared the most about poor little disabled Prince John).
And as for mental problems, Prince Phillip's mother would have given Diana a run for her money. (At one point she was institutionalized-she insisted on sleeping on the floor, wearing rags and refused to eat, while claiming she had sexual intercourse with Christ himself.)

[nuharoo]

From what I remember reading she grew up very undiciplined at home and frequently did malicious things to servants that she and her little brother Charles (currently Earl Spencer) didn't like such as throwing clothes out of the window and putting pins in the seat of the chairs they sat on. Furthermore when her stepmother Raine lived at Althorp Diana would write poisonous letters, always anonymous. Her parents spoiled them nonstop, letting them get whatever they wanted at Christmas no matter what the cost.

The girl had everything! More than the rest of us will ever have. Great looks, wonderful, healthy kids, a huge amount of money, an extravagant lifestyle, nannies, world adoration, people who really wanted to be her friend, access to everything from celebrities to energy healers. So ONE guy didn't love her. IT HAPPENS! Appreciate all the fabulous things you were given in life and be content with it. Be grateful!

If ONE GUY can cause you to have such misery, with sharp mood swings, feelings of loneliness, boredom and emptiness and impulsive behavior such as binge eating and self-mutilation

When I think about it I think it could have been "the one thing she couldn't have" syndrome. She wanted IT ALL!! NOt to mention the blow to her ego: the most beautiful woman in the world and Charles goes for Camilla who is not considered beautiful by the press.

[phenobarbara]

did she ever stop and think about how her villifying Charles would affect her sons? Like it or not, when you're a parent, you almost always should stop and think how something like that would affect your kids.

Pity Charles didn't think the same way when he announced on national t.v. that he never loved Diana. Guess he didn't think of the kids, either.

[Auroranorth]

Her parent's divorce was a real mess- her maternal grandmother sided with her father and her mother lost custody of the children. Remember, they were divorced on grounds of adultery? Then her father came home with Raine- messy divorce #2, also for adultery. All of these were things that everyone knew about. Nice people didn't get divorced then. The Queen's own cousin the Earl of Harewood was divorced around the same time and was banished from the family circle for years afterward. Her mother wasn't around and her father simply refused to control the children. Not surprisingly, they were all badly behaved- the eldest less so, the younger more so.

Pity Charles didn't think the same way when he announced on national t.v. that he never loved Diana. Guess he didn't think of the kids, either.

Way to boost your image as a loving father.

[Deleted]

phenobarbara said:

did she ever stop and think about how her villifying Charles would affect her sons? Like it or not, when you're a parent, you almost always should stop and think how something like that would affect your kids.

Pity Charles didn't think the same way when he announced on national t.v. that he never loved Diana. Guess he didn't think of the kids, either.

Ouch. Damn, no wonder Harry's so messed up.

[PearlySweetcake]

She's been gone eight years as of today. How the time has flown.

[Karrit]

I kept waiting for someone else to post the link to this tacky statue. I finally got off my duff and linked it, cause I really need to snark on it.

I have never believed that Diana's fling with Dodi was more than a summer romance.

And the more Mr. al Fayed tries to push the theory that D&D were soulmates 4EVA, the more I know I am right.

[comfortablynumb]

karrit said:

I kept waiting for someone else to post the link to this tacky statue. I finally got off my duff and linked it, cause I really need to snark on it.

I have never believed that Diana's fling with Dodi was more than a summer romance.

And the more Mr. al Fayed tries to push the theory that D&D were soulmates 4EVA, the more I know I am right.

Geez Louise, what the hell is that thing?

[Karrit]

Geez Louise, what the hell is that thing?

It is Dodi and Diana in some kind of tango stance with an albatross fleeing the hideousness of the whole thing. It is now on display at Harrod's.