The Royals Part 15

Having enjoyed Australia as an exchange student, Charles was open to his mother's idea for a job there after his wedding. He and Diana would move to Canberra, the capital, and Charles would become governor-general. The position paid an annual salary larger than the premier's, but it did not carry great powers, other than commander in chief of the armed forces. Under the Australian const.i.tution, it would enable him to summon and dissolve Parliament and carry the kind of responsibility that the Queen felt her son needed. She had discussed the appointment with her Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, who approached the Foreign Office in 1980; she reported back that Charles had permission to "informally explore the possibility" during his next Australian tour. But, on that trip, Charles decided if the position were to be offered, he would have to refuse because the Australian Prime Minister was too dour.

"The difficulty is that he does not have any humor," Charles told Diana in a phone call from Australia that was secretly taped. "He is terribly serious. I made a terrific effort to be amusing, but he just stared at me all the time."

That was just one of the five phone calls between Charles and his fiancee, and Charles and his mother, that had been recorded. The tapes, made by anti-British republicans within the Australian telephone company, were given to a freelance British reporter, who tried to sell them in England. Afraid of further straining relations with Australia, which had been threatening to break away from the Commonwealth, the Queen's courtiers moved swiftly. They called the Queen's lawyers, who claimed the transcripts were not authentic.* The Queen's courts agreed and issued an injunction to prevent publication of the transcripts in England. The Queen's lawyers then sought an injunction in West Germany, but they were too late: extracts had appeared in the magazine The Queen's courts agreed and issued an injunction to prevent publication of the transcripts in England. The Queen's lawyers then sought an injunction in West Germany, but they were too late: extracts had appeared in the magazine Die Aktuelle Die Aktuelle and were translated from German to English and published in the and were translated from German to English and published in the Irish Independent. Irish Independent.

In one of the purported conversations, Diana mentioned her wedding preparations and complained about the behavior of her stepmother, Raine, who had appeared on British television. Standing alongside her beaming husband, Countess Spencer did all the talking. The Earl Spencer, who never completely recovered from his stroke, smiled benignly.

"She's got Daddy autographing photos and selling them in the gift shop," said Diana. "It's so embarra.s.sing." She added that her stepmother was conducting paid tours. Priced at $2.50, the fee included tea with "the ghastly pink lady," as Diana now referred to Barbara Cartland. "The wedding," she said, "will be a catastrophe if Raine continues."

"Don't worry too much about that," Charles told her. "Edward [Adeane] can organize it when we come back. You will see the Queen will be in a position to give the necessary instructions so that objections will not be possible."

"Yes, I know," said Diana. "But can I not have any say about my own wedding?"

"Naturally, but let your mother advise you."

"I will, I promise," said Diana. "I really don't want to complain, Charles, really not. I'm going to talk through everything tomorrow with Mummy. She has a very good feeling for things like this. She's very sensible."

The Spectator Spectator had already put out the call for Diana's mother to take over. Following Raine's television interview, the conservative magazine pleaded: "Come home, Mrs. Shand Kydd, your country needs you." In an editorial railing against the partic.i.p.ation of Raine Spencer and Barbara Cartland in the royal wedding, Alexander Chancellor wrote: "If a special Act of Parliament is necessary, so be it. For it would be more than a little unfair on everybody if these two absurdly theatrical ladies were permitted to turn a moving national celebration into a pantomime." had already put out the call for Diana's mother to take over. Following Raine's television interview, the conservative magazine pleaded: "Come home, Mrs. Shand Kydd, your country needs you." In an editorial railing against the partic.i.p.ation of Raine Spencer and Barbara Cartland in the royal wedding, Alexander Chancellor wrote: "If a special Act of Parliament is necessary, so be it. For it would be more than a little unfair on everybody if these two absurdly theatrical ladies were permitted to turn a moving national celebration into a pantomime."

Diana could do nothing about keeping her stepmother away from the wedding, but she was adamant about her stepgrandmother. "She struck Barbara Cartland from the guest list," said a former aide to Prince Charles, who tried to intercede. Six months later the aide was fired.

"It was so cruel to do that to Barbara," he said. "She was distraught, really deeply hurt, but there was nothing we could do. Diana had insisted her stepgrandmother not be allowed near St. Paul's Cathedral, and the Queen did not object. Barbara was so humiliated she wanted to go abroad for the wedding day, but her sons said that it would make it look as though she had been banished."

To save face, Barbara Cartland gave a party for the volunteers of the St. John's Ambulance Brigade. Forgoing her usual costume of ostrich feathers, she wore the tailored brown uniform of the Order of St. John and appeared on international television in a feature about the organization. She a.s.serted that the St. John volunteers were devoted to providing "a Christian answer to the problems of a troubled and materialistic world."

By then even the spiritual partic.i.p.ants were cas.h.i.+ng in on the royal wedding. The Archbishop of Canterbury had divulged to the media details of a private conversation he had had with Charles and Diana.* And the three choirs of St. Paul's Cathedral had collected $1,200 each for 250 singers. By comparison, Barbara Cartland seemed positively benign. And the three choirs of St. Paul's Cathedral had collected $1,200 each for 250 singers. By comparison, Barbara Cartland seemed positively benign.

During one of her conversations with Charles in Australia, Diana said she felt overwhelmed by having to learn so much in such a short time. "I'm so excited that I can't concentrate properly," she said. "I miss you very much."

"I miss you, too," he said, adding that he was late for a party but his hosts would have to wait. "I've done my duty all day and now I'm talking to my fiancee, whom I love very much." He told her about the Di look-alikes who had greeted him at the airport in Australia. "Not as good as the real thing," he said. She giggled. He complained about the press.

"During the whole trip, this guy had nothing better to do than to try to take photographs of the bald patch on my head."

Diana laughed. "I didn't know you had a bald patch."

"It's too stupid. I'm doing all of these things and the only thing they want are these ridiculous details."

"I think it's very funny."

"Yes. As children, we were all very amused at the way my father tried to hide his baldness."

"Oh, I really hope that yours is not as big as his," she said. "In any event, you seem to have much more fun than I do."

This was as close as Diana came to complaining about her royal tutelage. She pretended to Charles that she adored the Queen Mother but told friends she was "virtually ignored" for the few days she stayed with her in Clarence House. After Diana was moved into Buckingham Palace, she was given a small office near Oliver Everett, Charles's a.s.sistant private secretary. Everett was amused the first time she bounced into his office wearing headphones and workout tights. He soon learned that her weekly dance cla.s.s took precedence over every other activity and that she loved rock and roll. "I actually wanted to be a dancer," she said, "but I overshot the height by a long way." She watched television day and night and was devoted to soap operas. The courtier began his cla.s.ses in how to be a princess by giving Diana instructions on her royal engagements, which would average 170 a year and include Ascot, Trooping the Color, Badminton Horse Trials, Opening of Parliament, Chelsea Flower Show, Wimbledon, Garden Parties, Cowes Regatta, Hospital benefits, charities, and anything for the military.

The Queen's lady-in-waiting, Susan Hussey, helped Everett guide the Princess-to-be through the maze of royal rules: wear hats in public and bright colors to stand out; wave from the elbow, not the wrist; never use a public lavatory. "The worst thing about being a princess," said Diana years later, "is having to pee."

Everett hit his first snag when he recommended a course of study and gave Diana several history books to read about her future role as Princess of Wales. In the throes of bulimia, and lonely for Charles, she balked. When the equerry left the room, she told a friend that she threw the books on the floor. "If he thinks I'm reading these," she said, "he's got another think coming."

Weak from losing weight, she frequently cracked under the strain of preparing for one of the biggest ceremonies in British history. "I think I am realizing now what it all means," she told a reporter a few weeks before the wedding, "and it's making me more and more scared." She broke into tears in front of photographers at a polo match and had to be whisked away by her mother. "It was a bit much for her," Prince Charles explained to the press. Privately he told friends he was worried. "I wonder if she is going to be able to cope with the pressures."

An avid tennis player, Diana attended the finals at Wimbledon but left the royal box before U.S. tennis star John McEnroe won. He had objected to thirteen calls, shouted obscenities, and cursed the umpire. "I always get robbed because of the f.u.c.king umpires in this country," he snarled.

"The wedding's off now," said one television commentator, watching the abrupt exit. "Lady Di's ears are no longer virgin."

In the tea room below, Diana met the Wimbledon women's champion, Chris Evert, who asked why Prince Charles was not with her.

"He can never sit still," said Diana. "He is like a great big baby. But one day I hope to calm him down enough to enjoy it."

Diana admitted to the tennis star that she was nervous about getting married. "I a.s.sured her that marriage was great, and she had nothing to be concerned about," said Evert, then married to the British tennis star John Lloyd, whom she later divorced. "I told her to relax and think about other things."

The men who worked for Prince Charles also tried to be rea.s.suring and help Diana ease into her future responsibilities. They showed her the daily and monthly events calendar and explained the tour schedule, which was planned six months in advance. Her only concern was the Prince's relations.h.i.+ps with other women. His staff did not know how to deal with her persistent and personal questions. "I asked Charles if he was still in love with Camilla Parker Bowles," Diana said to Francis Cornish, "and he didn't give me a clear answer. What am I to do?" His a.s.sistant personal secretary lowered his eyes and changed the subject.

A few days later Michael Colborne, who was Charles's personal a.s.sistant, faced more uncomfortable queries. On his desk Diana had found a bracelet Colborne had ordered for Charles as a farewell present for his mistress. The gold bracelet with a lapis lazuli stone was engraved with the initials G.F. G.F. [Girl Friday]. Diana pressed Colborne about the gift and asked to know whom it was for. "I know it's for Camilla," she said. "So why won't you admit it? What does it mean? Why is Charles doing this?" Reluctantly Colborne acknowledged that he had ordered the present, but he refused to answer any more questions. He, too, lost his job shortly after the wedding. [Girl Friday]. Diana pressed Colborne about the gift and asked to know whom it was for. "I know it's for Camilla," she said. "So why won't you admit it? What does it mean? Why is Charles doing this?" Reluctantly Colborne acknowledged that he had ordered the present, but he refused to answer any more questions. He, too, lost his job shortly after the wedding.

Diana confronted Charles, who admitted that the bracelet from Asprey's was for Camilla Parker Bowles. He said he intended to give her the present in person to say good-bye. He maintained that the farewell gift would put a full stop to their affair. Diana didn't believe him. They quarreled, and she ran out of his office in tears. She later confided to her sisters that she didn't want to marry a man who was still in love with his mistress. "It's bad luck, Duch," said her sister Sarah, using the family nickname for Diana. "Your face is on the tea towels, so you're too late to chicken out now." For weeks feminists had been wearing b.u.t.tons that warned, "Don't Do It, Di!"

The next day Diana retaliated by striking Camilla's name from the guest list for the wedding breakfast. She also crossed off the name of Lady Dale "Kanga" Tryon. She could not keep them from the wedding, but she insisted they be barred from the breakfast. Charles, who had grown up watching his father shuffle mistresses like a deck of cards, decided not to press the issue with his edgy fiancee. He told his private secretary that he didn't understand Diana's sudden moods and sulks, and her crying jags unnerved him. He also said he was alarmed by what one of his equerries had told him about her sitting hunched in a chair for hours with her head on her knees, absolutely inconsolable. Charles said he found such behavior to be irrational and unsettling. His private secretary dismissed Diana's behavior as wedding nerves.

Charles, never a decisive man, now reevaluated his decision to marry Diana. He visited his sister at Gatcombe Park and confided his doubts. Princess Anne, who was a month from giving birth to her second child, was in no mood for her brother's soul-searching whines. Airily she dismissed him as gumless. "Charles," she said, "you've got to play the hand you're dealt." She repeated Queen Victoria's advice to her daughter on how to survive the act of love: "Just close your eyes and think of England."

Still pondering his decision, the Prince visited a former lover, Zoe Sallis, in London. Her Ebury Street apartment was a few yards from the police station, where patrolmen watched Charles arrive and depart. He tried to disguise himself by wearing a gray fedora hat, which he pulled over his forehead. Several policemen, watching from a window, laughed at the royal camouflage. One said, "He looks like a bloke with big ears in a bonnet."

"Zoe told me later that Prince Charles had confided in her his misery and fear of marrying Diana," said Time Time's Roland Flamini, "but he felt he had a duty to go through with it."

Resigned to prudence over pa.s.sion, Charles visited Broadlands, where he planned to spend the first part of his honeymoon. "Five days before the royal wedding," said John Barratt, shaking his head, "Charles told myself and Lord Romsey [Mountbatten's grandson] that Camilla was the only woman he had ever loved. He told us, 'I could never feel the same way about Diana as I do about Camilla.' Lord Romsey simply a.s.sured him that his feelings would, most likely, change."

Although the bride was bulimic and the bridegroom a bounder, they looked like an ideal couple. The public had been entranced by their romance: the Prince had finally finally found his Princess, and after their wedding on July 29, 1981, they would live happily ever after. Abracadabra, and bippitty boppetty boo. Most Britons needed to believe in this fairy tale to distract themselves from the awful reality of inner-city riots, IRA bombings, and widespread unemployment. found his Princess, and after their wedding on July 29, 1981, they would live happily ever after. Abracadabra, and bippitty boppetty boo. Most Britons needed to believe in this fairy tale to distract themselves from the awful reality of inner-city riots, IRA bombings, and widespread unemployment.

The Queen understood the spell a royal wedding could cast on an impoverished country. Despite more than three million people unemployed, Her Majesty did not hesitate to spend taxpayers' money. She felt any expense for ceremony (engraved invitations alone cost $10,000) was a hedge against hopelessness. Much as she disliked the whiff of show business, and the comparisons between royalty and celebrity, she staged an extravaganza worthy of Hollywood, complete with drums, trumpets, and coaches. Her production combined the romance of High Society High Society with the magic of with the magic of Fantasia. Fantasia. She had better costumes and more horses than She had better costumes and more horses than Ben-Hur. Ben-Hur. The royal wedding she produced in 1981 gave the British monarchy its biggest ratings to date and British tourism its greatest revenues. The Queen knew that her crown and country depended on such moments of pageantry. "This is what we do best," said her Lord Chamberlain. The royal wedding she produced in 1981 gave the British monarchy its biggest ratings to date and British tourism its greatest revenues. The Queen knew that her crown and country depended on such moments of pageantry. "This is what we do best," said her Lord Chamberlain.

The site was St. Paul's Cathedral because it could accommodate more people than Westminster Abbey. "I'm glad it's there," said Diana. "It would be too painful for me to marry Charles where my parents were joined for life." The wedding hymn she chose emphasized "the love that asks no questions, the love that pays the price, and lays upon the altar the final sacrifice."

The Queen sent 2,500 invitations* to friends, family, and heads of state, plus the crowned heads of Europe. King Juan Carlos of Spain declined his invitation when he learned the newlyweds would board the royal yacht at Gibraltar during their honeymoon. Spain had long disputed British occupancy of the little colony on the tip of the Iberian peninsula, and the King said Britain's decision to have Charles and Diana join the to friends, family, and heads of state, plus the crowned heads of Europe. King Juan Carlos of Spain declined his invitation when he learned the newlyweds would board the royal yacht at Gibraltar during their honeymoon. Spain had long disputed British occupancy of the little colony on the tip of the Iberian peninsula, and the King said Britain's decision to have Charles and Diana join the Britannia Britannia there was a diplomatic blunder. Face-to-face, Prince Philip told Juan Carlos he was an idiot. "We're fed up with the story of Gibraltar," Philip said, "and it is very expensive at that." there was a diplomatic blunder. Face-to-face, Prince Philip told Juan Carlos he was an idiot. "We're fed up with the story of Gibraltar," Philip said, "and it is very expensive at that."

The President of the United States also declined the Queen's invitation, but only because his White House staff insisted. They told Ronald Reagan that his first foreign trip as President should not be to a glittering spectacle with British royalty. People might get the wrong impression. So his wife went without him. "I'm just crazy about Prince Charles," said Nancy Reagan, who arrived with twenty-six suitcases, eleven hatboxes, seventeen Secret Service men, and one borrowed pair of diamond earrings worth $880,000.

The U.S. networks also invaded London, bidding up the price of window s.p.a.ce along the parade route. The Palace press office issued regular bulletins about the ceremony to be telecast to 750 million people. Journalists, untutored in t.i.tles, learned that Lady Diana Spencer soon would outrank all other women in the realm, except the Queen and the Queen Mother. As an earl's daughter, she was below thirty-eight categories of British women who had t.i.tles superior to her own. But upon her marriage, she soared to the top of the social heap. The ancient t.i.tle of Princess of Wales ent.i.tled her to deep curtsies from all other female royals, including her sister-in-law, the Princess Anne, and her husband's aunt, the Princess Margaret.

"Most definitely, that's the protocol," explained Princess Margaret's butler, "but not the reality. Never in your life would you see Princess Margaret drop a curtsy to anyone but Her Majesty or her mother. After all, Margaret was born royal; Diana was only marrying royalty. There's a big difference. And as for Princess Anne, well, as her father once said, 'If it doesn't fart or eat hay, she isn't interested.' "

The Palace press office announced the formal style for Lady Diana Spencer. "Following the wedding, she will be known as Diana, the Princess of Wales," said an aide. "She's not Princess Diana because she was not born a princess, and she's not the Princess Diana because only children of the sovereign are ent.i.tled to 'the' before their t.i.tle." Americans, who did not understand t.i.tles or their subtleties, called her Princess Di.

In Time, Time, British literary critic Malcolm Muggeridge sounded skeptical about the century's grandest nuptials: "Only fortunetellers, Marxists and Jehovah's Witnesses will venture to prognosticate whether Prince Charles and Lady Diana will actually one day mount the throne as King and Queen of England. In the course of fifty years of knockabout journalism, I have seen too many upheavals of one sort and another to feel any certainty about anything or anyone.... Popularity, however seemingly strong and widespread, can evaporate in an afternoon, and inst.i.tutions that have lasted for centuries disappear overnight. So I can but conclude by simply saying, 'G.o.d bless the Prince and Princess of Wales.' " Within fifteen years the critic looked like a visionary. British literary critic Malcolm Muggeridge sounded skeptical about the century's grandest nuptials: "Only fortunetellers, Marxists and Jehovah's Witnesses will venture to prognosticate whether Prince Charles and Lady Diana will actually one day mount the throne as King and Queen of England. In the course of fifty years of knockabout journalism, I have seen too many upheavals of one sort and another to feel any certainty about anything or anyone.... Popularity, however seemingly strong and widespread, can evaporate in an afternoon, and inst.i.tutions that have lasted for centuries disappear overnight. So I can but conclude by simply saying, 'G.o.d bless the Prince and Princess of Wales.' " Within fifteen years the critic looked like a visionary.

The night before the wedding, the royal family gathered on the balcony of Buckingham Palace for the largest display of fireworks since World War II's Blitz. British police estimated 175,000 people camped on the sidewalks around St. Paul's Cathedral to watch the procession of horse-drawn coaches. Crowds started forming the day before as aristocrats arrived at the Palace for the Queen's ball.

"That evening had a Waterloo feeling to it," said one t.i.tled British woman. "You could almost smell the formaldehyde from the mothb.a.l.l.s. That was the last time I put on my tiara. It was gloriously dotty. We walked down the Mall with our diamonds and our gowns swirling and headed for an enormously grand occasion that everyone wished to be attending, except for those of us who had to go."

After the ball, Diana spent the night in Clarence House. Charles spent the night in the arms of his mistress. Camilla Parker Bowles later confided to her brother-in-law that she had slept with the Prince in his suite at the Palace. "She was cozy in the knowledge she had his heart when he married Diana," said Richard Parker Bowles.

The next day, as she recited her vows, the nervous bride transposed the order of her bridegroom's first two names: Charles Philip Arthur George became Philip Charles Arthur George. But even in error, she charmed. "Well," she said later, "with four names it's quite something to get organized." When the bridegroom pledged to share all his worldly goods, he, too, was nervous. He forgot to include the word "worldly." A prophetic omission, considering what he parted with fifteen years later.

The Princess of Wales was not resigned to giving up her husband to his mistress. Diana was determined to cement her marriage by getting pregnant. She packed accordingly for her honeymoon, taking a green bikini bathing suit that Charles liked, six satin lace teddys, and several sheer nightgowns. He took his fis.h.i.+ng tackle. He also packed one book by Arthur Koestler on parapsychology and five scholarly books by Laurens Van der Post, which he said he wanted to share with his bride. She took two paperbacks by Danielle Steel, although she knew Charles disapproved. "He doesn't like me reading trash novels," she said. "But I love them."

Years later she read a psychological profile about the Unabomber, whose crimes were attributed to his being a loner. A mathematical genius at the age of ten, he took a book on vacation ent.i.tled Romping through Mathematics from Addition to Calculus. Romping through Mathematics from Addition to Calculus. Diana said, "Sounds like Charles on his honeymoon." Diana said, "Sounds like Charles on his honeymoon."

Aboard the royal yacht, Britannia, Britannia, the Princess charmed the crew of 256 navy men, especially the galley staff, whom she pestered for extra desserts. Near the royal stateroom, attendants wore rubber-soled slippers so as not to make any noise that might disturb the royal couple. "We were told to fade into the background," said seaman Philip Benjamin. "We were to act like air. Unless spoken to, we said nothing, just looked straight ahead. Bit difficult at times to look straight ahead with the Princess of Wales das.h.i.+ng about in her nightgowns. the Princess charmed the crew of 256 navy men, especially the galley staff, whom she pestered for extra desserts. Near the royal stateroom, attendants wore rubber-soled slippers so as not to make any noise that might disturb the royal couple. "We were told to fade into the background," said seaman Philip Benjamin. "We were to act like air. Unless spoken to, we said nothing, just looked straight ahead. Bit difficult at times to look straight ahead with the Princess of Wales das.h.i.+ng about in her nightgowns.

"I remember her coming out of the royal suite one afternoon in a filmy white negligee with a pink satin bow at the bosom, which was untied and open. She was trying to lure the Prince away from his books.

" 'Chulls,' she said in a s.e.xy singsong, 'come here and do your duty.' He was reading in a deck chair and she wanted him to go inside and produce an heir. I was standing guard a few feet away and looked straight ahead. She giggled when she realized I had heard her, but she was unembarra.s.sed. She just kept teasing Charles to go to bed with her. She teased him a lot. I never saw the awful moods that His Royal Highness complained about later."

Prince Charles told his authorized biographer, Jonathan Dimbleby, that he learned on the honeymoon his young wife was suffering from bulimia. Charles said it triggered sudden mood s.h.i.+fts, leaving Diana cheerful one minute and morose the next. After two weeks aboard the yacht, the couple joined the royal family at Balmoral. At times Diana felt overwhelmed by the heavy presence of her in-laws and excused herself from meals to throw up. Charles became so concerned about her eating disorder that he contacted Laurens Van der Post and implored him to help. The older man, whom Diana trusted, talked gently with her at each session, but he quickly realized that she needed more professional help than he could provide. He gave Charles the name of a psychiatrist, who made discreet visits to counsel the couple. The therapist met them in their suite at Balmoral at eleven A.M. A.M. for an hour every day. He spent thirty minutes with them together and then thirty minutes alone with Diana, trying to address her anxieties. Charles said he worried about her emotional state. "She's so high-strung," he said. He wondered whether or not his wife was suffering from manic-depression. "What else can explain the moods-vivacious charm in the morning and verbal a.s.saults in the evening?" The therapist recommended tranquilizers. After the honeymoon, Diana continued psychotherapy in London but resisted taking sedatives. For eleven more years her bulimia haunted her. for an hour every day. He spent thirty minutes with them together and then thirty minutes alone with Diana, trying to address her anxieties. Charles said he worried about her emotional state. "She's so high-strung," he said. He wondered whether or not his wife was suffering from manic-depression. "What else can explain the moods-vivacious charm in the morning and verbal a.s.saults in the evening?" The therapist recommended tranquilizers. After the honeymoon, Diana continued psychotherapy in London but resisted taking sedatives. For eleven more years her bulimia haunted her.

"It's an insidious disease from which to recover," she said years later. "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 and it gives you a feeling of comfort. It's like having a pair of arms around you, but it's temporary. Then you're disgusted at the bloatedness of your stomach, and you bring it all up again.... It's a repet.i.tive pattern and very destructive."

Outside Balmoral, the international press had gathered, staking out the entrances and clamoring for photographs. Charles was incensed, saying they had enough photos from following the Britannia Britannia for two weeks with their snoopy long lenses. He was even annoyed at Patrick Lichfield, the Queen's cousin, for having taken a candid shot of the royal wedding party that he sold around the world. "He never even submitted the pictures to the Queen," Charles grumbled. Lichfield's unstaged photo showed the Prince and Princess of Wales and their bridal attendants sitting on the steps of the Throne Room after the wedding, collapsed in laughter. Charles thought the photo taken in a relaxed moment made them look undignified. Having given Lichfield exclusive access to photograph the wedding, Charles felt used. He had not expected him to sell the photos without approval. "I can't believe Lord Lichfield could have let us down so badly," Charles said. Lichfield later made copies of the famous photograph and distributed them instead of business cards. for two weeks with their snoopy long lenses. He was even annoyed at Patrick Lichfield, the Queen's cousin, for having taken a candid shot of the royal wedding party that he sold around the world. "He never even submitted the pictures to the Queen," Charles grumbled. Lichfield's unstaged photo showed the Prince and Princess of Wales and their bridal attendants sitting on the steps of the Throne Room after the wedding, collapsed in laughter. Charles thought the photo taken in a relaxed moment made them look undignified. Having given Lichfield exclusive access to photograph the wedding, Charles felt used. He had not expected him to sell the photos without approval. "I can't believe Lord Lichfield could have let us down so badly," Charles said. Lichfield later made copies of the famous photograph and distributed them instead of business cards.

"He gave me one," said the Pulitzer Prize winning photographer David Hume Kennerly. "He's an arrogant guy, but the picture of Charles and Diana is a great moment."

Charles was in no mood to placate the press, but by the fourth day of the Balmoral segment of the honeymoon, he had no choice. The royal family felt besieged, so the Queen dispatched her press secretary to negotiate a settlement: an interview with the newlyweds, plus photographs, in exchange for privacy. The deal was cut, and Charles, who groused, was required to cooperate.

The Prince of Wales was Colonel in Chief of the Gordons in Scotland, so for the interview he dressed in full tartan garb-knee-high socks, plaid kilt, and leather sporran (a pouch worn in front of the kilt). He appeared at the appointed hour to meet the newspeople, holding his wife's hand.

"Where do you want us to perform?" he asked.

"Right here is fine, Your Royal Highness," said a reporter.

Charles recognized him. "I hope you had a nice time going round the Mediterranean."

"Bit expensive," said the reporter.

"Good," said Charles with a tight grin.

The cameras whirred and clicked as the churlish Prince and his charming Princess chatted with the press.

"How was the honeymoon?"

"Fabulous," said Diana.

"And married life?"

"I highly recommend it," she said, beaming.

"Have you cooked breakfast for your husband yet?"

"I don't eat breakfasts."

Charles looked bemused. "This must be very exciting television," he said sarcastically. Diana lowered her eyes and smiled. Seconds later he kissed her hand, she laughed gaily, and the photographers grabbed their picture.

As the couple prepared to leave, one of the cameramen presented the Princess with a bouquet of flowers.

"Thank you. I suppose one of you puts them on his expense account," she joked.

Two months later, on November 5, 1981, the Palace announced the Princess was pregnant. She tried to continue her royal engagements, but frequent bouts of morning sickness forced her to cancel. Her husband explained to reporters.

"You've all got wives, you know the problems.... It's better not to do too many things.... After about three months, things are inclined to get better." Then, sounding officious, he added, "I am prepared to take full responsibility."

A few days later the Princess resumed her duties, but as she walked through crowds and accepted bouquets, she was. .h.i.t by waves of nausea. She did not try to hide her discomfort. "This is terrible," she said. "n.o.body told me I would feel like this." Seeing a pregnant woman in Derbys.h.i.+re, she grabbed her hands in sympathy. "Oh, that morning sickness, isn't it dreadful!"

At every outing she was trailed by the press. She performed flawlessly in public, but each performance sapped her energy, leaving her emotionally exhausted. At home she flew off the handle. "It was tears and tantrums behind closed doors," recalled a Palace aide. Charles did not know how to cope with his wife's erratic emotions. He called his mistress for advice, and he played more polo. "I've got to get out," he'd tell his bodyguard. "Too many hormones."

The more elusive Charles was, the more upset Diana became. She accused him of sneaking away to visit Camilla, and he became so exasperated by her jealousy that he stalked out, which only infuriated her more. Angry over his absences, curious about his whereabouts, and frustrated by the prying lenses of photographers, Diana complained bitterly to the Queen, who was unnerved by her daughter-in-law's hysterics. Blaming the press, the Queen summoned Fleet Street editors to tell them to leave the Princess alone. The royal press secretary, Michael Shea, met with them first.

"We expected that, following the honeymoon, press attention would wane somewhat," he told them. "But it has in no way abated. The Princess of Wales feels totally beleaguered. The people who love her and care for her are getting anxious at the reaction it is having."

The Queen entered the room to underscore the message. She said it was unfair of photographers to hide in the bushes with telephoto lenses to track the Princess without her knowledge. The Queen cited the picture published the day before of Diana with her arms around her husband's neck, smiling affectionately at him as they stood outside Highgrove, their house in Gloucesters.h.i.+re. Royally chided, the editors agreed to back off. In an editorial headlined "The Captive Princess," the Times Times declared, "It would be nice to think we are grown up enough not to imprison a princess in a palace." The truce lasted six weeks. Then Diana threatened to kill herself. declared, "It would be nice to think we are grown up enough not to imprison a princess in a palace." The truce lasted six weeks. Then Diana threatened to kill herself.

Shortly after the Christmas holidays at Sandringham, she warned Charles that if he left her alone again to go riding, she would commit suicide. As he stormed out, she threw herself down a short flight of stairs. The eighty-one-year-old Queen Mother heard the commotion and found the Princess in a heap, sobbing. Diana was led to her room by a footman, and her doctor was summoned. After his examination, he said she was fine, except for slight bruising around her abdomen; the fetus was unhurt. Hours later the footman sold the information about the Princess's fall to the Sun, Sun, proving that nothing weighs as heavy as a royal secret worth money. The tabloid ran the story on the next day's front page but did not say it was an apparent suicide attempt. proving that nothing weighs as heavy as a royal secret worth money. The tabloid ran the story on the next day's front page but did not say it was an apparent suicide attempt.

"The Princess just hated going to Sandringham for Christmas," said her hairdresser Richard Dalton. "She told me it was freezing cold and dinner had to be over by three o'clock: 'It's three and time to watch me on TV,' she'd say, imitating you-know-who. The royal family had to watch the Queen's Christmas message on television. Diana said it was a command performance."

The Queen Mother talked to her nephew John Bowes-Lyon about Diana's behavior, which seemed to be exacerbated by a physical malady. "She had fits which would last just a few minutes, during which she would go crazy and become uncontrollable," said Bowes-Lyon.* "And then it was all over as quickly as it began." "And then it was all over as quickly as it began."

"At first, doctors thought her outbursts might have been epilepsy, but that was discounted because she didn't swallow her tongue or have other epileptic symptoms. Apparently what she suffers from can be hereditary, and there have been other instances in the Fermoy family, so the royal family have been told."

Over the next three years Diana would try several more times to take her life. Each was a desperate attempt at self-mutilation. "I tried four or five times," she told Dr. Maurice Lipsedge, a specialist in eating disorders at Guy's Hospital in London. She told him of the various attempts: she slashed her arms with a lemon slicer; she cut her wrist; she ran a knife down the veins of one leg; and she threw herself into a gla.s.s cabinet.

"When no one listens to you, or you feel no one's listening to you, all sorts of things start to happen," she said. "These attempts were my cries for help."

When the Queen saw the first signs of dissension between the couple, she proposed Charles and Diana take a trip. "In that type of situation, Her Majesty always recommends escape," said one of her friends. "Her solution is to get away together, sort things out, and everything will be fine. It's always worked for her. Why shouldn't it work for them?"

A few days later the Prince and Princess left for the island of Windemere in the Bahamas. "What Diana needs is a holiday in the suns.h.i.+ne," said Charles, "to prepare for the birth." Again the couple were followed by the long lenses of freelance photographers, who captured the Princess, five months pregnant, skipping through the surf in an orange bikini. Once again Diana was on the front pages of the tabloids, and the Queen was incensed. "This is one of the blackest days in British journalism," she said through her press secretary. The Sun Sun later printed an apology and published the photographs a second time, just in case its five million readers wondered why the publication was saying it was sorry. later printed an apology and published the photographs a second time, just in case its five million readers wondered why the publication was saying it was sorry.

Her Majesty had been burned again by the Sun Sun and the man who had come to dominate Britain's media through buying the and the man who had come to dominate Britain's media through buying the Sun, Sun, the the Sunday Times, Sunday Times, the the Times of London, Times of London, and Sky TV. Rupert Murdoch was now teaching the Queen that her stingy wages were no match for his checkbook journalism. Every tidbit of royal gossip from inside the Palace was for sale, and he spent freely for sensational revelations. An Australian, unrestrained by deference to the Crown, Murdoch was no monarchist. So his irreverent publications zoomed in on the royal family and printed unprettified stories and candid photos. Without the protective blanket of reverence, the royals flapped and squawked like geese in a gunsight. The Queen lectured editors, demanded (and obtained) injunctions, and, finally, went to court to stop her servants from selling secrets. She called for press sanctions and sued for damages. and Sky TV. Rupert Murdoch was now teaching the Queen that her stingy wages were no match for his checkbook journalism. Every tidbit of royal gossip from inside the Palace was for sale, and he spent freely for sensational revelations. An Australian, unrestrained by deference to the Crown, Murdoch was no monarchist. So his irreverent publications zoomed in on the royal family and printed unprettified stories and candid photos. Without the protective blanket of reverence, the royals flapped and squawked like geese in a gunsight. The Queen lectured editors, demanded (and obtained) injunctions, and, finally, went to court to stop her servants from selling secrets. She called for press sanctions and sued for damages.

"Her Majesty became annoyed after a photo appeared of her six-year-old grandson, Peter, twirling a dead pheasant by the neck during a bird shoot," recalled a member of the royal household. "She ordered reporters and photographers off the estate at Sandringham and barred them from Windsor. She tried to keep them away from all family events, including the royal christenings."

Charles and Diana's first child, the heir to the British throne, was born on June 21, 1982, and the Hussars of the Royal Horse Artillery fired the traditional forty-one gun salute in honor of the new Prince. The blond, blue-eyed boy was called "Baby Wales" for seven days until his parents stopped fighting over his name. "We're having a little argument about what to call him," Charles admitted to reporters. The couple eventually settled on William Arthur Philip Louis in honor of William the Conqueror, the legendary King Arthur, the Duke of Edinburgh, and Louis, Lord Mountbatten. Prince William ("Wills" to his parents) was to be christened on the Queen Mother's eighty-second birthday.

"It had been quite a difficult pregnancy-I hadn't been very well throughout it," Diana recalled in a television interview. "But I felt the whole country was in labor with me... so by the time William arrived, it was a great relief."

Britons rejoiced, except for William's crotchety aunt, Princess Anne, who was on a goodwill tour in the United States when Diana gave birth and resented the press queries.

"Your Royal Highness, any word about Princess Diana?"

"I don't know," she snapped. "You tell me."