Short History Of... - Princess Diana

Episode Date: June 30, 2024

Princess Diana was one of the most influential figures of the 20th century. Not only was she married to the future King of England, she was also a fashion icon, a humanitarian, a devoted mother, and a role model for millions. However, her life was far from the fairytale she’d envisioned, and was instead marred by heartbreak and tragedy.  So how did a young, shy girl cope with such massive fame? Why did her marriage to Prince Charles break down so spectacularly? And how should we remember the ‘People’s Princess’ today? This is a Short History Of… Princess Diana. A Noiser Production, written by Nicole Edmunds. With thanks to Dr Tessa Dunlop, historian, author, and award-winning broadcaster. Get every episode of Short History Of a week early with Noiser+. You’ll also get ad-free listening, bonus material, and early access to shows across the Noiser network. Click the Noiser+ banner to get started. Or, if you’re on Spotify or Android, go to noiser.com/subscriptions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's a frosty morning in November 1977. Inside a large country mansion in Northamptonshire, England, a 16-year-old girl stares out of her bedroom window. Pressing her face longingly against the cold glass, she stares at the sprawling gardens below. Despite the pouring rain, a group of men and women in their mid-twenties are stomping through the grounds, laughing as they go. Some carry hunting guns, others have their arms loaded with bottles of champagne as dogs run alongside, yapping at their heels. Now, spotting the flaming red hair of her older sister in the middle of the group, the teenager makes up her mind.

Though she hasn't been invited to join them, she tears from her bedroom, clattering down three flights of stairs. She throws on a pair of Wellington boots, then rushes outside to catch the others up. She runs fast through the wet grass, her long legs eating up the distance. Stopping to clutch her side as a stitch stabs her ribs, she shouts to her sister to slow down. But her voice is drowned out by the wind and the crack of gunshots. But in between the gunshots, the girl hears a dog bark from the treeline. Turning to look, she sees a beautiful black Labrador playing with its owner. She recognizes the young man at once, as the new boyfriend her sister has shown her so many pictures of.

With the rest of the group focused on shooting and drinking, the coast is clear for her to get the introduction she longed for. Nervously, she diverts her path and scampers through the long grass towards the man and his dog. When he raises a hand and waves, she sweeps her blonde hair from her face, blushing. In that moment, the sound of gunshots, wind and laughter fade to silence. As she gets closer, she sees the way the blue of his eyes contrasts with his dark hair, the depth of his serious, almost sad expression. And when he holds out his hand to shake hers, almost sad expression. And when he holds out his hand to shake hers,

she feels the warmth of his skin, and it is as though she's been transported to a fairy tale. And in some ways, she has, but in this one there'll be no happy ending. Because, though their paths crossed when she was much younger, this is the first real meeting between Lady Diana Spencer and His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, next in line to the British throne. This encounter between Prince Charles and Diana in 1977 will spark what might be the

most famous love story of the 20th century. Although the pair won't be romantically involved for another three years, when their relationship does begin, the whole world will be watching. As Diana grew from a sheltered, privileged girl to a global superstar, her story became the stuff of legend. Even today she's known as a fashion icon, a humanitarian, a devoted mother and role model. But her story was also a tragedy, filled with loneliness and disappointment, before coming to a heartbreaking end one summer's night in Paris.

With countless movies and books about her, Diana remains one of the most recognizable women in the world. But how did a young, shy girl cope with such sudden, massive fame? Why did her marriage to Prince Charles break down so spectacularly, leaving her to carve out her own path after her royal title was taken away? And how should we remember the People's Princess today? I'm John Hopkins from the Noiser Network. This is a short history of Princess Diana. Though Diana's integration into the British monarch's family saw her become one of the highest-ranking royals,

hers is not a rags-to-riches story. In reality, Diana had always enjoyed the trappings of nobility. Dr Tessa Dunlop is a historian, author, and award-winning broadcaster. and award-winning broadcaster. The Spencers were one of the great aristocratic English families peppered across their line. Ductums of Marlborough, Earldoms of Sunderland, of Spencer, the Churchill baronessy, you name it, the Spencers could effectively lay claim to it.

And by the time Diana's father comes along, he's in line to become the eighth Earl Spencer. And this is really one of the great and ancient English seats. In many respects, of course, the Spencer's infinitely more blue-blooded and certainly more English-blooded than the royal family themselves, who are common Germanic Hanover's. So we do know that right through that Spencer line, you have a family in service to the royals. I think both Diana's grandmothers were ladies-in-waiting. And indeed, John Spencer, Diana's father, was equerry and went on the Commonwealth tour with Elizabeth and Philip in 1953. When John Spencer marries his young, beautiful bride, Frances Roche, in 1954,

at a Westminster ceremony attended by the Queen, it's billed as the social event of the year. The Spencers welcome a baby girl, Sarah, in 1955, followed by a second daughter, Jane. But just three years into their marriage, cracks begin to form. John yearns for a male heir to continue the family name and blames his wife for what he perceives as her failure to produce one. There is a moment of happiness in 1960 when a baby boy is born, but tragically he survives only a few hours. On July 1, 1961, a warm summer's evening, Frances gives birth to her third daughter, Diana Frances Spencer. At the very moment of her birth, the local cricket club takes a wicket.

Accordingly, local legend has it that baby Diana arrives into the world accompanied by a round of applause. The first few years of Diana's life are blissfully happy. She's joined by a younger brother, Charles, in 1964, and together they while away the endless days of childhood, causing mischief for the nannies who look after them. Because their home, Park House, is situated on the Royal Sandringham Estate, they often see Queen Elizabeth riding

past. If they're lucky, they're invited to the Big House to play with the youngest royals, Princes Andrew and Edward. One day, when five-year-old Diana is tearing through Sandringham House with Prince Andrew, a 17-year-old Prince Charles stumbles in, remarking, what a lot of fun the pair seem to be having. However, this innocent happiness cannot last. In 1967, when Diana is just six years old, her parents separate. Too young to fully comprehend the situation, Diana sobs at the top of the winding staircase,

certain that her mother has left because she doesn't love her enough. The stones crunching beneath the tyres of her mother's car is a sound she'll never forget. So you have an incredibly ugly, very public separation, then divorce, then custody battle for the children, which Frances loses because, of course, she is the one that goes and has the affair. She's the fallen woman, the bolter. So this is proper, high-level dysfunction played out incredibly publicly and to the humiliation of all concerned. And of course, the impact on the likes of Diana is profound. And I think those feelings of inadequacy, of insecurity, and of a lack of love stalk Diana throughout her life.

Now in the sole care of her father, Diana attends a prestigious preparatory school before moving on to an all-girls boarding school. Tucked away in the quiet countryside of Kent, it's a tranquil and idyllic location. Although Diana struggles academically, she thrives in swimming, diving, music and ballet, and can often be found in the dance studio, pirouetting her cares away. And when she and the other girls are taken to visit

the local care home, she treats the elderly residents with an empathy far beyond her teenage years. In June 1975, one month before her 14th birthday, her grandfather dies. Her father becomes the 8th Earl Spencer, while his children are elevated to lords and ladies. The earldom entitles them to a new home, Althorpe, an impressive Northamptonshire mansion that's been in the Spencer family for over 500 years. Althorpe boasts 90 rooms, spans over 100,000 square feet, and sits on 13,000 acres of beautiful English countryside. Thrilled by her new circumstances, Diana dances through the school corridors, chanting that she is a lady.

But it's not until she reads about it in a newspaper that she discovers her father has remarried to a baroness, Rain McCorkadale. Furious at what she sees as a gross betrayal, Diana turns to romance novels for comfort. Among her favourites are those by author Barbara Cartland, whose stories tell of brave, dashing, yet tender men who fall in love with ordinary girls.

But while Diana is dreaming of being swept off her feet, it's her 22-year-old sister Sarah whose romantic life first makes headlines. In 1977, she starts dating Britain's most eligible bachelor, 29-year-old Prince Charles, eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II. The pair meet through mutual friends, and in November, when visiting the Spencer home for a hunt, Charles bumps into Diana. Although they've vaguely known of each other since childhood, Although they've vaguely known of each other since childhood, Charles is now taken aback by the 16-year-old. The pair are instantly enchanted with one another. Later that day, Charles guides Diana around the Althorp Picture Gallery, showing off his knowledge of art history.

His attention infuriates Sarah, who allegedly tells her sister to get lost. Diana, though, will not be dissuaded. After their initial meeting, she tells anyone who will listen that one day she will marry Prince Charles. It's a cruel irony that what wins Diana over most of all is the belief that, unlike her parents, Charles' title means he can never divorce. But although Charles and Diana hit it off at Althorp, their romance doesn't start right away. Charles breaks up with Sarah the following year and has a string of short relationships with other women.

Diana spends three months at a Swiss finishing school before moving into a flat in Kensington with a couple of friends in 1979. She juggles two jobs which she adores, a kindergarten teacher and part-time nanny. She earns extra money by cleaning her sister's flat. Not that she needs the money, of course. Like many girls of her class, Diana has the luxury of working for fun rather than necessity. It's presumed that she'll soon meet and marry a wealthy husband and become a respectable member of high society,

just like her mother and grandmother. In the years that follow, she'll dream of returning to this simpler time. About a year later, a romance with Prince Charles takes off. The pair are spotted together at a house party in Sussex, where Charles is again impressed by the happy but sensitive teenager. He invites her to spend the final weeks of summer at his family's Scottish residence in Balmoral. With the Queen and Prince Philip in attendance, it's a daunting invitation.

But Diana needn't worry. She fits right in, joining the royals as they tramp across woodland and moors and spending hours on the river watching Charles Fish. As far as anyone can tell, she's a perfect match for him. All her aristocratic credentials are impeccable. She is exquisite to look at, a physical specimen and some, thank you very much, perfect for breeding. She was, of course, a virgin. She was scarcely out of short white socks, for goodness sake. And that meant that there could be no sort of questions or gossip.

The tabloids couldn't find some sullied backstory with which to whip them. So on many levels, a bit like Queen Elizabeth when she was princess and marrying Philip, she was the unimpeachable, perfect, blushing bride. Towards the end of the summer, a tabloid photographer snaps a picture of Diana in the grounds of Balmoral. And almost immediately, a wave of Diana-mania grips the nation. On her return to London, the paparazzi descend on her Kensington flat, photographing her wherever she goes. Every day she's asked whether there's a proposal on the cards. Every day she diplomatically declines to answer.

With her soft voice and plight smile, the media and public fall in love with the woman they call Shy Di. On February 3, 1981, Charles asks the question everyone's been waiting for. Presenting Diana with a dazzling 18-carat white gold ring set with a sapphire, he invites her to be his wife. The 19-year-old is taken aback and believes it's a joke at first, but when she sees that Charles is serious, she gladly accepts. The next five months pass in a whirlwind for Diana. In anticipation of the big day, teapots,

towels, and countless other trinkets bearing her face are manufactured, and stories about her fill column inches the world over. But while the public can't get enough of this story of romance, in reality things are already less gilded than they once appeared. already less gilded than they once appeared. As future Princess of Wales, Diana has to trade her cosy Kensington flat for a sprawling apartment in Buckingham Palace. Left alone while her fiancé is on a five-week tour of Australia, it feels more like a prison cell than a home.

Diana is disappointed to discover that the royals rarely mingle inside the palace and prefer to keep to themselves. In a desperate search for company, she eats dinner with the cooks in the kitchens and chats to the maids. Certain members of her own family try to support her as best they can. Her sister Jane is married to the Queen's Assistant Private Secretary, and now lives with him in a cottage on the Kensington Palace estate. Jane occasionally visits Diana for tea,

along with their other sister, Sarah, but it's not enough to combat the loneliness or the stress and struggles of wedding preparations. Isolated and unhappy, she develops bulimia, an eating disorder in which sufferers consume large volumes of food before purging, usually through vomiting. Even when her fiancé returns, things don't much improve. Just weeks before the wedding, a reporter asks the pair if they're in love. Of course, Diana replies, before Charles adds, whatever in love means.

Though it sounds like an offhand remark, it's one that Diana will never forget. It's not exactly the fairy tale she longed for. Certainly, there was a moment when she expresses apprehension. Now, whether that's because of the media circus or because she's aware Charles isn't perhaps as attentive as he could be, but she certainly at some point says something along the lines of, oh, my goodness, to her sisters. And they joke, well, you can't duck out now, love.

You know, your head's on the tea towels. There's a case of, sirrah, sirrah, just get on with it. A bit stiff upper lip. You know, you've made your bed. Now you're damn well going to lie on it, love. What's in this McDonald's bag? The McValue Meal. For £5.79 plus tax, you can get your choice of junior chicken,

McDouble or chicken snack wrap, plus small fries and a small fountain drink. So pick up a McValue meal today at participating McDonald's restaurants in Canada. Prices exclude delivery. On July the 29th, 1981, the day everyone's been waiting for arrives. It's a perfect summer's morning as Diana climbs out of the glass coach and up the steps of St. Paul's Cathedral. out of the glass coach and up the steps of St. Paul's Cathedral. 600,000 people line the streets of London, and 750 million are watching on television around the globe. There is a moment of shared delight when she emerges in her bright white silk taffeta dress,

trailed by an impressive 25-foot train. oppressive 25-foot train. Clutching a bouquet of golden roses and white orchids, Diana looks every inch a princess as she glides up the aisle, arm in arm with her father, to where a smiling Charles awaits. Lady Diana Spencer becomes Her Royal Highness, the Princess of Wales.

And surrounded by such celebration, she perhaps forgets the troubles of the past few months and looks to the future with optimism. Following the wedding, Charles and Diana spend three nights at a country lodge in Hampshire before embarking on an 11-day cruise of the Mediterranean. a country lodge in Hampshire before embarking on an 11-day cruise of the Mediterranean. On board the Royal Yacht Britannia, they sail to Gibraltar, Algeria, Tunisia, Sicily and Greece. Their final stop is Egypt. It's a warm August evening in 1981 at Port Said on Egypt's Mediterranean coast.

The enormous royal yacht, the Britannia, is bobbing on the gentle waves in the harbor. Members of its crew, clad in crisp white uniforms, stand sentinel on the deck. Inside the boat's exquisite dining room, overlooking the ocean, 20-year-old Princess Diana sits at the dinner table. Opposite, her husband, Prince Charles, and their esteemed guest, President Sadat of Egypt, are deep in conversation, while staff clear away plates and cutlery. Diana smiles at the President's wife, before handing her empty glass to the waiter with a nod of thanks. The men clear their throats and stand up. Diana follows suit. But as her husband reaches over to shake the president's hand,

something shiny on his wrist catches the light. It glimmers against his crisp white shirt for just a fraction of a second, but it's long enough to capture Diana's attention. She peers closer and makes out two golden Cs intertwined on Charles' cufflinks. At first, she smiles in confusion, believing her husband is uncharacteristically sporting a Coco Chanel accessory. But then reality hits her. The two Cs don't stand for the renowned French fashion designer, but instead the names Charles and Camilla. Diana stumbles and grabs onto the back of her chair to steady herself.

Tears spring to her eyes as it becomes clear her husband of just fourteen days is wearing a gift from his ex-girlfriend. Diana blindly follows the party onto the deck outside and sees a few scattered crowds waiting in the moonlit harbour. Lukewarm applause ripples when the Egyptian people see their president with the future king of England. But when Diana emerges seconds later, looking radiant in a casual blouse and blue shorts,

their cheer makes their preference unmistakable. Aware of her duty, Diana stands next to her husband and waves, her face set in a forced smile. She even lets Charles plunt a kiss on her cheek. After a strained five minutes, the President and his wife descend the red-carpeted steps to leave the Royal Yacht. With a final wave to the crowds,

Diana follows her husband inside to their private cabin and locks the door. Ordinarily, she'd cherish the silence that greets them after the media circus. But not tonight. Clenching her fists, she demands to know where Charles got his cufflinks from. When he replies, with a nonchalant shrug, that they were a gift from Camilla, Diana is unable to restrain herself any longer.

Reaching across to the table, she seizes a glass and hurls it above Charles' head. As it smashes into a thousand pieces, she drops to the floor and sobs into her hands. In between her cries, she can hear her husband yelling, insisting that he's done nothing wrong in wearing a gift from a friend. But Diana suspects Camilla is far more than that. In the years that come, she'll tell her friends that this was one of the moments she realized her marriage was already doomed. Charles and Diana's unhappy holiday comes to an end in October, following six weeks at Balmoral. Unfortunately for Diana, it's already clear that married life won't be easy. We do know that Diana early on is quite lonely.

She's sort of cordoned off and Charles is rather difficult to get hold of. And I think that Diana lacked good friends. She was isolated. She quite quickly realised that in this curiously elevated position, she was hard to reach. And she's very different from Charles. That's the other great problem. On paper, they look like they came from two grand families. But actually, Charles loves horticulture and horses, and Diana liked pop music and dancing. So in many respects, Nair the Twain would meet. It's quite unfair to judge the pair of them just because they were so ridiculously mismatched

beyond those credentials, those blue-budded credentials on paper. When Diana was younger, she dealt with stress by dancing or immersing herself in the romance stories of Barbara Cartland. But now her coping mechanism is her eating disorder. In many respects, it's a perfect storm of circumstances that will result in Diana

becoming ill, mentally ill. And the physical manifestation of that mental illness is bulimia, is a very troubling relationship with food. And of course, then that bleeds into your other relationships, including with your husband, because it's about hiding, it's about lack of truthfulness, it's quite difficult to manage, it's lots of insecurity. It's a bit like shadowboxing, and it's not something that Charles was really ever going to be well equipped to deal with. Having been taught to conceal one's suffering from an early age Diana's conspicuous pain is an alien concept to Charles

who has no idea how to help. His wife comes to resent him as cold and uncaring. But while the Prince and Princess of Wales argue in private, in public they put on Oscar-worthy performances to hide any hints of trouble in paradise. In front of cameras, Charles kisses Diana, compliments her impeccable style, and, aware that she's far more popular than he is,

jokingly apologizes to crowds when they get him and not his wife. Diana acts the perfect partner, carrying out her royal duties with grace and flashes of a Hollywood smile. On June 21, 1982, Diana and Charles welcome their first son, Prince William. Just shy of 21 years old, Diana has done what her own mother spent years trying to do. She has delivered a healthy male heir. Their second son, Harry, is born two years later. For Diana, the arrivals mark the beginning of the most important role of her life.

Diana had been brought up in a pretty detached, dysfunctional setting. And she didn't want that for her sons. So we see early on these incredibly emotive, gushing demonstrations of affection, public demonstrations of affection towards her sons. She goes to Australia and she takes up the Australian prime minister's offer of taking her baby son William with her, which not everyone approves of at the time. She is an incredibly touchy-feely, loving, really sort of pin-up mother in many respects.

And there is something incredibly endearing about the imagery that came with Diana the mother and her two sons. I think that in many respects, this was really the only role that was entirely hers and couldn't be taken away from her and one that she really enjoyed. away from her and one that she really enjoyed. For a time, motherhood helps the marriage in that it gives Diana something to fight for. Determined to keep her young family together, she tries anything to win back Charles's affection. In private, she dresses in provocative lingerie

for her husband. As a surprise birthday present, she performs a provocative lingerie for her husband. As a surprise birthday present, she performs a duet with renowned dancer Wayne Sleep, choreographed to Billy Joel's Uptown Girl at the Royal Opera House. But though the 2,500-strong crowd are blown away by the duet, her husband is unimpressed and is paranoid that Diana is trying to overshadow him. During her long, lonely hours at Buckingham Palace, she even consults the Queen for marital advice. It's likely, though, that Charles' disinterest in Diana has less to do with her and more to do with someone else, Camilla Parker Bowles. They had dated in 1971 for a passionate six months, which came to an end when Charles

was sent away with the Royal Navy and Camilla married Andrew Parker Bowles. However, the pair remained close and throughout Charles' marriage to Diana, Camilla is his comfort and his confidante. Diana, as well as a few members of the royal family, start to suspect that the pair are having an affair. Despite Diana's best efforts, as the 1980s pass, the Prince and Princess of Wales marriage deteriorates. The staff at Highgrove are used to overhearing emotional arguments, and often find their bedroom a complete mess with ornaments smashed and Charles's bedding strewn on the couch.

Diana spends her weekends in London. There she grows close to her riding instructor, Cavalry Officer James Hewitt, igniting rumors of a romance. Meanwhile at Highgrove, Camilla is a regular guest. While at Highgrove, Camilla is a regular guest. Marital strife takes its toll on Diana's mental health, and her bulimia intensifies. On a state visit to Vancouver in 1986, she's so exhausted that she passes out. It's impossible for her to keep up appearances of a confident stateswoman when, behind closed doors, she's

so often unhappy. But Diana knows she is more than this. She has a voice and is determined to make it heard. It's April the 9th, 1987. Inside London's Middlesex Hospital, a doctor is rushing through a busy corridor, offering hurried greetings to staff and patients as he goes. He has to step to one side as two women squeeze past, talking loudly and carrying the largest bouquet of flowers he's ever seen. The doctor presses on and turns a corner down another corridor. He pushes open a door to a

room at the end, but in here there are no flowers or cards from visitors to brighten things up. That's because the six men who occupy this ward have been diagnosed with AIDS, an acute immune deficiency syndrome. Since the first reported case in 1981, thousands have died from the disease. At this moment in time, there is no cure. Though HIV, the virus that can lead to AIDS, can't be transmitted by simply touching or being near an infected person, myths around it are rife.

The fact that gay men have been disproportionately affected means that in the homophobic society of the 1980s, HIV and AIDS are painfully stigmatized. Sufferers are often scorned by society, just like these six men. As the doctor walks in, he smiles at the patients, seeing the human beings behind the grey skin and skeletal frames. Those who are strong enough to return his greeting. He pulls a chair over to sit beside one man's bed, but as he does so, he's interrupted by an entourage of important-looking men and women bustling into the ward. The doctor stands up to greet the visitors and smiles nervously as he sees that amongst the senior doctors, nurses,

a handful of journalists and photographers is the most famous woman in the world, Princess Diana. Though he welcomes her, he doesn't expect much from this visit. He presumes that she'll layer on gloves and protective clothing, take a few headline-worthy pictures with the patients, then leave.

But seconds later, Diana does something totally unexpected. In nothing more than her usual clothes, she strolls towards the patient on the first bed and reaches out her bare hand. strolls towards the patient on the first bed and reaches out her bare hand. When he leans forward, Diana clasps his fingers warmly in hers. The famous Princess of Wales speaks softly to him, and the starstruck patient replies weakly, smiling in return. In a single moment, Diana has demonstrated that these men should be treated not with fear or disdain, but simple human compassion.

Following her visit to the Middlesex Hospital, Diana is made patron of the National AIDS Trust and pushes for greater research on the condition. Her humanitarian efforts extend to over a hundred other charities as she helps the homeless, the sick and the vulnerable. In 1989, she stands in 94-degree heat in Jakarta and shakes hands with hundreds of people suffering from leprosy. In 1997, she'll walk through a minefield in Angola to raise awareness of what she'll later refer to as the plague on earth caused by the landmine. And up until that point, you know, royal philanthropy, which had been well established really from the Victorian period onwards, certainly wasn't one that divested huge amounts of emotion publicly. It was about being seen to be seen to support and nod and perhaps take off one's white

gloves and shake a hand or two. But no more than that. Well, Diana turned that equation on its head and she was very visibly demonstrative and hugely empathetic. Those detractors of Diana could never criticize her empathy. her own pain into a currency that others understood and was able to reach people, partly because she felt their pain. She understood their pain. By 1990, after a troubled nine years, Diana and Charles' marriage is at breaking point. On a tour overseas, a photographer captures a heartbreaking photo of Diana sitting alone outside the Taj Mahal, built by an ancient shah as a monument to his beloved wife. Catching on to the whale's unhappiness, the media dubbed them the Glums. But if anyone thought their marriage would

quietly fizzle out, they're mistaken. The next few years see the chill between Charles and Diana escalate into a bitter war. In 1992, Diana fires the first bullet when she reaches out to journalist Andrew Morton. Having heard suggestions that the so-called Highgrove set, led by Camilla, are spreading rumors that she is mentally unstable, she decides to counter with her own narrative. Morton will later talk of Diana's desperation to speak, comparing her, in his own words, to a prisoner condemned for a crime she didn't commit. When his book, Diana, Her True Story in Her Own Words, is released, it causes an instant media storm. Chapters document her struggles with bulimia and postpartum depression, as well as two

suicide attempts. Morton alleges that Diana was struggling with the pressures of royal life so much during her first pregnancy that she threw herself down the stairs at Balmoral. His book also names Camilla Parker Bowles as Prince Charles' mistress for the first time. Needless to say, it's a PR nightmare for Charles and the royal family, who are furious with Diana. But she herself denies involvement, insisting it was only her friends, never her, who met with Morton. It's clear that things can't continue this way. In December of 1992, Prime Minister John Major announces to the House of Commons that Charles and Diana are separating. He explains the decision has been reached amicably, and that both will

continue to participate fully in the upbringing of their children. Diana will remain at Kensington in London, while Charles will occupy Highgrove, 100 miles to the west in the Cotswolds. Though Major insists that it is a separation, not a divorce, the British public, who had bought into this love story for over a decade, are heartbroken. But the dust has barely settled before another royal scandal breaks. This time it is Charles who takes centre stage, when his and Camilla's private phone calls are leaked. In the CamillaGate tapes, as they become known, the pair are heard exchanging intimate, sexual

remarks. Though they prove beyond a doubt that Charles and Camilla are having an affair, the couple still deny it. A year later, in 1994, Charles attempts to repair his reputation by speaking with BBC presenter Jonathan Dimbleby for a biography and accompanying documentary. It's meant to be a celebration of the Prince of Wales' life so far, but things take a dramatic turn when Dimbleby moves on to Charles' marriage and asks if he's ever been unfaithful. Charles replies that he has, before hastily adding that it only happened when his and Diana's marriage had broken down irrevocably.

His decision to come clean is a gross misjudgment, and the British public overwhelmingly turns against him. Two-thirds of viewers believe he's unfit to rule as king, according to a poll in The Sun. Yet still, the Wales War continues. On November 5, 1995, while the rest of the country are enjoying firework displays, Diana meets the BBC panorama journalist Martin Bashir. Paranoid that the royal family are conspiring against her, she sees the Bashir interview as an opportunity to air her grievances and take down the Prince of Wales. When the interview is broadcast, just after Charles's 47th birthday, the streets of Britain are emptied

as 23 million people tune in to hear Diana's story. as 23 million people tune in to hear Diana's story. Diana's panorama was like the Premier League of interviews. It was a showstopper. She gave this very powerful, damaging interview, basically saying Charles was not fit to be king, that there'd always been three in the marriage, and lining up her own son William,

really, over her husband. When the conversation moves on to her love life, Diana admits to having had a relationship with former Cavalry Officer James Hewitt for around five years from 1986. They ended on good terms when Hewitt's military duties sent him abroad, but he broke her heart three years later by publishing a book about the affair. Watching Diana speak to Bashir like a witness giving evidence makes the British public love her even more, if that's possible. That was a nightmare for Charles. I think to an extent I feel for the man. You know, the one person you don't want to be trying to carve out a new relationship in the face of is a scorned Diana, who had the big doe eyes and was able to sort of shell out more empathy than anyone else on the planet. But though Diana's words are honest, Bashir's methods of getting them were anything but. More than 20 years later, in 2021, an investigation reveals that Bashir forged bank statements to make it appear that Diana's aides were leaking private information to tabloid

newspapers. He also claimed to have proof that MI6 was spying on her. These allegations fueled Diana's paranoia and manipulated her into speaking with him. Though he is subsequently discredited as a journalist, the damage is done, as, at the time of the broadcast, the interview is considered a scoop. For the royal family, the Panorama interview is the straw that breaks the camel's back.

On December 20, a courier from Windsor Castle delivers a handwritten note to Diana from the Queen. It requests, in no uncertain terms, that she and Charles divorce. She will later tell friends that this was the single worst day of her life. In July 1996, in a nondescript courtroom in Somerset House, the marriage of the Prince and Princess of Wales is dissolved in three minutes. Neither party is present. Diana is paid a lump sum of 17 million pounds, will retain her home at Kensington Palace and her public role. Most importantly, she gets joint custody of William and Harry. But her HRH title is stripped. In a moment of childish innocence, William promises his mother that when he's king, he'll get her title back.

when he's king, he'll get her title back. Following the divorce, Camilla joins Prince Charles at Highgrove, as he tries to repair his reputation. Meanwhile, Diana continues her life as the most famous woman in the world. Although she takes a step back from public duty, she remains closely involved with a number of charities including the great ormond street children's hospital the leprosy mission and the national aids trust individuals such as elton john hillary clinton and gianni versace make up her inner circle she even meets mother theresa during a trip to italy d Diana's love life is the subject of every gossip column in the country.

She's photographed with a string of suitors, dubbed Diana Men, though eyebrows are raised when it transpires that some of those she's involved with are already married. Heart surgeon Dr. Hasnat Khan, however, is single, and everything Diana longs for, kind, supportive, uncomplicated. But he isn't prepared for the spotlight that comes with Diana, and they part ways in 1997. So, when she receives an invitation from Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Al-Fayed to spend the summer in the south of France, she jumps at the opportunity and takes William and Harry along with her. The fact that

Alphard, who she's only met a handful of times, is despised by the royals adds to his allure. It's during this trip that Diana meets Alphard's playboy son, Dodi. Once her own sons have flown back home to spend the rest of the summer with Charles, Diana and Dodie grow close, sparking rumours of a romance. And I think that Diana, can we ever know, was she in love with Dodie, wasn't she? I mean, I think if I was a betting person, I'd say probably wasn't one destined to last, that relationship. Didn't mean it wasn't fun, a bit of escapism, a bit of a poke in the eye at the royal machine. But no matter how much fun she's having with her new beau, as the weeks pass, Diana counts down the days until she's reunited with her beloved sons.

On the evening of August 30, 1997, Diana and Dodi have dinner at the Ritz Hotel in Paris. But when they're ready to leave and head to the Alfaid apartment, the paparazzi are hovering outside. So Dodi devises a new plan. Instead of traveling in the usual three-vehicle convoy, two of their cars will go ahead as decoys. Meanwhile, he and Diana will take a separate car along a different route. At 12.30 a.m. on August 31st, Dodi and Diana leave the Ritz via the service entrance and climb into the awaiting Mercedes. Trevor Rhys-Jones, Diana's bodyguard, sits up front, next to the driver, Henri Paul. Not only are none of them wearing seatbelts, but the driver has spent the evening in the bar.

Before they leave, Paul boasts to the scattered paparazzi that there's no point giving chase, because they'll never catch them. It takes minutes for Dodi's plan to fail. The paparazzi are on their tail in no time, swarming around the car on their motorbikes like bees. Their presence unnerves Paul, who puts his foot on the gas and speeds to 60 miles per hour, double the limit. But the alcohol in his body, combined with the pressure of the paparazzi, is a recipe for disaster. Seconds before the Mercedes enters the Pont de l'Alma tunnel, Paul loses control of the paparazzi is a recipe for disaster. Seconds before the Mercedes enters

the Pont de l'Alma tunnel, Paul loses control of the car. It hurtles full speed into one of the barriers separating the lanes before spinning across the scene minutes later to find utter devastation. The Mercedes' front portion has crumpled, the roof, windows and doors are crushed, the engine is in the passenger seats and the horn blares incessantly, jammed by Henri Paul's body. Dodi and the driver have been killed instantly. There's nothing paramedics can do for them. Trevor Rhys-Jones is alive, but only just. The injuries to his face are so extensive

that he'll later need to undergo over 200 reconstructive surgeries. As for Diana, paramedics are initially hopeful. Aside from a gash to her head and a dislocated elbow, there are no obvious external injuries. Over a painstaking hour, they extract her from the car and carefully lift her into an ambulance, where she slips in and out of consciousness. At one point, she wearily mutters, my God, what has happened?

When Diana arrives at the Pitié-Saint-Petrier hospital shortly before 2 am, though, it's obvious something is seriously wrong. Her pulse is weak and rapid, and scans show she's bleeding in the chest cavity. When doctors operate, they find that the force of the impact has displaced her heart. But so long as she's still breathing, there is hope. Doctors continue a desperate rush to save her life, giving her a blood transfusion and stitching a tear in her heart. Even when her heart stops beating, they persist and administer shots

of adrenaline, attempt defibrillation, and internal massage. But Diana's heart never restarts. At 4 a.m., she's pronounced dead. She's just 36 years old. When the world wakes up on August the 31st to the news that Diana has been killed in a car crash, it's plunged into inconsolable grief. Prince Charles is stricken when he hears the news at Balmoral. Twelve-year-old Harry and fifteen-year-old William are shell-shocked. The whole world mourns the woman they loved, but never knew. I think when she died, a lot of us felt guilty.

I certainly recall feeling that I had been a consumer of the Diana narrative. I was one of Diana's daughters daughters and so were my entire generation. And I remember in the week of her death consuming yet more stories. But that idea that we'd been complicit in this never-ending juggernaut that just wanted to suck anything it could off the Diana story.

And that somehow, therefore, we were complicit in her downfall. For days, thousands of mourners flood into London, leaving flowers, cards, photos and teddy bears outside of the royal palaces. Over two billion people watch her funeral. Along with their uncle, father and grandfather, the young princes walk behind their mother's coffin, on top of which sits

a handwritten card from Harry addressed simply to Mummy. Diana is laid to rest on a small island at her family home of Althorp. Surrounded by river and protected by trees, she is finally able to rest in peace. she is finally able to rest in peace. Today, Diana remains one of the most famous women in the world, brought to life on screen and paper, most recently through Netflix series The Crown. But she always was, and continues to be,

more than just a celebrity. A humanitarian at heart, she's remembered through the work of the charities that meant so much to her. The Diana Award, established in 1999, celebrates and supports young people who have brought about meaningful change to society. Her untimely death also changed the power of the media forever. Many felt the paparazzi had exploited Diana while she was alive, and were in part to blame for her death. As such, stricter laws were brought in to limit long-lens photography, the publication of material obtained through persistent pursuit, and the paparazzi's targeting of children. Despite this, many will argue that little has changed,

chief among them Diana's son Harry, who witheringly detailed the invasive methods of the press in his 2023 autobiography. Diana's legacy continues to ripple around the globe, from the minefields of Angola to the fashion shows of Paris and the gilded halls of Buckingham Palace, she was the first royal to open up about struggles with mental illness, and her sons have since continued to campaign for mental health charities, raising awareness and crushing stigma. Although almost 30 years have passed since the death of Diana, she remains one of the most well-known names in history, Years have passed since the death of Diana.

She remains one of the most well-known names in history because her story, although marred by tragedy, is truly unforgettable. I think there was something about Diana that was timeless insofar as this was the era of the sort of shoulder pads and the career women. And it was a time when girls like me at school were told, you know, the world's your oyster if you get a few exams and do well. And she was this kind of bizarre contradiction where she hadn't got any exams. And it really was about who she was. It was because she'd been born

into a posh family and been picked up by Charles and married. It was a very, very old fashioned fairy story. And yet she had this incredibly contemporary vibe, not just the way she dressed, but also the way in which she communicated, the way in which she used the media. So she was this very, very appealing, heady combination of seriously old school, hierarchical, timeless, aristocratic, crossed with contemporary, modern, unpredictable celebrity. And that was dynamite, absolute dynamite, and it literally blew apart the royal family. Next time on Short History, we'll bring you a short history of Dr. David Livingston.

He was the harbinger in many ways of everything that he did not want to be the harbinger of. But he also was truly transnational in his outlook. He was interested in people and he recorded what those people said and did. That humanness is what's going to keep us looking to Livingston because his humanity is his legacy. That's next time.