Sons of Diana of Wales. Diana, Princess of Wales. You lived your life like a candle burning in the wind...

On the shelves of British bookstores appeared the book "The Genuine Diana" by Lady Colin Campbell - the same aristocratic writer close to royal circles, who had already written a book about the Queen Mother that shook the whole world. Now she has revealed unknown facts about Diana's life in the royal family.

Lady Campbell claims that Diana's father, the ambitious Lord John Spencer, had for many years nurtured a plan to marry his daughter to Prince Charles. But it was not Diana at all, but her older sister Sarah.

And when Charles's father, Prince Philip, began to look for a bride for him, Sarah Spencer was one of the first to be considered. But this union did not take place due to the fact that Sarah’s statement got into the press: “I don’t care whose wife I become, a prince or a scavenger, as long as there is love between us!” After all, the queen, as you know, can not stand someone from her family discussing their personal lives in public.

The future Princess Diana was the youngest of the three Spencer daughters. "Diana's family hoped she would marry Prince Andrew," writes Colin Campbell. - Diana kept his photo on the bedside table all the time while she was at West Heath school. Her relatives even called her the Duchess - that would be the title of Diana, if she became the wife of Andrew, Duke of York.

The youth of aristocratic families are familiar with the young offspring royal family since childhood, so that Diana knew everyone - and Charles, and Andrew, and Anna, and Edward. But it was with Andrew that she had a childhood friendship - according to Lady Campbell, in infancy they played together on the territory of the royal estate of Sandringham, where the Spencers rented a mansion. This right was granted by King George VI to his friend, Diana's maternal grandfather. In addition, the Windsor and Spencer families had long-standing ties: one of Diana's great-grandmothers was the mistress of George IV and, according to rumors, even bore him an illegitimate child. And Grandma Ruth (as well as Maternal Grandmother Cynthia) served as a lady-in-waiting to the Queen Mother. John Spencer himself performed the honorary duties of equerry to Queen Elizabeth.

After Sarah left the race, at the Spencer family council it was decided to urgently replace her with Diana, the writer claims. Diana was told to attend every event where Charles appeared. And now the opportunity to get closer to the heir to the throne finally stood out - at one of the country receptions, Diana saw that Charles had gone for a walk alone. “In the field, near a haystack, the prince stopped, sat down. Diana came over and sat down next to him: “You really miss Lord Mountbatten, don’t you? Right now you need someone to take care of you!” - she said. Shortly before this, Charles had lost his beloved great-uncle and mentor - Lord Mountbatten, and he really needed sympathy, ”says Lady Campbell.

About how Diana first came to the royal castle of Balmoral as a personal guest of Charles, writes the butler Paul Burrell, who served there then (he, in turn, also wrote a book about Diana - "Royal Duty").

The fact is that Diana made a mistake - she brought with her only one evening dress for three days. She was lucky - the evenings were warm, and everyone gathered in an informal setting - in the barbecue house. So no one but Paul Burrell noticed her miscalculation. However, forgivable - Diana was only nineteen years old, while the rest of Charles' company was over thirty, or even forty. In addition, she, for nothing that an aristocrat, worked as a modest kindergarten teacher and lived in a rented London apartment, and not at all with her father and stepmother, with whom she felt uncomfortable. “She was modest, often blushing,” recalls Paul Burrell. - Over time, the scarcity of her wardrobe was noticed by the ladies of the court and they themselves ordered something for her: a blue skirt, a collarless jacket of the same color, matching shoes and a white blouse with a stand-up collar.

It was this costume that the princess was wearing when her engagement to Prince Charles was publicly announced at Buckingham Palace on February 24."

Lady Colin Campbell believes that this same costume later played a bad joke with Diana: “She put on a ready-made costume blue color who sat on her baggy. In it, she seemed much fuller than she really was. Seeing her photos in the press, she muttered, "Oh my God, I'm so fat!" Charles tried to comfort her by telling her that she looked great. And he pinched her at the same time by the fold of fat at the waist. Lady Campbell believes that this moment, after which Diana set herself the goal of losing weight before the wedding, was the beginning of her infamous bulimia.

“For three days, Diana starved herself, after which she broke loose and ran to the nearest pastry shop for sweets. She only stopped when she had eaten the whole box. Then she was horrified, rushed to the bathroom and took advantage of known way"two fingers in the mouth." Deciding that this was a wonderful way out, Diana began to do this every day, ”writes Lady Campbell. The dressmaker who worked on the wedding dress grumbled - for the umpteenth time the outfit had to be sewn in. After all, Diana lost 12 kilograms in a short time. She looked great. What could not be said about the state of her nerves. “As is usually the case with bulimia, she began to have mood swings, and there were also unreasonable bouts of sobbing. Over time, Charles had to sip enough of all this, ”says Lady Campbell.

According to her information, Diana's tendency to bulimia manifested itself from school. It was difficult for young Lady Spencer to control how much she ate. “Classmates recall that she could eat a dozen slices of bread at a time. And then three more full bowls of stewed beans,” the book says. And it began at the age of eight - that is, exactly when Diana's parents divorced.

DID DIANA HAVE THE RIGHT TO MARRY CHARLES?

The divorce of John and Frances Spencer became one of the most discussed secular scandals of the late 60s. Everyone condemned Francis, who, without waiting for a divorce, got herself a lover. No one wanted to hear that the real reason for her leaving her husband was abuse.

Diana's mother claimed that her husband beat and humiliated her. But she had no witnesses ... As a result, custody of the children - three daughters and a son - went to John. “And he soon sent them to boarding schools and took new wife, which his offspring hated,” writes Lady Campbell. Wherein mother The children also criticized. “She should have stayed with us! I would never, ever leave my children! I'd rather die!" - said Diana, even becoming an adult.

Lady Campbell claims that Charles also lacked parental love since childhood: his mother Elizabeth was too busy with state affairs, and his father subjected any of his actions to ruthless criticism, from which Charles developed something like a neurosis.

They say that, even as an adult, Charles once could not resist tears when he heard from his father: “Everything you say is complete nonsense!” - in response to arguments about architecture, in which Charles was well versed. The first (and, as it turned out later, the only one for life) love of Charles Camilla Shand preferred him to the handsome officer of the royal guard Andrew Parker-Bowles, whom she married, despite Charles's persistent courtship.

And when, six years after her marriage, Camilla, having lost interest in her husband, nevertheless responded to the love of the Prince of Wales, their marriage was no longer possible - even if she divorced, the heir to the throne cannot marry a divorced woman. Nevertheless, at a ball at the royal polo club, the two kissed in front of everyone.

It was then that Prince Philip began to urgently look for a bride for his son, for the role of which Diana was somewhat hastily chosen. Lady Campbell believes that for some time Charles believed that young Spencer would be able to give him what he so passionately dreamed of - that is, selfless and reckless love. “But the trouble is: Diana, who really sincerely liked Charles, herself suffered from a “dislike complex”, therefore, instead of loving someone, she needed someone to love her herself,” writes Campbell.

The preparations for the wedding were kept secret for as long as they could. Paul Burrell recalls: “When the royal jeweler David Thomas brought a selection of engagement rings to the palace, it was announced to the servants that the rings were there to be given to Prince Andrew on his 21st birthday.

Although the rings were obviously female. Charles asked the queen to make the choice. Diana later told her friends: “I would never choose such a tasteless ring. I would prefer something simpler and more elegant."

According to Lady Campbell, when Charles proposed to Diana, he begged her to think carefully before answering. After all, a member of the royal family has many responsibilities, every step is in sight, you must be able to keep a face, and you can immediately forget about personal freedom. “But Diana agreed instantly, without any hesitation. It seems that she simply could not imagine that any difficulties could follow the wedding with the prince. She was raised on romance novels Barbara Cartland, where after the wedding the finale immediately comes: "And they lived happily ever after, loving each other ..."

Written by Lady Campbell.

Previously, there was no doubt that Diana, at least, met one of the main requirements for the bride of the heir to the throne. It is known that before the wedding, the queen's personal gynecologist examined her and announced that Diana was healthy and innocent. On this occasion, one friend of Camilla Parker-Bowles even quipped: "It may well be that Lady Diana was elected precisely because she remained the only virgin aristocrat of marriageable age in this country." But Lady Colin Campbell, after interviewing Diana's school friends, makes a sensational statement: “Diana was only seventeen when she met young Daniel Wiggin. The son of a baronet, he was a friend of her brother Charles.

And he became her first lover. Soon Diana met with the next - James Coltrast, also the son of a baronet. He was very attractive to her physically, was just her type of man - tall, dark-haired, muscular. In addition to them, Lady Campbell lists five more premarital lovers of Diana. Moreover, the future Princess of Wales, according to her information, was so close with the guardsman Rory Scott that she spent weekends on his parents' farm, washing and ironing his shirts. And Rory confirmed to the writer that their relationship with Diana "was decidedly not platonic." Little of! Allegedly, he had not yet been Diana's first.

According to Lady Campbell, there was another moment that could have upset the wedding if it had been known in 1981.

“The fact that Diana's mother's great-great-grandmother, Eliza Quark, was a Bombay-born Indian was one of the most closely guarded Spencer family secrets,” writes Lady Colin Campbell. “After all, if anyone knew about this, then none of the three daughters of Frances Spencer would ever be able to successfully marry.”

IS THE PRINCESS TOO BETTER WITH THE SERVANTS?

And on July 29, 1981, in St. Paul's Cathedral, 32-year-old Prince Charles was married to 20-year-old Diana Spencer. 75 million people watched the fabulous, by all accounts, wedding ceremony. It is known that at the wedding, Queen Elizabeth, in joy, slightly picked up her skirt and famously danced a jig. It seemed to everyone that this marriage would bring happiness to both the newlyweds and England.

But for Charles and Diana, these hopes collapsed already at the time honeymoon trip, which they spent on a cruise on mediterranean sea aboard the Royal Vessel Britannia. According to Lady Campbell, it was there that it became clear that Charles was not able to give his young wife enough, by her standards, time, and Diana was not able to come to terms with this. The prince immersed himself in his own affairs several times a day - he looked through business papers, or even read something on philosophy just for pleasure. And Diana, meanwhile, was languishing with boredom and complaining about life. “Bulimia by that time had shaken her pretty much. nervous system' writes Lady Campbell. In the end, Charles had an irresistible desire to call Camille Parker-Bowles from the Britannia, locked in the bathroom of his own cabin.

Diana overheard their conversation. There was gossip about Charles's affair with Camilla in royal circles, but Diana, until recently, led a completely different life, and these rumors did not reach her. Now she found out everything and demanded that her husband end the relationship with Camilla.

“The worst thing was that the newlyweds, apart from a passionate desire to be loved and happy, had very little in common,” says Lady Campbell. Here is the lackey Paul Burrell, who after the wedding was made the personal butler of the Prince and Princess of Wales, recalls how Charles used to spend whole evenings sitting downstairs in the library, listening to Haydn, while Diana turned on Whitney Houston in her room on the second floor. According to her interests, she was an ordinary resident of London.

Perhaps more kind and sympathetic - this was taught by her work with children. Having become the Princess of Wales, Diana got the opportunity to do what she had long been disposed to - to help people. Paul Burrell tells of the horror he experienced when he was driving somewhere with the princess, and she suddenly stopped next to a vulgarly made-up girl in a short skirt, freezing in a damp wind. While the butler was drenched in cold sweat, imagining the headlines of tomorrow's newspapers: "Princess Diana spends time in the company of prostitutes," his patroness handed the girl 100 pounds and said: "Buy yourself something warm. And so that the next time I pass by here, you should be better dressed.” And after a couple of weeks, Diana really made sure that the girl was now waiting for clients in a warm leather jacket.

But Charles's interests - to art, philosophy, fishing and hunting - Diana did not share. When, after her first participation in the royal hunt, according to the ritual, her cheeks were smeared with blood taken from a torn hunting knife belly of a freshly killed deer, Diana shuddered in disgust. But not so long ago, Charles initiated Camilla as a hunter in the same way, and she was delighted with the medieval rite! "Even the sports in which Diana was strong - tennis, swimming, dancing - were not those that Charles, who preferred riding," appreciated, says Lady Campbell.

In the first months, Diana and Charles lived in Buckingham Palace, which, as you know, is a real maze of endless corridors, halls and rooms. As soon as Diana moved away from her apartments, she got lost. After all, it never occurred to anyone to give her a tour of the palace.

Somehow, Diana learned the way to the pool and also to the throne room, where she was allowed to take ballet and tap dancing lessons. Diana fluttered there in tights, not far from two ancient thrones that stood on their gilded legs under a heavy maroon canopy with gold tassels. One is taller, for the Queen, the other is lower, for the Duke of Edinburgh.

As for Charles's parents, in their own way they tried very hard to be affectionate and cordial with Diana. Every now and then in the evenings, when Diana was tired of sitting alone, she called the royal page: “Find out, please, will the queen dine alone tonight?” He went to report and received the answer: “Please tell Lady Diana that I will have dinner with her at 8:15 with pleasure.” The crowned mother-in-law never refused her.

But the atmosphere was too formal for intimate conversations. What can we say about the crowded receptions that Diana now had to attend. The Queen, being an excellent hostess, always made sure that no guest sat at the table twice with the same neighbor. And Diana always wanted to sit with Prince Charles.

In a word, irritation accumulated. According to Lady Colin Campbell, even royal dogs began to seem disgusting to Diana: “During tea parties at the mother-in-law, these corgis hovered around Diana like a small demon, dripping saliva on her shoes. And she slowly kicked them in the side. And then she complained to her husband: “They sniffed me! Do they think my legs are steaks?” Diana also disliked Labrador Sandringham, who belonged to Charles himself.

She complained: "You pay more attention to this animal than to me." In the end, Charles, who was tired of quarreling with his wife over a dog, did not find anything better than to take Sandringham to the veterinarian and put him to sleep. Although Diana did not ask for anything like that. She just wanted Charles to spend more time with her, because she felt so lonely ... “After the death of the dog, to whom Charles was very attached, something seemed to die in the prince himself,” writes Lady Campbell.

That's with whom the princess found an outlet, so it was with the servants. She often sat with silversmith Victor Fletcher. Or she chatted in the kitchen with chef Robert Pine, who treated her to rustic jokes and homemade ice cream. Or in the pantry, she did the dishes with Paul Burrell. “It ended up that Prince Charles, to his great surprise, found the footman Mark Simpson in the bedroom of the princess.

He sat on the edge of the bed and calmly talked with Diana, who was not at all embarrassed that she was not properly dressed enough, ”recalls Burrell. This Mark quietly brought a Big Mac from McDonald's to the palace for her.

It was through her friendship with the servants that Diana learned that her husband was still in touch with Camilla in her absence. One day, while waiting for Burrell in the pantry, she looked into the notebook where he wrote down the guests who were waiting for the table. "Mr. and Mrs. Oliver Howre and Mrs. Parker-Bowles for Dinner", "Mrs. Candida Lucette-Greene and Mrs. Parker-Bowles for Dinner", "Mr. and Mrs. Parker-Bowles with Children".

DIANA STRIKES BACK

Subsequently, collaborating in 1992 with journalist Andrew Morton, who wrote the book Diana. Her true story”, the princess said that, being pregnant with William, she rushed down the wooden stairs in front of her husband. From desperation and impotence to change something. Lady Colin Campbell writes: “In fact, according to the testimony of the servants present at that scene, it was not so. She simply slipped on the slippery wooden steps and fell. Fortunately, everything worked out - for both Diana and William. According to her, Diana tried to play on Charles's feelings more than once, imitating suicide attempts. Once, in the heat of a quarrel, she took a penknife and ran it over her wrist - however, without even scratching it. Another time I poked my leg with a lemon squeezer.

Well, Charles ... "At the slightest sign of a coming showdown, he simply turned and left," writes Lady Campbell.

According to the writer, the novels that Diana eventually began to start on the side were explained partly by the need for happiness and love, and partly by the desire to arouse at least jealousy in her husband. But Charles did not respond. "Aware of his wife's relationship with the banker Philip Dunn, the Prince personally invited him to join them on holiday in Switzerland," says Campbell. The father-in-law and mother-in-law looked at Diana's novels in a completely different way. When they heard rumors about the daughter-in-law's next hobby - her own bodyguard Barry Mannaki - he was hastily transferred to the provincial police department. Diana was most struck by the fact that her lover so simply agreed to part with her.

After all, he could, after all, resign! It soon became clear that the story did not end there. “Barry was going to sell a love story with Diana to one of the tabloids,” writes Lady Campbell. “It hasn't even been a few weeks since he died. Diana did not believe that his death was accidental, seeing in this the machinations of the secret services.

As for the red-haired officer James Hewitt, with whom Diana also had an affair and whom many now believe is the biological father of Prince Harry, Lady Campbell strongly rejects such a possibility. According to her information, Diana also had an affair with Barry after the birth of Harry, and with Hewitt even later. By the way, with Hewitt, as a result, the previous story was repeated - they learned about their relationship in the palace, and Diana's lover was transferred to serve in Germany for two years.

But trying to prevent a scandal was as useless as trying to keep the water out with a sieve.

At first, Diana and Charles decided to leave, which could not be kept secret. Then came the same book by Andrew Morton, written on the basis of conversations with Diana. And to top it all, the princess herself gave a television interview in which she told the whole world about her problems with piercing frankness: “I loved my husband very much and wanted to share both sorrow and joy with him. I thought we were a very good couple." - "Do you think that Mrs. Parker-Bowles played a role in causing your marriage to fall apart?" “You see, there were three of us in this marriage. A little tight, isn't it?" In the same TV interview, Diana spoke about her bulimia.

And when asked if she plans to eventually become queen, Diana replied: "I would like to be the queen of people's hearts, but I do not imagine myself the queen of this country." Finally, she also admitted that she had an affair with James Hewitt.

This interview really turned the already popular Diana into the queen of human hearts. Millions of people reasoned: not only is she actively involved in charity, she brings hope to cancer patients and AIDS, the homeless, the poor, victims of anti-personnel mines ... She is also a sincere, loving and at the same time deeply unhappy person. But for Windsor Castle, Diana became a decidedly inappropriate person.

PINK GRANDMA, BROWN GRANDMA

The queen could not ignore the scandals surrounding her son's marriage indefinitely, and in the end made the difficult decision to formally divorce. Despite the fact that there was no actual marriage for a long time, Diana was terribly struck. Paul Burrell recalls: “On the table lay a letter on the stamped paper of Windsor Castle, written in such a recognizable clear handwriting of the queen. It began with the words "Dear Diana ...", and ended, as usual: "With love, from mom." The princess was very hurt by the mention in the letter that the queen had consulted with the government and the church. “But this is my marriage! No one has the right to interfere in my problems with my husband! she screamed. - I'm talking about the interests of the country.

But why doesn’t anyone care about my interests or the interests of my children?” Diana sat down at the table and wrote back to the Queen, asking for time to think. But the very next day, a letter arrived on the same subject from Prince Charles. To Diana's fury, some of the wording in the letters of her husband and mother-in-law coincided verbatim. For example, "a personal and state tragedy" or "the depressing and confusing situation in which we all find ourselves."

After the divorce, Diana lost her title of Royal Highness and from now on she had to curtsy at official events even in front of her own sons. She was even more upset that Charles now completely and completely goes to her hated rival - Camilla. However, the new position also had its advantages. For example, freedom.

Diana now has access to cash again. All the time of the marriage, she had to use only a card or sign checks: "Welsh." But it’s embarrassing to somehow pay in this way in a movie or in a fast food eatery. In addition, all the expenses were in full view of the mother-in-law, which is also tiring. Paul Burrell recalls: “Diana's first act was to take twenty of her dresses and suits to a second-hand store, and from that alone she made about 11,000 pounds in cash. So the young princes first saw paper money, and they liked it terribly. Especially the fact that on banknotes - the face of the Queen. The princes immediately nicknamed the five-pound note the "blue grandmother", the ten-pound note the "brown grandmother", and the fifty pounds the "pink grandmother". It was the “pink grandmother” that William and Harry vied with each other to try to grab when the mother, laughing, handed out money to them.

And then Dodi al-Fayed appeared in Diana's life.

“Now, in no case would anyone exchange it for a career - a special attitude to work gave Dodi a lot of free time, and he willingly devoted it to Diana in the quantities that she liked,” writes Lady Campbell. - In addition, they had a lot in common: they loved the same films, books, music. These two could find true happiness and live together until old age, if not for that terrible accident. By the way, the only person who survived in it - bodyguard Trevor Reese-Jones, having restored his memory, said that the last sound he heard from the dying Diana was a moan: "Dodi" ...

The causes of the accident have not yet been sorted out. “The only thing that now, many years later, can be said almost for sure is that the paparazzi chasing the princess’s car were not directly responsible for her death, as was originally believed,” writes Lady Campbell. - The investigation, which lasted several years, established: on the mangled remains of Diana's black car there are traces of white paint. And this means that the cause of the accident was a collision with a mysterious car that fled the scene. Despite many years of joint searches by the French and British police, this car was never found.

Reflecting on all this, the writer recalls Diana's plans to move with her sons to America, which Paul Burrell told her about. "These plans are unlikely to please the British leadership," - she says.

The butler himself recalls this as follows: “The princess showed me a magazine with a house plan, which was sold in California on the ocean coast. We sat on the floor in the living room and began to plan: this is where William's room will be, this is where Harry will be, this is the front room, and this is where the servants will live. She dreamed of morning runs along the beach, of a bright sun that was not like London. “We could also get a dog there,” Diana said. - Labrador ... "

, "Queen of Hearts", "Queen of Hearts" from the English Queen of Hearts. She certainly deserved the love of not only the British, but the whole world. Her sad story won many hearts. You can think about Diana, in general, as you like, you can deify her, she can be reduced from a pedestal to another popular, but empty person. But Diana undoubtedly took her place in the history of both her country and this world, and, undoubtedly, among the positive characters. No wonder she is one of the three most famous Englishmen in the world. Queen of hearts. One can argue about many things, but Diana was actually a good mother, and she really did charity work from the bottom of her heart, she knew how to help others. It is a pity that I could not help myself, to deal with my fate. And be colder, as befits a person.

Princess Diana - biography.

Diana was born on July 1, 1961 in Sandringham, Norfolk. Her father John Spencer is Viscount Althorp. Diana also had royal blood in her veins through the illegitimate sons of King Charles II and illegitimate daughter his brother and successor, King James II. Lady Diana will become only in 1975 after the death of her grandfather, it is from that time that Diana's father will receive the title of count, and Diana will become a lady.

Princess Diana spent her childhood at Sandringham, where she received her primary education at home. Then she went to school. But at the age of nine, Diana is sent to Riddlesworth Hall, a boarding school. However, for rich children to study in closed schools of this type was quite in the order of things. Diana was not particularly successful in her studies, although she was hardworking. She was also very kind to her classmates. Like everyone else, she dreamed of a vacation that could finally be spent at home. She spent her holidays alternately with her mother, then with her father, who by that time were already divorced. At 12, Diana is transferred to West Hill Girls' School in Sevenoaks, Kent. Her sisters, Sarah and Jenny, were already studying there. Jenny was quite happy with this school, but Sarah rebelled against strict rules more than once. Sarah, by the way, was a fairly good athlete, she loved tennis. Diana studied ballet, danced step, but unlike her sister and mother, she played tennis at a fairly low level.
Diana did not pass the final exams at West Hill, she failed in all subjects.

In 1976, Diana's father remarried to Raine, who had previously been the wife of the Earl of Dartmouth, he married her just two months after her divorce. The daughters of John Spencer disliked his new wife, who, moreover, was quite power-hungry and tried in every possible way to command in the house. Following their older sister Sarah, they began to sing along under their breath "Rain, Rain, get out."

In 1977, the future Princess went to study in Switzerland. In the same year, she first saw Charles, who came to Althorp to hunt. The Elpin Wiedemanet Institute in Switzerland was a rather expensive private school that prepared girls for entry into society. They also took a two-year secretarial course and learned how to cook. The main emphasis was on learning French. Speaking a language other than French was strictly forbidden. The very rules that reigned in the Institute were also very strict. Diana didn't like it there. She mostly communicated with Sophie Kimbell, also an Englishwoman, and, of course, in English. She ends up flying home to Chelsea, her mother's apartment in London.

In general, Diana never received at least some kind of education. The only thing she could count on if she was not an aristocrat was unemployment benefits.

In London, Diana soon buys her own apartment, thanks to her share of the family's finances and an inheritance from her American great-grandmother Frances Wark. Her friends live in Diana's apartment - first Sophie Kimbell, whom she met while studying at a Swiss institute, then Caroline Pravd, Diana's friend from West Hill School, who at that time studied at the Royal College of Music. Then two more friends of Diana join them - Ann Bolton, who worked as a secretary, since her friends still had to think about money, and Virginia Pitman, who usually cooked for everyone, and Diana washed dishes.

Diana also went to work. At one time she worked as a cleaner, then as a health visitor, by the way, while still at West Hill School, the girls had duties to take care of one of the elderly, to participate in charity in an orphanage. Diana worked as a nanny. Among her employers, for example, were Patrick and Mary Robinson, who remembered Diana as an "exceptionally intelligent and excellent with children" nanny.

Lady Di and Prince Charles.

Diana had a dream to become, but the moment for the realization of this dream was lost, and now Diana dreamed of becoming a ballet teacher. By the way, she always loved children and knew how to find a common language with them. And she even managed to work for a while at Mrs. Wakani's dance school. But Diana did not pay enough attention to this work, because, according to Mrs. Vakani, "She loved social life very much." Then Diana worked as a kindergarten teacher. And a prince appeared in her life, Prince Charles, and she did everything to conquer him.

Wedding of Princess Diana and Prince Charles.

On July 29, 1981, their wedding took place. In 1982 and 1984 the sons of Diana and Charles and Harry were born. But their marriage did not become successful and happy. Charles still loved Camilla Parker Bowles. And Diana, realizing that her ideal dreams of an ideal family will never come true, starts an affair with her riding instructor James Hewitt. Since 1992, Charles and Diana lived separately, but divorced only in 1996 at the insistence of the Queen, who was no longer able to endure all these scandals. After all, for the queen, Diana became a constant source of scandals, a woman who cannot behave with dignity, having taken such a high position, a woman who did not put up with the behavior of her husband, with his betrayals, but she should have. The queen did not like Diana, who spoiled the reputation of her son and the royal family. But Diana was loved by the people, loved by ordinary Englishmen. Diana overshadowed Charles in everything.

In raising her sons, Diana, firstly, tried to protect them from excessive media attention, but at the same time to teach them how to behave in public. And she also gave them the opportunity to feel like quite ordinary children: this is how they received education at school, and not at home, on vacation Diana allowed them to wear sweatpants, jeans and T-shirts, they went to the movies, ate hamburgers and popcorn, and how everyone stood in line for the rides. Diana was actively involved in charity work and soon began to take her sons with her, for example, when visiting hospitals. And, of course, William and Harry loved their mother very much.

After her divorce from Charles, Diana dated film producer Dodi al-Fayed, son of Egyptian billionaire Mohamed al-Fayed. It is with him that she will go to her last way through the Paris tunnel. They left the hotel, got into the car ... An accident occurred in the tunnel in front of the Alma bridge on the Seine embankment. Dodi al-Fayed and the driver died at the scene. Diana is in the hospital in two hours. The only survivor of this accident was Diana's bodyguard, who was severely injured and later stated that he did not remember any details about this accident.

Diana's death was not without conspiracy theories, the search for the guilty. According to the official version, the driver was guilty, in whose blood the amount of alcohol was significantly exceeded and who was driving at too high a speed. Perhaps they were trying to hide from the paparazzi.

The death of Diana was a tragedy not only for the British, but for many people around the world.

Princess Diana was buried at the Spencer family estate of Althorp, on a secluded island in the middle of a lake.

On July 1, Princess Diana would have celebrated her 57th birthday. Despite the fact that she has not been with us for more than 20 years, she will forever remain the queen of hearts for fans. We decided to recall the life story of this legendary woman, the secrets of style, as well as the mistakes she made. Perhaps, without making them, her fairy tale would not have had such a sad ending.

Favorite of millions: biography of Princess Diana

On July 1, 1961, 3rd child was born in the family of John Spencer. The girl was named Diana and it is worth saying that she became a real disappointment for her father, since he wanted a son. Despite this, since childhood, the baby was loved and spoiled by everyone: from relatives to servants.

Unfortunately, Diana Spencer could not enjoy the family idyll for a long time. The girl's mother cheated on her father and Princess Diana's parents divorced. Relations with the new wife of her father did not work out, and all her childhood she was in two houses: with her mother in Scotland and with her father in England, but nowhere did she feel really needed.

The girl was not very enthusiastic about her studies and the teachers said that she was not very capable. Science for her was in second place. Ballet is her main childhood dream. However, high growth did not allow her to become a ballerina. The girl's nature was very addicting and she quickly found herself a new hobby - social activities.

Prince Charles appeared in the life of Diana Spencer when she was 16 years old. Then he had an affair with the girl's sister Sarah. One day, the beloved gave a careless interview and after that the relationship ended. Prince Charles was not bored for long and immediately began to look closely at Sarah's younger sister. Previously, he saw in her only a little girl, but now she has become perfection for him. This relationship had a happy ending.

Young people almost never parted, and soon the girl was introduced to the royal family. In order to marry, Prince Charles needed to get permission from his mother. Queen Elizabeth believed that the girl was ideal for her already elderly son. At that time he was over 30 and there was no time to look for the best candidate, so the queen did not hesitate and gave her consent.

It is worth noting that Diana was a better fit for the role of Charles's wife than her sister. Attractive appearance, good origin, correct manners, modesty and innocence: the future princess had all this, which cannot be said about Sarah. But not everything was so smooth. Queen Elizabeth was afraid that her son's beloved was not at all adapted to royal life. However, years will pass and she will prove that this is not at all the case.

On July 29, Princess Diana and Prince Charles got married. The wedding ceremony was a real event. The broadcast was watched by hundreds of thousands of people. Everything was like in a fairy tale, but something happened that became a sensation for everyone. The word "obey" was removed from marriage vows. It was a real shock, because even Elizabeth II swore that she would listen to her husband in everything.

A year later, the couple had their first child, Prince William. A few years later, Princess Diana of Wales gave birth to her second son, Harry. A little later, the woman will realize that this was her happiest time.

It didn't take long for the princess to show everyone her domineering nature. For example, she flatly refused to help in the selection of nannies and independently chose names for children. She planned her schedule so that she would pick up the children from school herself. A loving mother who does not have a soul in her firstborn: this is how Lady Di can be characterized.

You should not think that the Princess of Wales devoted absolutely all her time to her family. She did not forget about royal duties. One of her main activities was charity. She took care of orphanages, hospitals and hospitals. The British media wrote that she was an example for many, because no one had ever done it with such awe and love.

Unfortunately, happiness in the family did not last long. Prince Charles has been in love with a married woman for many years. Camilla Parker Bowles was his mistress. After that offended wife had an affair with a riding instructor.

A little later, records of telephone conversations, where the spouses exchanged courtesies with their lovers, got into the network. This could not continue for long and they divorced. Left alone, the woman did not give up her business, but even more enthusiastically began to engage in charity work.

Princess Diana died on August 31, 1997. Then she met with Dodi al Fayed, who was the son of an Egyptian multi-billionaire. There were rumors that they planned to get married soon.

On that fateful day, Princess Diana and Dodi al Fayed were together. They tried to hide from the paparazzi and got into an accident. Beloved died on the spot, and the woman died a few hours later, as she was taken to the hospital. How Princess Diana died is still a mystery. There are rumors that the accident was staged. After the incident, the police investigated for a long time how Princess Diana died and, according to the official version, the cause of death is an accident. Only a bodyguard remained alive, who does not remember the events of that night.

Many years have passed, but the cause of Princess Diana's death raises many doubts. When the royal family found out about the incident, Elizabeth II refused to declare national mourning, but this caused anger among the people. A huge number of people came to the funeral of Princess Diana.

The tomb of Princess Diana is located in Eltrop.

People still come to the scene of the accident in which the woman got. Cops and detectives are still trying to figure out the true cause of death.

Princess Diana's children honor her memory. Prince Harry at the wedding with Meghan Markle himself collected a bouquet of flowers that his mother loved so much. Princess Diana's ring is now worn by Prince Harry's wife.

Lady Di: what were her main mistakes

Princess Diana made several fatal mistakes in her life. Perhaps if she had looked at some things differently, then the ending of her story would have been different. Currently, more than one documentary about Princess Diana has been shot, which shows her life as it really was.

Underestimated the opponent

At the time of his marriage, Prince Harry's father had been having an affair with Camilla Parker Bowles for 9 years. Diana knew about this, but despite this, she accepted the offer. It remains a mystery how she was going to outshine her rival.

After the death of Lady Dee, a fragment of a letter appeared on the network that she wrote to her lady-in-waiting. It said that the honeymoon was not at all the way she imagined it, but was a great opportunity to sleep.

Gave controversial interviews

In 1995, a woman gave the most scandalous interview to the BBC channel. In it, she frankly shared everything that happened in 15 years of marriage, about her suicide attempts and betrayals. After that, the public learned that Princess Diana's husband had been cheating on her for many years. The interview was discussed for a very long time. Perhaps it influenced the "accident" with Lady Dee.

Loved the attention to her person

Princess Diana was accused of the fact that at the beginning of her marriage to Prince Charles, she loved to “inflate an elephant out of a molehill” and thereby stir up the interest of the press. For example, she once performed almost naked on the Covent Garden stage. The second escapade was a dance with John Travolta at a reception at the White House. Lady Di in all interviews denied that she was playing to the public and loves increased attention, but in fact she was flattered by it.

Princess Diana's style: what to learn from her

Princess Diana's style was sometimes imperfect and changed over the years. Currently, her outfits are sold at auctions for a lot of money and exhibited in the most famous museums in the world. Let's take a look at what was the style of Princess Diana and what can we learn from her?

First miss - wedding dress

The wedding dress of Princess Diana was discussed for more than one month after the celebration. Fashion critics compared the bride to a meringue cake. The woman herself took part in the development of the outfit. The dress consisted of lace, silk taffeta, a belt with diamonds and a thousand pearls.

The choice of fabric was a real failure. The designers and the bride herself did not think about the fact that they still need to get to the place of the wedding. As a result, at the altar, the bride was in a rumpled dress.

Work on mistakes

After a failed bridal look, Princess Diana decided she needed some help with styling. She approached Anna Harvey, who was working as an editor for Vogue UK at the time. Over time, the princess' outfits have become an example for many. Her main rule was to buy clothes only from domestic designers.

On the example of Princess Diana, you can learn:

• work with proportions;

• select and combine accessories (two watches on one hand, a bracelet with balls, rings on the little finger, a necklace with a letter, a pearl necklace on the back);

• wear clutches;

• use blue eyeliner;

• wear low heels and clothes in the same color;

• be an individual
• dress simply and tastefully;

• comply with the dress code.

The death of Princess Diana was and remains even today a real tragedy for all fans. Although the woman lived a short life, thanks to her, Prince Harry of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge William were born. Prince William and Kate Middleton are raising wonderful three children, and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have recently become husband and wife. By the way, there are rumors that Meghan Markle is pregnant. True or not, time will tell.

Diana, Princess of Wales(English) Diana, Princess of Wales), born Diana Frances Spencer(English) Diana France Spencer; July 1, Sandringham, Norfolk - August 31, Paris) - from 1981 to 1996, the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, heir to the British throne. Widely known as princess Diana , lady diana or lady di. According to a poll conducted in 2002 by the BBC broadcaster, Diana took 3rd place in the list of the 100 Greatest Britons in history.

Biography

Diana spent her childhood in Sandringham, where she received her primary home education. Her teacher was the governess Gertrude Allen, who taught Diana's mother. She continued her education at Sealfield, at a private school near King's Line, then at Riddlesworth Hall Preparatory School.

When Diana was 8 years old, her parents divorced. She stayed with her father, along with her sisters and brother. The divorce had a strong influence on the girl, and soon a stepmother appeared in the house, who disliked children.

In 1975, after her grandfather's death, Diana's father became the 8th Earl Spencer and she received the courtesy title of "lady", reserved for daughters of high peers. During this period, the family moves to the ancient ancestral castle of Althorp House in Northamptonshire.

At the age of 12, the future princess was admitted to a privileged girls' school at West Hill, in Sevenoaks, Kent. Here she turned out to be a bad student and could not finish it. At the same time, her musical abilities were not in doubt. The girl was also fascinated by dancing. In 1977 she briefly attended school in the Swiss city of Rougemont. Once in Switzerland, Diana soon began to feel homesick and returned to England ahead of schedule.

In the winter of 1977, before leaving for training, she first met her future husband, Prince Charles, when he came to Althorp to hunt.

In 1978 she moved to London, where she initially stayed in her mother's apartment (who then spent most of her time in Scotland). As a gift for her 18th birthday, she received her own apartment worth 100,000 pounds in Earl's Court, where she lived with three friends. During this period, Diana, who previously adored children, began working as an assistant teacher at Young England Nursery School in Pimiliko.

Family life

Shortly before her death, in June 1997, Diana began dating film producer Dodi al-Fayed, the son of the Egyptian billionaire Mohamed al-Fayed, but apart from the press, none of her friends confirmed this fact, and this is also denied in the book of Lady Diana's butler - Paul Barrela, who was a close friend of the princess.

public role

Diana was actively involved in charitable and peacekeeping activities (in particular, she was an activist in the fight against AIDS and the movement to stop the production of anti-personnel mines).

She was one of the most popular women in the world of her time. In the UK, she has always been considered the most popular member of the royal family, she was called the "queen of hearts" or " queen of hearts"(Eng. Queen of Hearts).

Visit to Moscow

Doom

On August 31, 1997, Diana died in a car accident in Paris, along with Dodi al-Fayed and driver Henri Paul. Al-Fayed and Paul died instantly, Diana, taken from the scene (in the tunnel in front of the Alma bridge on the Seine embankment) to the Salpêtrière hospital, died two hours later.

The cause of the accident is not entirely clear, there are a number of versions (the driver was drunk, the need to escape at speed from paparazzi harassment, as well as various conspiracy theories). The only surviving passenger of the car "Mercedes S280" with the number "688 LTV 75", bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones (English)Russian, who was seriously injured (his face had to be restored by surgeons), does not remember the events.

Celebrity ratings

In 1998, Time magazine named Diana one of the 100 most important people XX century.

In 2002, Diana was ranked third on the Great Britons list, ahead of the Queen and other British monarchs, in a BBC poll.

In literature

Many books have been written about Diana in various languages. Almost all of her friends and close collaborators spoke with reminiscences; there are several documentaries and even feature films. There are both fanatical fans of the memory of the princess, insisting even on her holiness, and criticism of her personality and the pop cult that has arisen around her.

In music

In 2007, 10 years after her death, on the day when Princess Diana would have turned 46 years old, a commemorative concert called “Concert for Diana” was held, the founders were Princes Harry and William, world music and film stars performed at the concert. The concert took place at the famous Wembley Stadium in London, opened by Diana's favorite band, Duran Duran.

In 2012, American singer Lady Gaga performed a song dedicated to Princess Diana during one of her shows on The Born This Way Ball world tour. The song is called "Princess Die"

In cinema

On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of Diana's death, the film "Princess Diana. Last Day in Paris, which describes the last hours of Lady Diana's life.

In 2006, the biopic The Queen was filmed, which describes the life of the British royal family immediately after the death of Princess Diana.

In philately

In honor of Princess Diana, postage stamps were issued in Albania, Armenia, North Korea, Pitcairn, Tuvalu.

Write a review on the article "Diana, Princess of Wales"

Literature

• Yauza-Press. Princess Diana. Life, told by herself. (A woman of the era. A unique autobiography) 2014- ISBN 978-5-9955-0550-1
• D. L. Medvedev. Diana: A lonely princess. - M .: RIPOL classic, 2010. - ISBN 978-5-386-02465-9.
• N. Ya. Nadezhdin. Princess Diana: "The Tale of Cinderella": Biographical Stories. - M.: Major, Osipenko, 2011. - 192 p. - ISBN 978-5-98551-199-4.

Notes

1. After her divorce in 1996, Diana ceased to be Her Royal Highness and Princess of Wales, but, as is customary among divorced peerage wives, her personal name was supplemented by a reference to the lost title of Princess of Wales.
2. Officially, she never had such a title, since only members of the royal house by birth have the title of "prince / princess + name" with rare exceptions.
4. (July 15, 1981). Retrieved 23 July 2013.
5. Newspaper "Izvestia", May 13
6. , March 12, 1994
7. Article on the site celtica.ru
8. (Russian). dni.ru (16:42 / 12/14/2006). Retrieved October 4, 2009. .
9. Faulkner, Larissa J.. Iowa Journal of Cultural Studies.
10. . Am Ia Annoying.com.
11. . wayback machine.
12. (Russian). onuz.net. Retrieved October 4, 2009. .
13. Alexandra Zakharova.(Russian). Russian newspaper. rg.ru (December 2, 2013). Retrieved 26 January 2014.

Links

An excerpt characterizing Diana, Princess of Wales

If the goal of the European wars of the beginning of this century was the greatness of Russia, then this goal could be achieved without all the previous wars and without invasion. If the goal is the greatness of France, then this goal could be achieved without a revolution, and without an empire. If the goal is to spread ideas, then printing would do it much better than soldiers. If the goal is the progress of civilization, then it is quite easy to assume that, in addition to the destruction of people and their wealth, there are other more expedient ways for the spread of civilization.
Why did it happen this way and not otherwise?
Because that's how it happened. “Chance made the situation; genius took advantage of it,” says history.
But what is a case? What is a genius?
The words chance and genius do not designate anything really existing and therefore cannot be defined. These words only denote a certain degree of understanding of phenomena. I don't know why such a phenomenon occurs; I think I can't know; therefore I do not want to know and I say: chance. I see a force producing an action disproportionate to universal human properties; I don’t understand why this is happening, and I say: genius.
For a herd of rams, that ram, which every evening is driven off by a shepherd into a special stall to feed and becomes twice as thick as the others, must seem like a genius. And the fact that every evening this very ram ends up not in a common sheepfold, but in a special stall for oats, and that this very same ram, drenched in fat, is killed for meat, must seem like an amazing combination of genius with a whole series of extraordinary accidents. .
But sheep need only stop thinking that everything that is done to them is only to achieve their sheep goals; it is worth admitting that the events happening to them may have goals that are incomprehensible to them - and they will immediately see unity, consistency in what happens to the fattened ram. If they do not know for what purpose he was fattening, then at least they will know that everything that happened to the ram did not happen by accident, and they will no longer need the concept of either chance or genius.
Only by renouncing the knowledge of a close, understandable goal and recognizing that the ultimate goal is inaccessible to us, we will see consistency and expediency in the life of historical figures; we will discover the reason for the action that they produce, disproportionate to universal human properties, and we will not need the words chance and genius.
One has only to admit that the purpose of the unrest of the European peoples is unknown to us, and only the facts are known, consisting in murders, first in France, then in Italy, in Africa, in Prussia, in Austria, in Spain, in Russia, and that movements from the west to east and from east to west constitute the essence and purpose of these events, and not only will we not need to see the exclusivity and genius in the characters of Napoleon and Alexander, but it will be impossible to imagine these faces otherwise than as the same people as everyone else; and not only will it not be necessary to explain by chance those small events that made these people what they were, but it will be clear that all these small events were necessary.
Having renounced the knowledge of the ultimate goal, we will clearly understand that just as it is impossible to invent for any plant other colors and seeds more appropriate to it than those that it produces, in the same way it is impossible to invent two other people, with everything their past, which would correspond to such an extent, to such smallest details, to the appointment that they were supposed to fulfill.

The basic, essential meaning of the European events at the beginning of this century is the militant movement of the masses of the European peoples from west to east and then from east to west. The first instigator of this movement was the movement from west to east. In order for the peoples of the West to be able to make that militant movement to Moscow, which they did, it was necessary: ​​1) that they should be formed into a militant group of such a size that would be able to endure a clash with the militant group of the East; 2) that they renounce all established traditions and habits, and 3) that, in making their militant movement, they should have at their head a man who, both for himself and for them, could justify the deceptions, robberies and murders that accompanied this movement.
And starting from french revolution the old, insufficiently large group is destroyed; old habits and traditions are destroyed; step by step, a group of new dimensions, new habits and traditions are worked out, and that person is being prepared who must stand at the head of the future movement and bear all the responsibility of those who have to be accomplished.
A man without convictions, without habits, without traditions, without a name, not even a Frenchman, by the most strange accidents, it seems, moves between all the parties that excite France and, without sticking to any of them, is brought to a conspicuous place.
The ignorance of his comrades, the weakness and insignificance of opponents, the sincerity of lies and the brilliant and self-confident narrow-mindedness of this man put him at the head of the army. The brilliant composition of the soldiers of the Italian army, the unwillingness to fight opponents, childish audacity and self-confidence gain him military glory. An innumerable number of so-called accidents accompanies him everywhere. The disfavor into which he falls with the rulers of France serves him well. His attempts to change the path destined for him fail: he is not accepted for service in Russia, and his assignment to Turkey fails. During the wars in Italy, he is several times on the verge of death and each time he is saved in an unexpected way. Russian troops, the very ones that can destroy his glory, for various diplomatic reasons, do not enter Europe as long as he is there.
On his return from Italy, he finds the government in Paris in the process of decay, in which people who fall into this government are inevitably erased and destroyed. And by itself for him is a way out of this dangerous situation, consisting in a senseless, causeless expedition to Africa. Again, the same so-called accidents accompany him. Impregnable Malta surrenders without a shot being fired; the most careless orders are crowned with success. The enemy fleet, which will not let a single boat through after, lets the whole army through. In Africa, a whole series of atrocities is committed against almost unarmed inhabitants. And the people who commit these atrocities, and especially their leader, assure themselves that this is wonderful, that this is glory, that this is similar to Caesar and Alexander the Great, and that this is good.
That ideal of glory and greatness, which consists in not only considering nothing bad for oneself, but taking pride in every one of one's crimes, attributing to it an incomprehensible supernatural significance - this ideal, which should guide this person and people associated with him, is being developed in the open space in Africa. Everything he does, he succeeds. The plague doesn't get to him. The cruelty of killing prisoners is not blamed on him. His childishly careless, causeless and ignoble departure from Africa, from comrades in trouble, is credited to him, and again the enemy fleet misses him twice. While he, already completely intoxicated by the happy crimes he had committed, and ready for his role, came to Paris without any purpose, that decay of the republican government, which could have ruined him a year ago, now reached an extreme degree, and the presence of his fresh from the parties of man, now only can exalt him.
He has no plan; he is afraid of everything; but the parties seize upon him and demand his participation.
He alone, with his ideal of glory and greatness worked out in Italy and Egypt, with his madness of self-adoration, with his audacity of crimes, with his sincerity of lies, he alone can justify what has to be done.
He is needed for the place that awaits him, and therefore, almost independently of his will and despite his indecision, in spite of the lack of a plan, in spite of all the mistakes that he makes, he is drawn into a conspiracy aimed at seizing power, and the conspiracy is crowned with success. .
He is pushed into the meeting of the rulers. Frightened, he wants to run, believing himself dead; pretends to faint; says meaningless things that should have ruined him. But the rulers of France, formerly sharp-witted and proud, now, feeling that their role has been played, are even more embarrassed than he is, they do not say the words that they should have spoken in order to retain power and destroy him.
Accident, millions of accidents give him power, and all people, as if by agreement, contribute to the establishment of this power. Accidents make the characters of the then rulers of France subordinate to him; accidents make the character of Paul I, recognizing his authority; chance makes a conspiracy against him, not only not harming him, but asserting his power. Chance sends Enghiensky into his hands and inadvertently forces him to kill, thus, stronger than all other means, convincing the crowd that he has the right, since he has the power. What happens by chance is that he exerts all his strength on an expedition to England, which, obviously, would destroy him, and never fulfills this intention, but inadvertently attacks Mack with the Austrians, who surrender without a fight. Chance and genius give him victory at Austerlitz, and by chance all people, not only the French, but all of Europe, with the exception of England, which will not take part in the events that are about to take place, all people, despite the former horror and disgust for his crimes, now they recognize him for his power, the name that he gave himself, and his ideal of greatness and glory, which seems to everyone to be something beautiful and reasonable.
As if trying on and preparing for the upcoming movement, the forces of the west several times in 1805, 6, 7, 9 years tend to the east, growing stronger and stronger. In 1811, the group of people that had taken shape in France merges into one huge group with the middle peoples. Along with an increasing group of people, the power of justification of the person at the head of the movement further develops. In the ten-year preparatory period of time preceding the great movement, this man comes into contact with all the crowned heads of Europe. The unmasked rulers of the world cannot oppose any reasonable ideal to the Napoleonic ideal of glory and greatness, which has no meaning. One before the other, they strive to show him their insignificance. The King of Prussia sends his wife to seek favors from the great man; the emperor of Austria considers it a mercy that this man receives the daughter of the Caesars in his bed; The pope, guardian of the holy things of the nations, serves with his religion to exalt the great man. Not so much Napoleon himself prepares himself for the performance of his role, but everything around him prepares him to take on all the responsibility of what is being done and has to be done. There is no deed, no crime or petty deceit that he would commit and which would not immediately be reflected in the mouths of those around him in the form of a great deed. The best holiday that the Germans can come up with for him is the celebration of Jena and Auerstät. Not only is he great, but his ancestors are great, his brothers, his stepsons, sons-in-law. Everything is done in order to deprive him of the last power of reason and prepare him for his terrible role. And when he is ready, the forces are ready.
The invasion is heading east, reaching its final goal - Moscow. The capital is taken; the Russian army is more destroyed than the enemy troops were ever destroyed in previous wars from Austerlitz to Wagram. But suddenly, instead of those accidents and genius that have so consistently led him until now by an uninterrupted series of successes to the intended goal, there is an innumerable number of reverse accidents, from a cold in Borodino to frost and a spark that ignited Moscow; and instead of genius there are stupidity and meanness, which have no examples.
The invasion is running, coming back, running again, and all accidents are now constantly not for, but against it.
A countermovement from east to west takes place, with a remarkable resemblance to the previous movement from west to east. The same attempts to move from east to west in 1805-1807-1809 precede the great movement; the same clutch and a group of huge sizes; the same pestering of the middle peoples to the movement; the same hesitation in the middle of the journey and the same speed as it approaches the goal.
Paris - the ultimate goal achieved. The Napoleonic government and troops are destroyed. Napoleon himself no longer makes sense; all his actions are obviously pathetic and vile; but again an inexplicable accident happens: the allies hate Napoleon, in whom they see the cause of their disasters; deprived of strength and power, convicted of villainy and deceit, he should have appeared to them the way he seemed to them ten years ago and a year after, a robber outside the law. But by some strange chance, no one sees it. His role is not over yet. A man who ten years ago and a year after was considered an outlaw robber is sent on a two-day journey from France to an island given to him for possession with guards and millions who pay him for something.

The movement of nations is beginning to take its course. The waves of great movement have receded, and circles form on the calm sea, along which diplomats rush about, imagining that it is they who produce a lull in the movement.
But the calm sea suddenly rises. It seems to diplomats that they, their disagreements, are the cause of this new onslaught of forces; they expect war between their sovereigns; their position seems insurmountable. But the wave they feel rising is not coming from where they are waiting for it. The same wave rises, from the same starting point of movement - Paris. The last splash of movement from the west is being made; a splash that should solve the seemingly insoluble diplomatic difficulties and put an end to the militant movement of this period.
The man who devastated France, alone, without a conspiracy, without soldiers, comes to France. Every watchman can take it; but, by a strange chance, not only does no one take it, but everyone greets with delight that person who was cursed a day ago and will be cursed in a month.
This person is also needed to justify the last cumulative action.
The action has been completed. The last part has been played. The actor is ordered to undress and wash off the antimony and rouge: he will no longer be needed.
And several years pass in that this man, alone on his island, plays a miserable comedy in front of himself, petty intrigues and lies, justifying his deeds, when this justification is no longer needed, and shows the whole world what it was what people took for strength when an invisible hand led them.
The steward, having finished the drama and undressed the actor, showed him to us.
“Look what you believed! Here he is! Do you see now that it was not he but I who moved you?
But, blinded by the force of the movement, people did not understand this for a long time.
Still greater consistency and necessity is the life of Alexander I, the person who stood at the head of the countermovement from east to west.
What is needed for that person who, overshadowing others, would be at the head of this movement from east to west?

On July 1, Diana would have turned 55 years old. The famous princess became a breath of fresh air in the royal palace with her open demeanor.

When she married Prince Charles at St. Paul's Cathedral, the wedding ceremony (according to Wikipedia) was watched by 750 million viewers around the world. Diana was in the center of public attention throughout her life. Everything related to her, from clothes to hair, immediately became an international trend. And even after almost two decades since her tragic death, public interest in the personality of the Princess of Wales does not fade away. In memory of the popularly beloved princess, we present twenty-six little known facts about her life.

1. Studying at school

Diana was not good at science, and after failing two exams at West Heath Girls' School at the age of 16, her studies ended. Her father intended to send her to study in Sweden, but she insisted on returning home.

2. Acquaintance with Charles and engagement

Prince Charles and Diana met when he dated Sarah, Diana's older sister. Sarah and Charles' relationship hit a dead end after she announced publicly that she did not love the prince. Diana, on the other hand, really liked Charles, and she even hung his picture above her bed at boarding school. “I want to be a dancer or the Princess of Wales,” she once confided to a classmate.

Diana was only 16 when she first saw Charles (who was then 28) hunting in Norfolk. According to the recollections of her former music teacher, Diana was very excited and could not talk about anything else: “Finally, I met him!” Two years later, their engagement was officially announced, then Sarah proudly declared: "I introduced them, I'm Cupid."

After leaving school and until the official announcement of the engagement, the young aristocrat worked first as a nanny and then as a kindergarten teacher in Knightsbridge, one of the most prestigious areas of London.

4. An Englishwoman among royal wives

No matter how surprising it may sound, but over the past 300 years, Lady Diana Frances Spencer was the first English woman to become the wife of the heir to the British throne. Before her, the wives of the English kings were mainly representatives of the German royal dynasties, there was also a Dane (Alexandra of Denmark, wife of Edward VII), and even the queen mother, the wife of George VI and Charles's grandmother, was a Scot.

Princess Diana's wedding dress was adorned with 10,000 pearls and ended in an 8-meter train - the longest in the history of royal weddings. To support the English fashion industry, Diana turned to young designers David and Elizabeth Emanuel, whom she met by chance through the editor of Vogue. “We knew that the dress should go down in history and at the same time please Diana. The ceremony was scheduled at St. Paul's Cathedral, so something had to be done that would fill the center aisle and look impressive." For five months, the windows of the Emanuel boutique in central London were tightly shuttered, and the boutique itself was carefully guarded so that no one could see the creation of silk taffeta ahead of time. On the day of the wedding, it was delivered in a sealed envelope. But, just in case, a spare dress was sewn. “We didn’t try it on Diana, we didn’t even discuss it,” Elizabeth admitted in 2011, when the second dress became known.

6. Commoner's Sapphire

Diana chose a sapphire ring from the Garrard catalog for her engagement, rather than ordering it, as was customary in royal environments. The 12-carat sapphire, surrounded by 14 diamonds in white gold, was called the "commoner's sapphire" because, despite the price of $60,000, anyone could buy it. “Many wanted a ring like Diana's,” a Cartier spokesperson told The New York Times. Since then, the "commoner's sapphire" has become associated with Princess Diana. After her death, Prince Harry inherited the ring, but gave it to Prince William before his engagement to Kate Middleton in 2010. According to rumors, William took the sapphire from the royal safe and carried it in his backpack during a three-week trip to Africa before giving it to Kate. The ring is now valued at ten times its original value.

7. Oath at the altar

Diana, for the first time in history, arbitrarily changed the words of her wedding vow, deliberately omitting the phrase “obey her husband.” Thirty years later, this oath was repeated by William and Kate.

8. Favorite dish

Diana's personal chef Darren McGrady recalls that one of her favorite foods was cream pudding, and when he made it, she would often go into the kitchen and take the raisins off the top. Diana liked stuffed peppers and eggplants; when dining alone, she preferred lean meats, a large bowl of salad, and yogurt for dessert.

Some biographers claim that Diana's favorite color was pink, and she often wore outfits of various shades of it, from pale pink to deep crimson.

10. Favorite perfume

Her favorite perfume after the divorce was the French perfume 24 Faubourg by Hermès - a delicate solemn fragrance with a bouquet of jasmine and gardenia, iris and vanilla, reeking of peach, bergamot, sandalwood and patchouli.

Diana herself chose the names for her children and insisted that the eldest son be named William, despite the fact that Charles chose the name Arthur, and the youngest - Henry (so he was christened, although everyone calls him Harry), while the father wanted name your son Albert. Diana breastfed her children, although this is not customary in the royal family. Diana and Charles were the first royal parents who, contrary to established tradition, traveled with their young children. During their six-week tour of Australia and New Zealand, they took nine-month-old William with them. Royal biographer Christopher Warwick claims that William and Harry were very happy with Diana, as her approach to raising children was radically different from that adopted at court.

12 William Is The First Prince To Attend Kindergarten

The pre-school education of royal children was traditionally handled by private teachers and governesses. Princess Diana reversed this order by insisting that Prince William be sent to a regular kindergarten. Thus, he became the first heir to the throne, who attended preschool outside the palace. And although Diana, who was extremely attached to children, considered it important to create, if possible, the usual conditions for their upbringing, there were exceptions. Once upon a time for lunch Buckingham Palace she invited Cindy Crawford because 13-year-old Prince William was crazy about the model. “It was a little awkward, he was still very young, and I didn’t want to look too self-confident, but at the same time I had to be stylish so that the child felt that he was in front of a supermodel,” Cindy later admitted.

13. The usual childhood of the heirs to the throne

Diana tried to show the children all the diversity of life outside the palace. They ate hamburgers together at McDonald's, rode the subway and bus, wore jeans and baseball caps, went down inflatable boats on mountain rivers and rode bikes. At Disneyland, like ordinary visitors, they stood in line for tickets.

Diana showed children the other side of life when she took them with her to hospitals and homeless shelters. “She really wanted to show us all the hardships ordinary life and I am very grateful to her, it was good lesson, that's when I realized how far many of us are from real life especially myself,” William told ABC News in 2012.

14. Not a royal demeanor

Diana preferred round tables to large royal banquets, so she could interact more closely with her guests. However, if she was alone, she would often dine in the kitchen, which is completely out of character for royalty. “No one else did it,” admitted her personal chef Darren McGrady in 2014. Elizabeth II visited the kitchen of Buckingham Palace once a year, everything had to be cleaned to a shine by her solemn tour, and the chefs lined up to greet queen. If anyone else from the royal family entered the kitchen, everyone had to immediately stop working, put the pots and pans on the stove, take three steps back and bow. Diana was easier. “Darren, I want coffee. Ah, you're busy, then I'm on my own. Should you do it? True, she did not like to cook, and why should she? McGrady cooked for her all week and stocked up the fridge on weekends so she could reheat meals in the microwave.

15. Diana and fashion

When Diana first met Charles, she was very shy, blushing easily and often. But gradually she gained self-confidence, and in 1994 her photo in a tight-fitting low-cut minidress at an exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery blew up the covers of the world tabloids, because this is a small black dress was a clear violation of the royal dress code.

16. Lady Dee against formalities

When Diana talked to the children, she always squatted down to be level with their eyes (now her son and daughter-in-law do the same). "Diana was the first of the royal family to communicate with children in this way," - said the editor of Majesty magazine Ingrid Seward. “Usually the royal family considered themselves superior to the rest, but Diana said: “If someone is nervous in your presence, or if you are talking to a small child or a sick person, sink to their level.”

17. Change in the Queen's attitude towards her daughter-in-law

The bright emotional Diana caused a lot of anxiety to the royal court, her manner of being in public did not at all correspond to how it was customary to behave to members of the royal family. This has irritated the queen more than once. But today, having crossed the threshold of her ninetieth birthday, looking at how people perceive her wonderful grandchildren, the sons of Diana - William and Harry - Elizabeth is forced to admit that they see Diana in them, her sincerity and love of life. Unlike their father and other members of the royal family, William and Harry always attract everyone's attention and are very popular. "It's probably all thanks to Diana in the end," the queen says with a smile.

18. Diana's role in the AIDS approach

When Diana told the Queen that she wanted to work on AIDS and approached her to help fund vaccine research, Elizabeth advised her to do something more befitting. It must be admitted that in the mid-80s, when this conversation took place, they tried to hush up the problem of AIDS and not notice it, the infected were often treated as if they were plagued. Nevertheless, Diana did not back down, and largely due to the fact that she was one of the first to draw attention to the AIDS problem, publicly shaking hands with HIV-infected people and calling for funding for research, the attitude towards AIDS in society has changed, drugs have appeared that allow patients to lead relatively normal life.

19. Fear of horses

In all the aristocratic families of England, and especially in the royal family, horse riding is not only very popular, but also mandatory. The ability to stay in the saddle is taught from an early age, and this is included in the rules of good form even for the most impoverished baronets. Lady Diana, of course, was properly trained in riding, but she was such a clumsy rider and so afraid of horses that even the queen had to back down and stop taking her on horseback rides to Sadnringham.

20. "Refresher courses" for a young aristocrat

Despite the nobility of the Spencer family, to which Diana belonged, when she married Charles, she was still too young and inexperienced in palace protocol. So Elizabeth asked her sister, Princess Margaret, Diana's neighbor at Kensington Palace, to take her daughter-in-law under her wing. Margaret enthusiastically accepted this request. She saw herself in her youth in the young creation and enjoyed communication, sharing with Diana a love for theater and ballet. Margaret told who to shake hands with and what to say. They got along well, although sometimes the mentor could be quite harsh with her protégé. One day, Diana addressed the driver by name, although the strict royal protocol implies addressing the servants exclusively by their last names. Margaret hit her on the wrist and made a stern remark. And yet they warm relationship lasted quite a long time and changed dramatically only after the official break with Charles, when Margaret unconditionally took the side of her nephew.

21. Deliberate violation of royal protocol

To celebrate Queen's 67th birthday, Diana arrived at Windsor Castle with William and Harry, carrying balloons and paper crowns. Everything would be fine, but only Elizabeth cannot stand either one or the other, and after 12 years of close communication, Diana should have known about this. However, she nevertheless decorated the hall with balloons and distributed paper crowns to the guests.

22. Official end of relations with Charles

Elizabeth tried to do everything in her power to save the marriage of Diana and Charles. This concerned, first of all, her relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles, Charles' mistress. By the unspoken order of the queen, Camilla was excommunicated from the court, all the servants knew that "that woman" should not cross the threshold of the palace. Obviously, this did not change anything, the relationship between Charles and Camilla continued, and the marriage with Diana was rapidly collapsing.

Shortly after it was officially announced in December 1992 that the royal couple had separated, the princess asked for an audience with the queen. But upon arrival at Buckingham Palace, it turned out that the queen was busy, and Diana had to wait in the lobby. When Elizabeth finally accepted her, Diana was on the verge of a breakdown and burst into tears right in front of the queen. She complained that everyone was against her. The fact is that as much as Lady Dee was popular among the masses, she was just as much an unwanted person in royal circles. After the break with Charles, the court unanimously sided with the heir, and Diana was isolated. Being unable to influence the attitude of the family towards the former daughter-in-law, the Queen could only promise that the divorce would not affect the status of William and Harry.

23. Diana and the Taj Mahal

During an official visit to India in 1992, when the royal couple were still considered married couple, Diana was pictured sitting alone near the Taj Mahal, that majestic monument to a husband's love for his wife. It was a visual message that, being officially together, Diana and Charles actually broke up.

24. Divorce

Despite all the Queen's attempts to reconcile her son with her daughter-in-law, including her invitation to Diana for an official reception in honor of the President of Portugal at the end of 1992, or at Christmas 1993, the parties continued to speak unflatteringly and publicly accuse each other of infidelity, so that there is no restoration of relations could be out of the question. Therefore, in the end, Elizabeth wrote letters to them asking them to consider a divorce. Both knew that this was tantamount to an order. And if the princess reply letter asked for time to think, Charles immediately asked Diana for a divorce. In the summer of 1996, a year before the tragic death of Lady Dee, their marriage was annulled.

25. "Queen of Human Hearts"

In her BBC interview in November 1995, Diana made several candid confessions about her postpartum depression, a broken marriage, and a strained relationship with royal family. Of Camille's constant presence in her marriage, she said: “There were three of us. Too much for a marriage, isn't it?" But her most shocking statement was that Charles did not want to be king.

Developing her thought, she suggested that she herself would never become a queen, but instead expressed the possibility of becoming a queen "in the hearts of people." And she confirmed this fictitious status by conducting active social work and doing charity work. In June 1997, two months before her death, Diana put up for auction 79 ball gowns, which at one time appeared on the covers of glossy magazines around the world. Thus, she kind of broke with the past, and the $ 5.76 million received at the auction was spent on funding research on AIDS and breast cancer.

26. Life after divorce

Experiencing a break with Charles, Diana did not withdraw into herself and did not fence herself off from society, she began to enjoy a free life. Shortly before her tragic death, she met producer Dodi Al-Fayed, the eldest son of an Egyptian billionaire, owner of the Paris Ritz Hotel and the London department store Harrods. They spent several days together near Sardinia on his yacht, and then went to Paris, where on August 31, 1997 they were in a fatal car accident. There is still controversy over the true causes of the accident, ranging from a race with paparazzi chasing and the driver's blood alcohol content to a mysterious white car whose paint marks were found on the door of the Mercedes in which Diana died. The accident was allegedly the result of a collision with this car. And it doesn't matter that this mysterious car that appeared out of nowhere, disappeared into nowhere, and no one saw it. But for fans of conspiracy theories, this is not an argument. They insist that it was a murder planned by the British secret services. This version is supported by Dodi's father, Mohammed Al-Fayed, indicating as the basis Dodi and Diana's plans to get married, which did not suit at all royal family. As it was in reality, we are unlikely to ever know. One thing is certain - the world has lost one of the best and brightest women of all time, who forever changed the life of the royal family and the attitude towards the monarchy in society. The memory of the "Queen of Hearts" will forever remain with us.