Chapter 9 1. Cinderella

The Spencer family and the royal family have been friends for several lifetimes.Parker Manor is very close to the royal family's mansion, and naturally formed a well-matched social circle. Movement between the Spencers and the royal family is infrequent, and in fact the children view invitations to visit the Queen's Winter Residence as daunting. Little Diana even felt that Sandringham, the queen's private residence, had a weird atmosphere, which she really didn't like.At one point, she even kicked and screamed, refusing to go.She didn't quiet down until her father said that it was very bad manners not to play with other children.

In this case, Diana did meet the royal children, but she didn't remember them.It was neither the hunting grounds of Althorp Land, nor the banquet hall of Buckingham Palace, but the Parker Manor of her childhood. At that time, she was just a dancing baby, and the 12-year-old Charles, who was already a little adult, naturally had no interest in small dolls. She drank tea and played in the nursery with Prince Andrew and Prince Edward. Brother Charles occasionally poked his head in to have a look, frowning like a little adult. Charles was twelve and a half years older than Diana. By the time Diana was 10, Charles had already traveled around the world.

They have known each other for a long time, but because of the age gap and different lifestyles, they were never close.In Charles' life, she was just a small and insignificant role in the corner. The first time the two sides can recall meeting was in 1977.At the time, Charles was having a crush on her older sister Sarah and had been invited to a shooting party held by the Spencers at Althorp Cottage in Northamptonshire.Staying home from boarding school for the holidays, Diana, a naïve, slightly portly, free-spirited 16-year-old, met the Prince on a freshly plowed piece of Althorp estate near Nobletelsen. in the field.They were hunting that day, and the Prince was with his faithful hound named Sandringham Harvey.It was getting late, and the prince was so absorbed in hunting that he was absent-minded when he was talking.Diana wore a plaid shirt, corduroy trousers, boots, and her sister's leather jacket, which was definitely not the eye-catching type.There was a dance in Spencer's house that weekend in honor of the Prince, and Sarah courted him with all her might.

Among the gentlemen and ladies' clothes and temples, Diana, who has not yet shed her baby fat, has a thick and fat body, no makeup, and a clumsy appearance in her speech and behavior. But Prince Charles felt, "This 16-year-old girl is lively, funny, and cute."Diana kept saying this to her friends about that night: "I avoided them. I remember I made myself look bad that day, I didn't dress up, an ugly girl, I was loud, and he seemed to like that." Charles had a nine-month relationship with his sister Sarah before Diana was introduced to Charles.Public opinion once believed that Sarah was likely to become the future queen of England.But her relationship with Charles cooled as her love of publicity far outstripped the modesty expected of a royal girlfriend.Although Charles and Sarah's romance was over, in November 1978, on the occasion of his 30th birthday, Charles still invited Sarah to Buckingham Palace for his birthday party.To Sara's surprise, her sister Diana was also invited to attend.

At that ball, Diana had a great time.Prince Charles' dance partner that night was Susan George, but Diana seemed indifferent to the prince's love, let alone whether she was Susan George's opponent.Diana had just returned from the unfortunate Swiss etiquette school, and life had just opened up countless possibilities for her. She felt that everything was so good, and she wanted to start a new life in London. At that time, Prince Charles was over 30 years old and had no fixed marriage partner. It was the moment when Buckingham Palace was eager to find the princess to give birth to an heir.

Charles is Great Britain's 21st Prince of Wales, the first person in the world to claim the throne by birthright, not by election, subterfuge, ability or violence.This eminence and education made him the most desirable bachelor in the world. Charles' special status made him cautious and even indifferent most of the time.A dignified position and a good and strict instruction made his way of life immutable.Cautious, shy, uncertain, artistic, indecisive, this is his character. Such a character is doomed that he will lose his way among the many beauties who favor him and the status of the princess.He had a distant relationship with many girls, a few more serious ones, but only twice at most had he considered marriage.

In any case, Charles is an out-and-out Merry Prince. Charles' first public date was at the age of 14, when he splurged 30 shillings to book a front row seat at the theater for Marilyn Wells, the daughter of a close friend of the Queen, to watch The Sound of Music .Later, the girls who appeared next to him included Lucia Santa Cruz, Sibilla Dorman, the daughter of the Governor of Malta, and Princess Caroline of Monaco. In 1975, during Charles' tour of the United States, he dated Finla Joe Watkins.But the Prince's attention was quickly diverted.His friendship with Sabrina Guinness, who was born in a wine family, also inexplicably ended.

All kinds of couples broke up one by one for various reasons.An exotic Czech beauty, Countess Angelica Radzinski, is invited to travel north for a visit to Balmoral.She talked about it to the press and was kicked out of Love.Fiona Watson was the daughter of a Yorkshire landowner who was favored by the Prince.But when her nude photo shoot for a men's magazine was exposed, the prince quickly dumped her. Prince Charles, who is in his prime, should settle down. If Charles could be his own master, friends who knew him believe that he would probably prefer not to marry for the rest of his life.

In fact, he is very greedy single life.Over the years, the unchanging way of working and resting and deep-rooted habits have already formed a set of daily operating procedures centered on him. During Prince Charles' celibacy, and even in married life, his friends tended to conform to his lifestyle.They were eager spectators when he played polo, fished or hunted.When he invited them to dinner, they came to his apartment in Buckingham Palace for the appointment, and he did not invite them to their apartment in person. As Prince, he has his own staff and privileges.His staff booked him boxes at concerts or operas, and he didn't even forget to send flowers to his lovers.A friend described him as "a manly male chauvinist".As the Victorian constitutionalist Walter Batchhart said 100 years ago, his behavior was to enjoy the privileges of princely and noble people.He wrote: "Everything in the world and all the honors in the world, whatever is best and most charming, is dedicated to the present Prince of Wales. And always will be. It is unrealistic to expect good moral character when it is exercised in ways that are intolerable to man."

He had his favorite sport, and he had an army of entourages at his beck and call; he often traveled abroad, and girls were always willing to accompany him to dinner parties or polo matches. In his kingdom, he has always done his own way, only people make him, there is no reason for him to make people.However, the mutual accommodation and mutual compromise required by married life seemed difficult for him to adapt to.Camilla Parker Bowles had so willingly made her life conform to his schedule that their friendship was in harmony with his way of life. He enjoyed his single life very comfortably, but he had to choose a life partner.His title brought responsibility as well as privilege.And it was his duty to marry and bring an heir to the throne.

Buckingham Palace is very sensitive to this.The Duke of Windsor's love affair with beautiful women made Queen Elizabeth and other parents have lingering fears.They knew very well that the older Charles was, the harder it was to find a virgin bride who believed in Christ and was of noble blood.During afternoon tea at Buckingham Palace, Lord Mountbatten kept talking to the Queen about the issue, while Prince Philip said he was already disturbed by his son's irresponsible attitude towards marriage. Queen Elizabeth is full of worries. She has devoted her life to carrying forward the spirit of the British royal family, and her top priority is to be responsible to the successor of the monarchy. She is afraid that Charles will make some marriage and love jokes and shame the royal family. The prince's search for a suitable wife has become a snack for all British people after dinner.He is 33 years old, and he claims that around 30 is the right age to start a family.He also publicly expressed the problems he encountered in finding a suitable bride: "Marriage is a more important thing than love. I think one must pay attention to marriage, because it is the crystallization of mutual love and mutual respect...First of all, the two It has to be friends, and love will come out of friendship like friends. I have a responsibility to make sure I have to make the right choice. Probably the last thing I want to think about is divorce." On another occasion, he claimed that the marriage relationship is a partnership, and that a wife is not just married to a person, but to a way of life.He said repeatedly: "If I want to decide who to live with for 50 years, I have to choose rationally and not be emotional." In this way, in his opinion, marriage is mainly a kind of fulfillment for his family and the whole country. obligations, a task made more difficult by the immutable nature of contracts like this.He seeks a partner utilitarianly, to fill a role, with love and happiness as secondary considerations. The self-contradiction behind the two high-sounding views is even more inconsistent with Charles' behavior later.This leads to a tragic conclusion: Diana is just a pawn used by Charles to avoid the responsibility of the royal family. How could Diana, a young, beautiful and innocent girl, think so much.She enjoyed her golden years carefree, joyfully ready to accept all the miracles that life might bring. She had already caught the attention of the royal family when she was a bridesmaid at her sister Jeanne's wedding.People are surprised to find that the clumsy and unremarkable girl has grown into a beautiful and mature young lady.The queen mother also told Earl Spencer that she was surprised that he had raised such a beautiful and elegant daughter. After attending Charles' 30th birthday party, in late 1978, the Queen invited the Spencers, sisters Sarah and Diana, to Sandringham.That New Year's weekend, Charles began to notice Diana a little, but still loosely; he enjoyed her company, probably because she was unassuming, breezy, and laughed at his jokes. He began to invite her to dinner parties or to see exhibitions in the West End, but these invitations seemed to make up for it.He still only noticed her occasionally. A gathering in July 1980 finally and decisively put Prince Charles and Diana on the road to St. Paul's Cathedral.Some people speculate that this meeting may be the result of painstaking planning by elders or friends who care about Charles.They succeeded in planning, and failed more miserably. One theory is that a group of old friends of Charles got together one evening and drew up a short list of possible names of virgins of noble blood. Another argument may be more grounded.Diana's grandmother, Ms. Femoy, was the queen's wife. She was the same age as the Queen Mother and one of the Queen Mother's closest old friends.The queen mother may be the most respected woman in Charles. She is a very kind, wise and reasonable woman. The prince usually asks her for advice when he encounters personal difficulties.Of course, there is no record of any conversation between these two older, highly influential ladies.But when the Queen Mother was worrying about finding a spouse for her grandson, it was impossible for Mrs. Fermoy not to think of her beautiful, pure, young and lively granddaughter.In any case, the best candidates to appear in everyone's field of vision are concentrated on one person: Miss Diana Spencer. The meeting place in 1980 was at the home of Lieutenant Commander Robert de Bass.De Bas was a friend of Prince Philip, and his wife, Philippa, was a page to the queen.Diana was invited by their son Philip to stay with them for a while at their home in Petworth, West Sussex.He said to her: "You may like him when you are young." At the weekend, Diana drove to nearby Cowdery Park to watch the Prince take part in a polo match.After the game, she, the prince and others returned to the Depass Manor for a picnic.After Diana and Charles sat on a pile of hay and exchanged some pleasantries, the conversation turned to Lord Mountbatten's death and his funeral at Westminster Abbey. Charles's great-uncle, Lord Mountbatten, was a British national hero who served as the Supreme Commander in Southeast Asia during World War II. Lord Mountbatten played the role of a loving father and guide as Charles received rigorous training since he was a child and was preparing to become the king of the country.He guided Charles to deal with state affairs, provided advice on Charles' love life, and at one point wanted to promote the close relationship between his granddaughter and Charles. He is an indispensable source of wisdom and experience for Charles, and is Charles' best friend in the world. Charles has far more affection for him than his own parents, Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth. Lord Mountbatten was assassinated by the Irish Republic Army in August 1979.It was something that hurt Charles deeply.He lost someone who trusted him forever, and he trusted from the bottom of his heart. Life has never been the same again, and he has become more withdrawn and withdrawn since then. Diana touched Charles's pain with maternal tenderness.She looked at Prince Charles tenderly with those blue and pure eyes, and said: "You looked very sad in the aisle of the church. This is the saddest scene I have ever seen. I see you sad, my heart Bleeding for you too. I thought, it's not fair, you're so lonely, you should have someone to take care of you." Charles was shocked, and he looked at this beautiful girl again.Diana later told friends that she found Charles to be exceptionally attentive to her.She felt restless, tense, agitated in the presence of this attention.They continued talking until night fell.The prince had to leave her because he was going back to Kensington Palace to review important official documents.Before leaving, he asked him to meet here again the next day.Diana made an excuse that it was impolite to come to someone's manor without being invited by the owner. It was not in 1980 that Diana officially entered the royal orbit, but in the winter of 1979, she received an invitation to attend the Royal Weekend Shooting Gala at Sandringham.By the summer of 1980, Diana's presence within royal circles was becoming more and more apparent.She went to watch Charles play polo at Lord Cowdray's home in Midhurst, Sussex.Her presence caught the attention of the journalists watching the game, but no conclusions were drawn; they didn't even know who she was.Shortly thereafter, the Queen invited her to Cow Day aboard the Royal Yacht Britannia, well-disguised from the prying eyes of journalists; Their romance began after that conversation on the haystack.Diana's common-law partner and close friend, Caroline Bartholomew, recalled: "Prince Charles had a very special place in Diana's heart by his unannounced entrance." He invited her to a concert at the Royal Albert Memorial , her grandmother Mrs. Fermoy went with them.After the concert, they returned to his apartment at Buckingham Palace for dinner. It was a simple date, but the royal family arranged it very meticulously.This is evident from the notes Charles wrote to his private secretary. Later, Prince Charles invited her to participate in Cowes City Boating Week on the speedboat Royal Britannia.On the yacht, Diana found that Prince Charles' friends seemed to know the prince's intentions for her, and they were very, almost too friendly and attentive to her.This made her very uncomfortable. Just after August, in September 1980, Charles invited Diana to Balmoral Palace to participate in the weekend games in early September. Balmoral Palace in the Scottish Highlands is a property bought by Queen Victoria in 1848, and members of the royal family have always held a special affection for it. The cold and rainy Balmoral fishing weekend was seen as an impromptu test of the royals' potential bride. There is a chair in the drawing room, and if an impudent guest tries to sit in that chair, the royal family will shout in unison: "Don't sit there!" because it is the chair that Queen Victoria once sat on. If the guest can successfully pass this "Balmoral test", then he will be received by the royal family.The guests who fail to pass will come and disappear as quickly as the fog in Scotland. Luckily, Diana didn't make it to the main house at Balmoral.Her older sister, Lady Jenny Spencer, recently married the Queen's private secretary, Robert Floss, who owns a holiday cottage on the Balmoral estate; the couple has a newborn child live there.Therefore, she lived with her sister and brother-in-law in a rather elegant house in the palace.Charles called her every day to ask her out for walks or picnics.In front of a group of royal relatives, Diana behaved generously and had a docile temperament. When Charles went out on business, she quietly worked as a female celebrity in the room, waiting for him to come back for afternoon tea with peace of mind. Diana successfully passed the strict examination of the royal family. In the eyes of the queen mother and the queen, this girl was beautiful, gentle, sweet, and lively, with almost no stains in her private life—just the beautiful aristocratic virgin that the royal family needed. At Balmoral, Diana and the Prince were having fun until a pair of binoculars across the River Dey invaded their idyllic existence.Royal correspondent James Whittaker spotted the Prince fishing in the river with an unidentified girl.Diana fled vigilantly, without letting the reporters find any clues. But soon, her identity and whereabouts were discovered, and the years of being hunted by reporters began.Reporters were waiting at the door of her residence from morning to night, and in the "Young Britain" kindergarten where she worked, she was often pestered by photographers.Once she agreed with them to take pictures, on the condition that they would not bother her in the future.Unfortunately, due to the sunlight coming from behind her during the photoshoot, her cotton skirt was showing through and her legs were clearly visible.Charles reportedly commented: "I knew you had a beautiful leg, but didn't expect it to be a showpiece. Do you have to let everyone see it?" Diana discovered the price of being a public figure.Every time she drives out in her striking red Metro, she's always followed by a team of reporters.But she never loses her temper.The reporters asked endless questions about how she felt about the Prince, and she always gave polite but pointless answers.Her endearing smile, inspiring attitude and impeccable demeanor quickly won her the public's affection.Her close friend Caroline Bartholomew commented: "She's handled it well. She doesn't want to play it up in the papers in any way and make a big splash because that's what ruined her sister. Diana believed that if Prince Charles had any special relationship with her, it should never be caused by news and public opinion." In October 1980, Prince Charles took Diana on a tour of the 353-acre Highgrove, a country house the crown prince had bought in July when he began courting Diana.When they visited the eight-bedroom building, the Crown Prince asked Diana to be in charge of its interior decoration, because he admired Diana's taste.However, Diana felt that this was a "very inappropriate" suggestion because they are not yet engaged. The hysterical press is desperate to tie Diana and Charles together, and both Diana and Charles have to re-evaluate their positions and requirements in this relationship. In the eyes of Diana, who was only 19 years old, Charles was her ideal prince.He is a melancholy and lonely prince. Responsibility means great pressure. She is willing to break through all obstacles and overcome many obstacles to walk with him and bring him gentle comfort. Before that, she had never had a real boyfriend, and she lacked a standard of measurement and comparison for Charles.Charles' melancholy and loneliness evokes her maternal nature, that gentle impulse to take care of him for the rest of her life.She thought it was love. At the age of 19, how did she know that motherhood is not love, and neither is pity. The other side of melancholy is indifference, and the other side of loneliness is self-centered. As for Charles, Diana was as well-behaved as a tame puppy in the process of being in love with him, and he thought it was nothing more than that.The advice of his most respected Lord Mountbatten is still in his ears: "To find a wife, you should choose a charming girl with a sweet temperament. .” He thinks that Diana is the most suitable, she will become a good partner who is subservient, willing to bear hardships and carry on the family line, and the love and happiness pursued by married life are secondary. He also thought he had found the right candidate. In addition, this love has been encouraged by the queen mother and the queen, which is the most important thing.Their words are more cautious, but there is no doubt that Diana is the best candidate for the princess. Two of Charles' close friends, Camilla and Lady Tryon, appear to approve of the prince's choice.It can be said that their intentions also play an extraordinary role. In addition, many friends have dispelled their doubts about the age difference between them: Diana was at the peak of her reproductive years, and in a hereditary monarchy, the ability to produce a healthy heir was paramount. In this way, Charles made up his mind.During a ski holiday, Charles called Diana from Switzerland to tell her that he had something important to say to her when he got back.Instinct told her that that important matter was related to her lifelong event.Simple Diana thought the prince was in love with her because he wanted to give her the glory and title of Princess of Wales instead of someone else.But how did she know that giving her a name does not mean giving her happiness, and the main meaning of a royal marriage is often not about love but about responsibility. On February 6, 1981, Charles, who had returned from vacation, asked Diana to meet at Windsor Castle.Prince Charles specially arranged a romantic dinner in the blue drawing room with comfortable leather chairs in Buckingham Palace, ordered flowers and candles, and asked the guards not to disturb. Later in the day, Charles told Diana that he missed her very much, and he proposed to her directly. Diana's first reaction was to giggle in disbelief.Charles was serious, emphasizing the seriousness of his request and saying that someday she would be queen.At this moment a small voice in her heart told her that she would not be queen at all, but that her life would be very difficult.But despite this, she accepted his request and kept telling him how much she loved him. "Well, whatever love means," was Charles' answer, and he repeated it later when they became officially engaged. Charles went upstairs to call his mother, Queen Elizabeth, to update her on the outcome of his proposal.The Queen is at Sandringham.Diana began to think about her future. She was immersed in happiness and did not pay attention to the hesitation and reservation in Charles' words.Her love for Charles, the bliss of being the bride of her beloved predominates.As for all the troubles after marrying into the royal family, it seems to be insignificant. Not that no one had warned Diana.Diana's grandmother, Mrs. Femoy, as the queen mother's attendant, is very aware of the gap between court life and Diana.She once talked to Diana about the many difficulties involved in marrying into the royal family. She once warned Diana: "You have to understand that their sense of humor and lifestyle are different. I don't think it is suitable for you." In addition, there are other things that make Diana uneasy.The prince has a group of flattering friends who flatter Charles and obey him in every possible way.She instinctively felt that the relationship was not good for Charles.To see how a person is, first look at the friends around him, this is not wrong. Another point is the lingering Mrs. Camilla Parker Bowles.She seemed to know everything about Charles and Diana's few dates, and she also gave Diana advice on how to deal with Charles. During her engagement with the Crown Prince, Diana asked him about his former girlfriends.The crown prince told her frankly that these women were all married women.In his words, "they are safe" because they have to take care of their husbands.However, Diana believed that the Crown Prince was still in love with Lady Parker Bowles because he had shown great loyalty towards her. As for the personality differences between Charles and Diana, it is even more obvious.The two of them have almost no common interests and hobbies. Charles was introverted and withdrawn, and liked to sit quietly and read a very speculative psychology or history book; but Diana had a headache when she saw such books, and she even failed her baccalaureate. Charles is keen on sports on horseback, hunting in winter, and polo in summer, 3 to 4 times a week without a break. Diana, on the other hand, has developed a fear of horseback since she broke her arm riding a horse in Sandringham Park when she was a child. Charles loved classical music and opera, while Diana dreamed of dancing ballet and listening to pop music through stereo headphones.Another hobby of Charles is drawing, he can sit and paint for hours with watercolors and a sketchbook, and he can fish all day. As for Diana, she was a lively girl who loved tennis, while Charles never played.She is willing to socialize and talk with people, and she can spend hours on the phone with family and friends, not to mention shopping and shopping. It is not difficult to draw the conclusion that Charles and Diana are two people who belong to two eras and two worlds, one is a serious and old-fashioned country bumpkin, and the other is a free-spirited, innocent and lively modern girl.If they really love each other and are willing to accommodate each other, that's fine.But unfortunately, their status and identities determine that the gap between them is difficult to bridge.A moment's touch can make a marriage, but it can't make a lifetime of happiness. As a prince who is "under one man and above ten thousand people", Charles has long been accustomed to his unchanging life, to the obedience of others, and to being the focus of everyone's attention.But Diana's personality determines that she is by no means a submissive doll who can be manipulated by others. These words are only hindsight. In the eyes of people at the time, this is undoubtedly the perfect combination they have been waiting for for a long time.The same is true for the parties. Diana ran back to her dormitory excitedly and told her companions the news.A companion was in the toilet, and Diana reported the news to her through the toilet door.The girls were so excited that they hugged each other and cried. After a warm congratulatory hug, they opened a bottle of champagne. Afterwards, the four girls drove out and raced around the city of London to share their secret joy. Charles proposed to Diana in the traditional fashion and she accepted.As a royal, Charles knew exactly what Diana was up against.So, he suggested that Diana go away for a while while thinking carefully. Two days later, Diana flew to Australia with her mother and stepfather for a holiday. On her stepfather's sheep farm, she enjoyed the last 10 days of quiet and secluded civilian life. There, journalists who followed were blocked by family members who said they were elsewhere.Diana was actually at a friend's beach house with her parents. What Diana considers is not acceptance or rejection, but planning details related to the wedding with her mother, such as which guests to invite and what clothes to buy. The entire press was looking for Diana's whereabouts, but only Prince Charles knew where she was hiding.Day by day, I miss the prince more and more.Charles didn't call once, and Diana could only think of thousands of reasons to excuse him.In the end she had to call, but Charles was not in his Buckingham Palace residence.He didn't call back until later, and the one and only call comforted Diana's pride a little. After Diana returned home, Charles' entourage sent a large bouquet of flowers, but Diana could not find a card with even a few words from Charles.Perhaps, the flowers were not sent by Charles at all, but just a gesture of courtesy from his staff. They announced their official engagement on February 24, 1981.The night before, she packed a travel bag, hugged her loyal friends and left Colherne Street for good. She was accompanied by one of Scotland Yard's bodyguards, Inspector Paul Ofiser.This is a policeman with a philosophical temperament. Looking at Diana's childlike face, he couldn't help but say: "I just want to say, this is the last night of your freedom as a civilian in your life, enjoy it." These words poured a basin of cold water on the excited Diana, which was exactly the case. The car is driving, who knows what kind of future it will drive to?