Chapter 10 2. Gentle Trap

Diana loved Charles, she didn't care that Charles never picked her up at the apartment, never sent her flowers and chocolates, and she could put up with Charles calling her girlfriends "stupid" and having all her appointments go through bodyguards or The entourage arrangement, because she loves him, she wants to be her bride. She once said to her girlfriend: "Unless I am really, really in love with someone, I will never marry. If you can't be sure that you love this person, you may get divorced later, and I never want to divorce." The pursuit of the press made Diana unbearable.In her own room, she was free to vent her feelings, she recalls: "I used to cry like a child against the four walls, I just couldn't handle it." Prince Charles never offered to help Give her a hand.To make matters worse, Charles is indifferent to her plight and sympathetic to Camilla's.When he called Diana, he often spoke sympathetically about Camilla's difficult life, because there were always three or four journalists outside her house.Diana bit her lip and said nothing, never mentioning that she herself had actually been the prey of the press for so long.On the one hand, her pride made her unwilling to complain, on the other hand, she didn't want her loved ones to worry about her and think she was a burden.

From Diana's point of view, Charles was a lonely and sad man who needed someone to take care of him.He awakens her latent motherhood.Whenever she came back from a date with the prince, she was always full of sympathy for him, saying things like "they made him do too much" or "they sent him here and there, it was horrible" and so on.She is irrevocably captivated by him. To become the Princess of Wales --- Charles's bride gradually became a vague ideal of Diana.In the process of the prince looking for a bride, she is undoubtedly an active cooperator.At Balmoral, she has successfully passed the test and has been recognized by the royal family.There is another checkpoint, that is Edward Ardion, the prince's private secretary.He not only affects Charles' work, but also includes the review of the future princess.

The sharp-tongued Ardeen was always gossiping about some of his former girlfriends in front of his master, and he was particularly disliked by Anna Wallace, who disliked Ardeen because he was apparently destined to be a bachelor for life.But Diana entertained him, flattered him, made him laugh and convinced him that she was determined to be Princess of Wales.He was conquered, another obstacle fell.Diana finally got what she wanted. On February 24, 1981, Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer announced their engagement. Showing off her £28,000 sapphire ring from Garrard Jewelers, Diana joined Charles at a case arranged by the AP's creative court reporter Grania Forbes. Engagement press conference.

Charles confirmed at the press conference that the real start of this romance was in August last year, at Balmoral: "At that time, we began to realize that there was something interesting." Of that unexpected encounter in the plowed field, he said: "I remember her as a very jovial, funny and energetic 16-year-old girl. She was very charming, very playful and full of life." Diana admitted that her first impression of the prince was "very amazing". They are all optimistic about the future.They don't care about the age gap.Diana said it was never considered, and Charles believed that Diana's youthful vitality would keep him young forever, and the age was determined by the state of mind.It turns out that this is a high-sounding word on an official occasion.They also believe that the two have a lot in common.

Charles said: "Diana is a person who loves outdoor activities very much, and is also a vigorous person." Diana said: "We all like music and dancing, and we can have a good understanding of humor."The prince admitted that Diana was "a fantastic skier". As to how they fell in love, Charles replied that it was a gradual thing.As for whether they were in a relationship, Diana answered without thinking: "Of course."And Charles, thoughtful, adds the puzzling closing line: "Whatever love means." More than cautious. The media was omnipotent, and anyone who could be found who knew Diana before was interviewed.Her father, Earl Spencer, declared: "Diana was a giver, not a taker. She was always a delightful child, winning beauty contests as a baby, fame and Doesn't bother her. She'll take it easy. She's very practical, down-to-earth, and a very good housewife."

Caroline, who shares a flat with her, described how Diana broke the news of the engagement: "We cried out and cried. We were all very emotional. We knew about the engagement shortly after Prince Charles proposed. News. It's not hard to keep it a secret, and we never thought of telling anyone. It's not the thing to do with a friend. We've always been very careful: grown-ups have taught us that way since we were little." The married sister Sarah claimed to be Cupid, and she introduced the prince to her sister.As for her relationship with the prince, she said seriously that it was platonic.

Regarding Diana's engagement, his younger brother Charlie recalled: "When I went to her place, she was very happy and she was smiling. I just remember that she was very happy at that time." According to his feeling, whether she loved that character or that person What?" She was baptized by the fire of the media, and she knew that she could handle the role. I've never seen her so happy. Her happiness is real, because if the motive is not pure, it is impossible to be so happy. Excitement. It's not the excitement of someone winning a lot of money at a gamble, but the joy of being spiritually satisfied."

Jenny took a more pragmatic approach to this issue.She shared in the bride-to-be's happiness, but as the wife of the queen's assistant private secretary, she couldn't help worrying about how Diana would handle royal life. The whole world is cheering for the prince's happy love, but the protagonist of the story, Diana, left home, friends, and the free world outside, and began to struggle independently under the old and rigid rules of the royal family.They surrounded Diana like the shadows of a prison. Despite being from a famous family, this innocent and innocent girl has no understanding of the distinction between seniority and inferiority in Buckingham Palace.In the more than three months from the engagement to the wedding, she shed many tears.She lost weight quickly, and her waist went from 29 inches at the wedding to 23 inches at the wedding.Her friend Caroline Bartholomew recalled: "Since she entered Buckingham Palace, tears have become the norm. Poor she has become so thin, I worry about her. She is not at all happy or happy, she is forced to live in It was like a nightmare to her, amidst all the pressures. Difficulties hit her like a whirlwind from every direction, making her dizzy, pale and overwhelmed."

Her first night in the royal family was at Clarence House, the Queen Mother's residence in London.She walked into this strange world completely alone and helpless.No event was organized by the royal family to welcome her, and her future husband was not present. The good-natured, wishful-hearted media, who believe in the royal family's human touch, painted a beautiful picture: the Queen Mother walked around Diana, teaching her how to abide by royal etiquette, while the Queen's senior attendant, Lady Susan Hasay, taught Diana The beautiful girl led aside and told her the long genealogical history of the royal family.In fact, she was barely taught anything about her new identity.

Diana was led by servants to her bedroom on the second floor.On the bed lay a letter written by Camilla Parker Bowles some days before the prince's engagement was officially announced.In the letter, Camilla kindly invited Diana to lunch.During lunch, Camilla pressed Diana repeatedly on whether she would go hunting after moving to Highgrove country house. Puzzled, Diana replied in the negative.The reassured look on Camilla's face made her suspicious.She later understood that Camilla was using the prince's penchant for hunting to maintain a relationship. Before long, Diana was living in a suite at Buckingham Palace, where she, her mother and other concerned staff also lived to help with planning, arranging weddings and costumes.From here, Diana gradually developed her unique experience and extraordinary taste in fashion and beauty, and eventually became one of the best-dressed people in the world.

The black taffeta gown she wore to her first official event as a royal sparked buzz.This evening dress was bare-chested and backless, with only ties, which was very different from the strict and conservative dress style of the royal family.Prince Charles is not too fond of this kind of clothing, but she thinks that black is the color that makes a girl her age look the most beautiful.When she shows up at the door of his study in full dress, he makes a bad comment, saying that only mourners wear black.Diana said she wasn't from his family yet, and she didn't have anything else to wear to the evening's event. That night she met Princess Grace of Monaco whom she had admired for a long time.The princess, who was also a commoner, noticed Diana's dilemma. She ignored the other guests who commented on Diana and led Diana into the bathroom.As if meeting a confidant, Diana confided in one breath the loneliness and desolation of the court environment, her dissatisfaction with the media's stalking, and her fear of future life.The Princess of Monaco, who is well aware of the world, persuaded her humorously: "Don't worry, the situation in the future will be worse than the present." At the end of March 1981, Charles went to Australia for a five-week official visit.Before boarding the plane, he grabbed her arm and kissed her on both cheeks. Watching Charles' special plane slide slowly on the runway and disappear into the distant sky, Diana could no longer control her emotions and wept in public. The media and the public adored the effeminate and sentimental princess-to-be.How did they know that Diana's tears were not just shedding the prince.Prince Charles spent his first few minutes at the airport in his study at Buckingham Palace.Diana was chatting with him when suddenly the phone rang and it was Camilla. Diana didn't know whether to stay or leave and let them say goodbye alone. The former made her embarrassed, while the latter made her feel wronged and uncomfortable.She walked away anyway, and she was still upset and sad when she talked about it to her friends later. The prince left, and Diana continued to be lonely and depressed in the desolate Buckingham Palace.For Diana, who was used to living in groups, this was a suffocating place.When she asked the palace staff about her fiancé's previous relationship with Camilla, they always tactfully avoided and cleverly prevaricated, which made Diana very annoyed.In such an environment, she felt deeply alone, and she couldn't help feeling sad. In order to relieve boredom, she went to the kitchen to chat with the chefs to relieve boredom.On one occasion, Diana, dressed in denim and barefoot, buttered a valet's bread, much to the valet's flatterment and embarrassment. To ease her nervousness, she invited West Heath School pianist Lily Snipe (now deceased) and her dance teacher Wendy Mitchell to come to Buckingham Palace to give her lessons.Each time, Diana wore a leotard and practiced a dance that combined ballet and tap dancing for about 40 minutes. As the wedding approached, her heart grew heavier.Miss Snipe's diary is the first-hand knowledge of this situation.She wrote in the diary of her first class on June 5, 1981: "We went to the palace to teach Diana. We worked very hard and didn't dare to waste time. When the class was over, Diana stuck out her tongue and said: 'I guess, Miss Snipe will now be making a beeline for the papers in Fleet Street and judging me. 'Diana has a sense of humor, and she needs it in the days to come." The last dance lesson was a few days before the wedding, and Diana was conflicted.Miss Snipe wrote in her diary: "Miss Diana is very tired—staying up too much late. I gave her a gift from West Heath School—the small silver dining table salt shaker. It is very beautiful and very attractive. But Miss Diana is counting her few free lives. It's miserable, there are hordes of reporters outside the palace. We hope to continue classes in October, but Diana said sadly: 'In 10 days, I will Not the original me.'” A few days before the wedding, a package arrived at Charles' office in Buckingham Palace, where only Diana and the crown prince's financial secretary, Michael Colbers, were present.There is a specific royal code on the package, indicating that only the prince himself can open it.But driven by curiosity, Diana insisted on opening the packet.Inside is a gold bangle set with blue gemstones and engraved with the two letters "F" and "G".Diana has learned from friends that these are the initials of the nicknames "Fred" and "Gladys" that the prince and Camilla use each other.Another time, when Charles sent a bouquet of flowers to the sick Camilla, Diana discovered that Charles used the two letters again.She couldn't help feeling like a knife was piercing her heart, and burst into tears. Although Diana confronted Charles repeatedly, but her tears, anger, and protests were of no avail, Prince Charles still went his own way and gave the bracelet to the woman. Since the beginning of this marriage, Camilla has been an omnipresent shadow. Diana began to reflect on whether her wedding should go on. A week before the wedding, she attended a wedding rehearsal at St. Paul's Church.When the spotlight came on, a heavy sense of tragedy also hit her, and tears welled up in her eyes. Did she have a reason to run away? Everything was ready for the wedding.The TV cameras were on standby, the wedding cake was ready, the roads were crowded with people, and there was a festive atmosphere around the palace.But the main character, Diana, is not happy.The weekend before the wedding, she again left a polo field in Tidworn in tears; the public found her disappointed and embarrassed.On the Monday before the wedding, Diana considered over and over again whether to cancel the wedding. Charles had personally delivered the gift to Camilla, even the bodyguard McLean did not bring it. Diana shared her plight with her two older sisters as they lunched at Buckingham Palace.But they did not take seriously the doubts and omens of their sister. “Poor Duck,” they used a nickname for their sister at home, “things have gotten to the point where it’s too late to change.” In the evening, she and Charles gave a ball at Buckingham Palace, entertaining 800 of their friends and their families, and her plight was hardly noticed.It was a carnival night, one that people will never forget.Princess Margaret tied a balloon to her tiara, and Prince Andrew tied one at the tail of his coat.The service staff also made a special cocktail for the dance. At the ball, comedian Spike Milligan talked endlessly about God; Diana handed over a priceless necklace inlaid with diamonds and pearls to a friend for safekeeping; "It says there's music 'live'", in a bewildered tone, as if the music had just come out.That night was truly unforgettable.Adam Russell recalled: "The joyous atmosphere was intoxicating. Everyone was very drunk, and when they stopped the taxi outside the next morning, they were all very excited, although they were drunk." Diana half-joyed and half-worryed towards the turning point of her fate—the wedding that attracted worldwide attention.Tomorrow? Who can decide, the director has already made the decision.