Chapter 17 6. The final "performance"

If the story ends here peacefully, there will be no Diana's death.The marriage has come to an end, and the protagonist has to confess himself desperately in the media. All the faces are torn, and the rest is how to protect their own interests. June 29, 1994, was an extraordinary day for the British royal family and its subjects.In the face of 12.7 million people in the UK and millions of people around the world, Prince Charles blatantly declared to the world that he had betrayed his wife.This kind of confession, which is rare in the world, spread to every corner of the world in an instant. Facing millions of TV viewers, Prince Charles calmly accepted the live interview with the famous reporter Jonathan Timberly.The interview took place in the living room of Highgrove Manor House.Prince Charles answered a series of "focus" questions from reporters.

Looking directly into Charles' eyes, Tim Blibie asked: "When you solemnly swore your oath at the wedding, did you resolve to remain faithful to her forever and be immensely proud of her?" "Yes, without a doubt." Charles replied without hesitation. "And you did?" "Yes..." Charles said, "...though both of us have tried our best, things are irreparable after all." "Do you hope that the problem can be finally resolved?" Tim Briby continued to ask. "It would be great if it could be done like this," Charles said. "When other people's marriages have setbacks, they don't need to go through the hardships that I have. Honestly, I don't want to see this happen at all. "

After finishing speaking, he relaxed his tension, and said with a smile: "I'm not so stupid as to enter into marriage with the idea of ​​divorce. In other words, I'm not a cynical person. Now that the matter has come At this level, there are various factors, and the result is a matter of course. But in order to save this marriage, I tried my best and did everything within my power. Unfortunately, unfortunately, misfortune still happened.” During the interview, Tim Brieby asked Prince Charles if he thought the breakdown of his marriage had damaged his image.Charles replied: "Well, I don't want to mention it to anyone. Unhappiness in a marriage is exhausting enough in itself. Not only is it infinitely painful, but it can be terrifying. As for the rest, Of course there are many, many unavoidable troubles ... I believe it did take a toll on my reputation."

"People are going to comment on it. The hard part is that it's not predictable what people are going to say." "As far as I am concerned, I don't want to see this kind of thing happen, and I believe my wife will hold the same point of view. The reason why the ending is like today is not because both parties did not work hard, but because the matter itself is difficult. Avoided." "I admit that this incident has affected me to a certain extent, but it is also the result of helplessness. I mean, some things are very tragic in themselves. When encountering such things, you can't hide even if you want to." .”

What exactly is Prince Charles's feelings for Camilla, and how does he view this feeling in the end, I am afraid that he has the deepest inner experience only when he talks about Camilla publicly for the first time. Prince Charles has never admitted that there is an affair between him and Camilla before, but this time it is completely different. He not only admitted that he and Camilla have been in close contact for many years, but also publicly stated that there is indeed a relationship between them relation.Judging from Charles' expression and tone of voice, he had no intention of giving up on Camilla at all.The friendship between the two has lasted for nearly twenty-five years, and the foundation of the relationship is very solid.

Referring to Camilla, Prince Charles referred to his lover as a "close friend" and said the Andrew Parker and Bowles couples had been great friends of his for many years. Prince Charles said: "Mrs. Parker Bowles is a wonderful friend of mine. Our friendship started very early and will continue for a long time. Fortunately, I have A large number of loyal friends, they all add endless fun to my life, let my life radiate brilliant light. If I lose them, I will not be able to bear the pressure from life, and life will lose its existence meaning." The day after the on-site interview, the TV news producer was mobbed by a large group of journalists who demanded details about Charles' relationship with Camilla.Tim Bleeby puts it this way: "He has lost allegiance to his marriage because he has long shared a mutual passion with a girlfriend, Mrs Parker Bowles. I firmly believe that nothing but Apart from Camilla, there is absolutely no other woman involved in the prince's marriage."

The televised interview went very well, with Prince Charles answering all of the reporters' questions directly and in a very informative manner. When it came to the question of whether he would divorce Diana, Charles had a look of sadness in his eyes and said, "It's not the time to think about it." But then he said: "This kind of thing is in the It is likely to happen in the future. If it is destined to happen, we can only let it happen naturally. Besides, whether to divorce or not is a private matter between us, so I want to reserve my point of view." In order to improve the image of Charles in the failed marriage, the royal family painstakingly planned a "prince's confession".It's a risky gamble.The prince seemed to have won the gamble this time.Surveys show that the Prince's affinity has skyrocketed.Two days later, he was hailed by the nation of Wales at a celebration marking the 25th anniversary of his coronation as heir to the throne.

4 months later, he played a second card --- his biography "The Prince of Wales", author Jonathan Dumbleber.It can be said that this is Charles' refutation of Diana since the publication of Andrew Morton's book. However, it backfired. What he didn't expect was that the press always digs between the lines to emphasize the meaning. On October 16, the Sunday Times published an excerpt from the book, titled The Last Days of the Prince.The prince's biography runs to some 700 pages, but the newspapers focus all their attention on dozens of paragraphs describing his and Camilla's stories, such as his anxiety about marriage, pressure from his father, Diana's neuroticism and his love. The swift failure of her marriage to Diana, among other issues. "Charles Says: 'I Never Loved My Wife'", the front page of British newspapers was reproduced all over the world.Despite the biographer's angry protests, it was of no avail.Millions of readers saw the Sunday Times serials and newspaper opinion pieces, but few read the 700-page book...

Diana was particularly saddened by Charles' unfeeling remarks.She insists that they were once in love, and that statement is also an immeasurable injury to the child. But everything seems inevitable. On October 3, James Hewitt betrayed his love for Diana. The book "The Concubine in Love" was published, revealing the five-year relationship between Diana and Hewitt.Suffering emotionally, Hewitt even hoped that he would die a heroic death in the Gulf War in order to seek the most complete relief. On November 20, 1995, Diana was interviewed by Martin Bashir, a reporter from the BBC's current affairs program "Wide Angle Mirror", explaining the grievances and grievances of the royal marriage for more than ten years, admitting that she had suffered from hunger and tried to hurt herself. He had committed adultery with Hewitt and had been unfaithful to her husband.In front of 20 million viewers around the world, she expressed her desire not to get divorced and to control her own destiny.

On the screen, Diana bowed her head pitifully as a victim and confided her heart: Marrying into the royal family, being neglected by her husband, being bullied by her husband’s family, 15 years of bitterness and no one knows about it... After the interview was broadcast, opinion polls showed that some 33% of viewers thought Diana was sympathetic and she was right to be brave enough to be interviewed. Diana did not directly criticize Prince Charles and the entire British royal family, but clearly and clearly conveyed to the audience that the royal family was callous and out of touch with the people, and the Crown Prince was jealous, unfaithful to his marriage, and plotted against her.

When the BBC's interview program was broadcast, it attracted more than 200 million viewers around the world, and it was a sensation, and this day was carefully arranged. On the same day 48 years ago (1947), the Queen, who was then Princess Elizabeth, married her distant cousin Philip at Westminster Abbey in London with unprecedented pomp.On the 48th anniversary of the Queen's wedding, who would have expected to receive such a shocking gift from Diana; and the British media first reported on November 14 that she decided to go on TV to expose the inside story, which is Charles' 47th birthday, which is extremely ironic . Diana's initiative to attack is very effective. This is not only a self-defense counterattack against Charles, but also a modern challenge to the entire royal family. The opportunity is good, the timing is good. When she put the issue of extramarital affairs on the table, the last bit of dignity of the royal family was also torn. With a "pop", people discovered that this was the case! Charles and Diana repeatedly exposed each other and self-exposed "family ugliness", which humiliated the royal family and caused the reputation of the monarchy to plummet.Queen Elizabeth finally couldn't bear it anymore, and on December 20, 1995, she personally ordered Charles and Diana to "divorce as soon as possible".The Queen of England urged them to divorce as soon as possible, and stop exposing each other's scars. The two little princes suffered, and the royal family could not step down.Charles immediately agreed and obeyed his mother's order, while Diana delayed again and again. In private, Diana released news to the outside world through her friends. She has always loved Charles deeply and hoped that things could turn around.In fact, when she was interviewed by the BBC, she also made it clear that she was unwilling to divorce. By February 28, 1996, she had changed her mind again. She wrote back to the Crown Prince and made an appointment to meet at St James's Palace at 4:30 pm on February 28.There, Diana had her office, unobtrusively. The date at St. James's Palace lasted 45 minutes. The Crown Prince and his wife were calm and calm, and there was no scene where Diana threatened suicide when they met.According to Diana told close friends, both couples were calm at the time.She hopes to go back in time, return to the sweet days 15 years ago, and restart the fabulous marriage relationship... It's a pity that the reality is so practical. After leaving St. James's Palace, what awaits them is a tug-of-war between the two sides over a series of issues such as titles, alimony, and child custody.In Charles's words, they are headed for "the bloodiest divorce in Britain". According to lawyer Paul Butner, Diana is fully qualified to claim half of the villa worth 3 million pounds, one-half of bonds, stocks and other securities worth 20 million pounds, and should also share the money from Cornwall. The annual income of the Duchy of Ershire is 4 million. As the crown prince, Charles did not participate in the distribution of royal fees. He inherited the duke of Cornwall, which had only been granted to the eldest son of the king or queen since 1337, and obtained the wealthy Duchy of Cornwall. Before marriage, Charl obtained 55% of the net profit from the territory, and the rest was handed over to the state treasury.After getting married, his burden increased. With the expenses of two more main residences, a wife and two children, he could receive three-quarters of the income of the territory every year, and only pay one-quarter to the treasury. In addition, the territory's 130,000 acres of rolling farmland and the majestic palace complex spanning 23 counties, including the famous amphitheater in Kensington, are all points of contention in divorce negotiations. According to the agreement, Charles will pay Diana 15 million pounds to 20 million pounds in one lump sum maintenance, and pay for her private office expenses of 500,000 pounds a year. After the divorce, Diana will lose the title of "His Royal Highness", but she will still be regarded as a member of the royal family as the Princess of Wales and will be invited by the royal family to attend national public events.However, attendance at any event or official visit to another country at public expense can only be made with the consent of the Queen. Diana and Charles will jointly have the custody of the two little princes, and Diana can make decisions about the little prince. Diana will continue to live at Kensington Palace, and her private office will also be moved from St James's Palace to Kensington Palace. In addition, Diana also signed a number of other "silent treaties", can not talk about any topic that is detrimental to the royal family or embarrassing Charles. On August 28, 1996, Buckingham Palace announced that the divorce application between Crown Prince Charles and Princess Diana came into effect at 10:27 in the morning. Hands up and down, Charles and Diana's 15-year marriage finally passed.Marriage and resentment are a thing of the past. Fairy tale marriages shattered.But the obsessed audience is still waiting with great interest for the hero and heroine to continue their "performance" in the second half of their lives. Diana once said to a good friend: "When I was a little girl, I had many dreams. I hoped to have a husband who took care of me. He was like my father, who supported me, encouraged me, and said to me 'do it. Good enough', or 'Not good enough'. But I got nothing. Before, I couldn't accept this. But in the past few years, I understand a lot of things. From now on, I belong to myself and I will be true to myself , I no longer live for what people think I should be, who people think I am.” Indeed, the fairy tale princess is no more, but Diana's story will continue.