Never-before-heard tapes reveal late Princess Diana's inner turmoil amidst royal life
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It's been twenty-six years since Princess Diana tragically left us, but her impact on the world is still strong.
Everyone remembers the legendary Diana—she was a loving mother, an amazing humanitarian and an outspoken advocate for many causes.
What made her so particularly captivating to the public was her ability to share intimate details of her life with the world.
While she often skirted away from details of her personal life, Diana would nonetheless reveal certain private thoughts and experiences through interviews that enabled her admirers worldwide to know her and, more importantly, to understand her.
But most recently, it was not through an addressed interview that these revelations came to light, but from a set of secret tapes.
According to reports, Diana shared her stories and her innermost thoughts in a set of tapes that were recorded with Andrew Morton, the man who would go on to become her biographer for his book Diana: Her True Story.
The tapes were kept incredibly private until three decades later when they were finally made available and published in Diana: In Her Own Words, a documentary and book that paints a personal side of the late, beloved Princess that no one was privy to before.
Given how captivating and frank the snippets of these conversations have been so far, the documentary's producers and publisher are now preparing to release even more tapes in a documentary called Diana: The Rest of Her Story.
Speaking on the tapes, Diana's story covered a whole range of topics, such as her strained relationship with her stepmother and her thoughts on her wedding day.
Let's look at the most poignant revelations from these tapes and explore the inner world of the beloved Princess of Wales.
Her wedding day
Everyone was captivated by Diana's fairytale wedding, and you'll be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn't remember the moment she stepped into St Paul's Cathedral with Prince Charles. But what was her own opinion on the whole thing?
'It was grown up,' she said on the tapes. 'Here's Diana, a kindergarten teacher. I mean, the whole thing was ridiculous.'
The couple had interacted only a handful of times before the wedding. While their age gap was widely discussed (Diana had just turned 20, while Prince Charles was 32 at the time), the grandeur of the occasion made it impossible for Diana to be disregarded.
Her strained relationship with her stepmother
The tapes also offer Diana's side of a very personal story. She spoke of a tumultuous relationship with her stepmother, socialite Raine Spencer, whom she infamously called 'Acid Raine' in the past.
Raine once said to her, 'You have no idea how much pain your mother put your father through.' And she responded, 'In my job, I see people suffer like you never see. You call that pain?'
Being a working royal and an advocate for different causes at the time, Diana had already seen a range of difficult situations, and she had insight into a world that her stepmother seemed to be unaware of.
'I said, “You've got a lot to learn.” I remember really going for her gullet.' Fortunately, the two reconciled shortly before the Princess of Wales' untimely death in 1997.
How the Prince handled confrontations
Diana also shared an incident of a disastrous family event, all stemming from the machinations of her husband, Prince Charles.
Speaking about the royal's apprehensions at being confronted, she recalled, 'At [Prince] Harry's christening, Charles went up to mummy and said “We're so disappointed, we wanted a girl,” and mummy snapped his head off and said, “You should realise you are lucky to have a child that's normal,”'
Diana continued: 'Ever since that day, the shutters have come down. That's what he does when he gets somebody answering back at him.'
These newly released tapes will provide us with a chance to better understand the late Princess—from her thoughts and experiences to her relationships with family and loved ones.
Members, what are your thoughts on these revelations? Share them with us in the comments below.
Everyone remembers the legendary Diana—she was a loving mother, an amazing humanitarian and an outspoken advocate for many causes.
What made her so particularly captivating to the public was her ability to share intimate details of her life with the world.
While she often skirted away from details of her personal life, Diana would nonetheless reveal certain private thoughts and experiences through interviews that enabled her admirers worldwide to know her and, more importantly, to understand her.
But most recently, it was not through an addressed interview that these revelations came to light, but from a set of secret tapes.
Unheard tapes Diana recorded for biographer Andrew Morton are coming to light. Credit: Facebook/Forever Princess DIANA.
According to reports, Diana shared her stories and her innermost thoughts in a set of tapes that were recorded with Andrew Morton, the man who would go on to become her biographer for his book Diana: Her True Story.
The tapes were kept incredibly private until three decades later when they were finally made available and published in Diana: In Her Own Words, a documentary and book that paints a personal side of the late, beloved Princess that no one was privy to before.
Given how captivating and frank the snippets of these conversations have been so far, the documentary's producers and publisher are now preparing to release even more tapes in a documentary called Diana: The Rest of Her Story.
Speaking on the tapes, Diana's story covered a whole range of topics, such as her strained relationship with her stepmother and her thoughts on her wedding day.
Let's look at the most poignant revelations from these tapes and explore the inner world of the beloved Princess of Wales.
Her wedding day
Everyone was captivated by Diana's fairytale wedding, and you'll be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn't remember the moment she stepped into St Paul's Cathedral with Prince Charles. But what was her own opinion on the whole thing?
'It was grown up,' she said on the tapes. 'Here's Diana, a kindergarten teacher. I mean, the whole thing was ridiculous.'
The couple had interacted only a handful of times before the wedding. While their age gap was widely discussed (Diana had just turned 20, while Prince Charles was 32 at the time), the grandeur of the occasion made it impossible for Diana to be disregarded.
Her strained relationship with her stepmother
The tapes also offer Diana's side of a very personal story. She spoke of a tumultuous relationship with her stepmother, socialite Raine Spencer, whom she infamously called 'Acid Raine' in the past.
Raine once said to her, 'You have no idea how much pain your mother put your father through.' And she responded, 'In my job, I see people suffer like you never see. You call that pain?'
Being a working royal and an advocate for different causes at the time, Diana had already seen a range of difficult situations, and she had insight into a world that her stepmother seemed to be unaware of.
'I said, “You've got a lot to learn.” I remember really going for her gullet.' Fortunately, the two reconciled shortly before the Princess of Wales' untimely death in 1997.
Diana, Princess of Wales, died on Sunday, 31 August 1997, following a car crash in Paris. Credit: Facebook/Princess Diana - Timeless Beauty.
How the Prince handled confrontations
Diana also shared an incident of a disastrous family event, all stemming from the machinations of her husband, Prince Charles.
Speaking about the royal's apprehensions at being confronted, she recalled, 'At [Prince] Harry's christening, Charles went up to mummy and said “We're so disappointed, we wanted a girl,” and mummy snapped his head off and said, “You should realise you are lucky to have a child that's normal,”'
Diana continued: 'Ever since that day, the shutters have come down. That's what he does when he gets somebody answering back at him.'
These newly released tapes will provide us with a chance to better understand the late Princess—from her thoughts and experiences to her relationships with family and loved ones.
Members, what are your thoughts on these revelations? Share them with us in the comments below.
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