Diana's Friends, Lovers and Bodyguards


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Denville said:
He was still a married man and in the employment of the RF. having an affair with him was not as likely to be tolerated as an affair with someone more her social equal...
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There may be subtleties which distinguish the ways James Hewitt or James Gilbey would be considered socially superior to Barry. For ex., Hewitt by virtue of horsemanship and polo player endeared himself to Charles. Oliver Hoare as an art dealer had panache. And thus, Barry Mannakee ranked beneath all of them in social standing, hmmm.
 
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I think what truly made the difference for Diana, at the time Mannakee was working as her RPO, is that he was actually *there*. It doesn't really matter what Barry's sentiments towards Diana were at the time. What mattered was how important Barry was to Diana and what Diana saw in him.

She was facing the hard, cold reality that her fairy tale marriage was not as she expected it to be with Charles gone a lot of the time without her, still pursuing his own interests that Diana had no liking for and frankly, Charles did not have the time to play the ever attentive husband to his wife.

Mannakee was on the job and that meant wherever Diana went, Barry went too. They communicated. They spent time together and formed a bond. What exactly that bond is we'll never know but for the sake of erring on the side of caution, its very possible Mannakee saw the relationship as protector/charge and Diana saw it as a new best friend and found in him the attention she desperately wanted from Charles.

Sometimes, I believe that absence makes the heart go wander and this could be precisely what happened with Mannakee. He was there day in and day out and Charles wasn't. Its not hard to believe that an attachment would be formed with someone that's always around even though it was his job and his duty to be there.
 
Elan said:
There may be subtleties which distinguish the ways James Hewitt or James Gilbey would be considered socially superior to Barry. For ex., Hewitt by virtue of horsemanship and polo player endeared himself to Charles. Oliver Hoare as an art dealer had panache. And thus, Barry Mannakee ranked beneath all of them in social standing, hmmm.
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simply he was a policeman. Hoare was a very rich art dealer.. James Hewitt was not rich but was an army officer...
 
Osipi said:
I think what truly made the difference for Diana, at the time Mannakee was working as her RPO, is that he was actually *there*. It doesn't really matter what Barry's sentiments towards Diana were at the time. What mattered was how important Barry was to Diana and what Diana saw in him.

She was facing the hard, cold reality that her fairy tale marriage was not as she expected it to be with Charles gone a lot of the time without her, still pursuing his own interests that Diana had no liking for and frankly, Charles did not have the time to play the ever attentive husband to his wife.

Mannakee was on the job and that meant wherever Diana went, Barry went too. They communicated. They spent time together and formed a bond. What exactly that bond is we'll never know but for the sake of erring on the side of caution, its very possible Mannakee saw the relationship as protector/charge and Diana saw it as a new best friend and found in him the attention she desperately wanted from Charles.

Sometimes, I believe that absence makes the heart go wander and this could be precisely what happened with Mannakee. He was there day in and day out and Charles wasn't. Its not hard to believe that an attachment would be formed with someone that's always around even though it was his job and his duty to be there.
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I'm not sure what you are saying.. It is a big "no no", for a Protection officer to get emotionaly or sexually involved with the person they are protecting. Barry was married.. and it seems likely that from what I've read, Diana DID indeed turn to him because he was there, he was a nice easy going man and not someone she had to struggle to understand, like Charles.. and he was flattered when she grew fond of him and it turned his head. So whether it was actively sexual or not, there was something and it was mutual..
 
I'm just more inclined to believe that it was Diana that put more meaning into the relationship than Mannakee did. Kind of a transference thing where a student "falls in love" with her attentive professor or a patient believing there's a love connection with the doctor.

Out of all of the men that she supposedly "loved", Mannakee was the one that was paid to be on the job and constantly in her company. To my knowledge, there was never any assignations between the two of them when he was off duty. If so, please fill me in.
 
think this has come up before. Obviuosly if Barry M was transferred, possibly by Charles' request, he was harldy likely to try and pursue an affair....He probably was very nervous that he and Diana had transgressed boundaries and knew that he was lucky to keep his job.... and he could harldy keep Diana in style..
 
Actually, I think if he had really crossed the line in any way while "on the job", he wouldn't have been transferred but rather, fired. As the old saying goes "love is blind but the neighbors ain't", someone could have put a bee in Charles' gardening bonnet that Diana, herself, was starting to become a little too familiar with her protection officer and they decided to nip it in the bud. For all we know, Mannakee could have privately asked for a transfer himself as he felt the situation was becoming a little too "familiar" and quietly took action without it becoming known. Not every male on the planet was ready to fall at Diana's feet.

What stands out for me in all this is that even with the rumors abounding and the transfer, the Mannakee marriage stayed intact up until the time of his death.

I'm perhaps just more inclined to think that this relationship was more of an embellished figment of Diana's imagination than an actual "affair".
 
I doubt if they woud have fired him, it might look suspicious.. even if he and Diana had been lovers. THe odds were that whether it was just a heavy flirtation or an affair, Charles or his superiors got him transferred and he knew he had gotten his fingers burnt.. and so did Diana.
I think both of them esp Di were a bit scared after the relationship. ANd the evidence seems to be that some of the staff felt that Barry had had his head turned by Diana's being friendly with him. She was a beautiful woman, he was a man spending a lot of time in hr company. She was probably confiding in him about her marriage and how unhappy she was, and he felt sorry for her as well as attracted and flattered that the future queen was making him a confidante..
I think its quite likely that he would be flattered by her affection and willing to reciprorcate..but knew it was dangerous to do so.
As for his marriage, not everyone rushes to divorce over an affair. The Hoares are still together, though OH has certainly had more than 1 high profile affaire...
 
That's an intriguing theory re Mannakee, Osipi. Diana was known in later years to harass objects of her affection. Perhaps he knew where things were headed if he didn't leave. Could have been flattered with her attention at first but then realized that she was depending on him too much. Could be he asked for a transfer but told her that he was transferred. It would have been very hard to have a professional, objective, attitude toward his "subject" if he were developing feelings for her. Perhaps a lot of it, as you say, was in Diana's head.


Osipi said:
For all we know, Mannakee could have privately asked for a transfer himself as he felt the situation was becoming a little too "familiar" and quietly took action without it becoming known. Not every male on the planet was ready to fall at Diana's feet.... I'm perhaps just more inclined to think that this relationship was more of an embellished figment of Diana's imagination than an actual "affair".
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That's not what the evidence seems to me to say. It seems that Barry M's head was turned by the flirtation with Diana, and I can believe there was an affair.. or something physical.. that might have soon become an affair. And that the Police and Chalres would have gotten hm transferred quietly whatever happened... Ther is no evidence that Manakee asked for a transfer.. It seems more probably to me that he was removed quietly.
 
Without facts and knowing Diana's penchant for exaggerating details, its unfair to assume that Mannakee was at fault. We just know that Mannakee was transfered out of being in service to Diana. We only have Diana's word on what her relationship with Mannakee was. Ken Wharfe was in her service and we know more about that relationship because he's related in a book about events and things that happened during his time with her.
 
Osipi said:
Without facts and knowing Diana's penchant for exaggerating details, its unfair to assume that Mannakee was at fault. We just know that Mannakee was transfered out of being in service to Diana. We only have Diana's word on what her relationship with Mannakee was. Ken Wharfe was in her service and we know more about that relationship because he's related in a book about events and things that happened during his time with her.
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Sincer it is some time since I read part of Wharfe's book I can't remember anything he said about Manakee. Tina Brown's book whch is I think reasonably detailed and well researched, states that she believes there was an affair..and that Barry M was attracted to Diana...and that he let the fact that she was confiding In him and attracted by him, go to his head...
 
I think, in most cases, the picture was painted that every male on the planet was ready and willing to fall victim to Diana's charm. I do believe though that there was a companionship and a good relationship that did develop between Manakee and Diana and Diana did find a port in storm during the rude awakenings of how her marriage was to be. Whether or not it ever developed into a romantic relationship is anybody's guess.

Its very possible that a man and a woman can be close, intimate friends without a romantic entanglement or "affair" attached to it. For all we know, Diana could have seen Mannakee as the "big brother" she never had and someone she could always turn to. I've no doubt that Diana felt what could be termed as "love" for the man as she's even stated that she did and broke down in tears when she got the news of his death.

In fact, I'm going to wager that its a close, intimate friendship with a member of the opposite sex that is even more threatening than a sexual fling to a partner in a marriage. Its also a very good, solid basis for a marriage if both partners have that kind of close, intimate friendship. Both Charles and Diana never found that with each other at all. They were too different.
 
True but I think that whether the 2 had a close friendship or something more sexual, the powers that be would be unnerved by such a relationship between Diana and her PPO. Diana was obviously volaitile and very unhappy, and it was an explosive situation. And he was not considered of the status that the RF could overlook their affair and let her get on with it if she was discreet. SO I think that Charles and the Police and PTB in general would have acted to terminate it. I don't see why you don't believe that Barry M was attracted by Diana. She was a beautiful young woman, he was close to her.. and the evidence does seem to indiciate that he wasn't indifferent ot her as a woman... and IMO it was very likely that he would be flattered by her showing him attention and confiding in him and possibly making flirtatious advances. If he had been someone who didn't want to get involved and who had in effect avoid or spurned Dianas friendship, and requested a transfer I'm sure that would have come out by now...
 
As I said, we only have a few people's word on what supposedly happened and no real facts. No one really knows for sure what happened and what the machinations of the transfer were.

At this point in time, it doesn't really matter at all. :D
 
There are sources other than Diana who have described Barry Mannakee's dismissal. The reported grounds for his dismissal were not due to something Diana said, rather Diana and Mannakee were seen in a "compromising situation," and prior to there were alleged incidents and interactions that raised eyebrows.
 
Queen Claude said:
There are sources other than Diana who have described Barry Mannakee's dismissal. The reported grounds for his dismissal were not due to something Diana said, rather Diana and Mannakee were seen in a "compromising situation," and prior to there were alleged incidents and interactions that raised eyebrows.
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I think that there is deifintely enough hints that there was "something" going on.. and NO evidence that he quietly asked for a transfer. If he had, I'm sure his wife would have said "there was nothing in the relationship but to avoid gossip, Barry wanted to move to another job"... or " he had just run his course in that job and wanted to move elsewhere". I think it was sexual in the sense of flirty and they were too close and the PTB felt it was a volaitile situation and moved him.
 
Burrell makes a plausible argument about Diana's admiration for Jackie Kennedy and a whimsical notion, fantasy she entertained about becoming 'First Lady'. Teddy Forstmann being someone she had a fondness and friendship with around '94, and some predicting that he could win the Presidency. Remodeling the Whitehouse captivated her and Lucia De Flecha's interest, while embracing both DC, and New York culture.

A good sized irony is that the 'dream' or whatever it was, would actually have occurred -- had she accepted several overtures, packages of flowers, sometime later from Donald Trump. Instead, with misgivings she took the advice of a friend to simply ignore the large floral arrangements, in hopes they "would stop", which they did.

Of course, a chemistry must be there in a mutual way, but otherwise substituting Trump for Forstmann, and all things being equal in a parallel universe.. Ladies and gentlemen --

First Lady ! ! ! !



 
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I don't really see it happening. She was friendly with Teddy forstman, clearly Trump repelled her.....
 
Now that is piecing together some fantastic alternate history. :D

Diana and Trump would have been over and kaput in a New York minute. From what we know of Diana, she was a person that wanted and needed a partner that could devote a lot of time and attention to her and make her his world. That is not a characteristic that I think one would apply to The Donald by a long shot.
 
I don't think that she ever really matured out of her teenage, Barbara-Cartland-hero thinking. Because of that, she didn't take much time for reflection between relationships.


Osipi said:
Perhaps her expectations going into a relationship were too high. Each new relationship promises that eternal love and adoration and doting on one's "darling" until the end of time. Reality tends to sink in and throw a monkey wrench into the works and that's when the work to maintain a relationship begins. I don't believe that Diana knew how to deal with monkey wrenches .
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Denville said:
I don't really see it happening. She was friendly with Teddy forstman, clearly Trump repelled her.....
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Certainly not the ideal right guy, which if not mistaken tended to be an outwardly reserved fellow. For all the romance novels she digested, her choices seemed to center on warm, cuddly, reserved personas and rejecting outright 'alpha male' types for lack of a better term.

Osipi said:
From what we know of Diana, she was a person that wanted and needed a partner that could devote a lot of time and attention to her and make her his world.
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Right on the benchmark. There is an undercurrent or foundation reminiscent of a 'today's gal'. . .feminist trait residing within her character. The rigors of high maintenance, control oriented stuff that made her life a real challenge. When she received her humanitarian award, Trump sat across from her with then wife Marla, offering Diana a golf membership (Mar a Lago).

Melania has been a sensational First Lady. But it's mind boggling to realize the opportunity Diana had in front of her as one fairy tale came to a close, and another was possible.
 
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Gawin said:
..Lisa Oldfield claims Paul Burrell told her Diana had an affair with Bryan Adams:
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The story that is waiting to be told....

:twohearts:
 
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I think Paul Burrell should just shut up about Diana's love life and his part in supposedly conciliating it. It's been over twenty years, Paul, do something else with your life. Easy to say anything when one of the participants is dead, IMO.

And fantasy gets in the way when contemplating Diana with various famous men. Look at JFKjnr and Diana. There was a meeting between the two, so then there was a passionate one night stand then a full blown affair, according to trash media. When the subject of who Diana might have married if she'd lived the vision of Diana and JFKjnr in the White House is one that has often been evoked.
 
:previous: Another chapter in the history of Diana, Princess of Wales has closed. My condolences and sympathies to his loved ones. :sad:
 
Yeah, what stuck out to me when I read the headline is that Oliver Hoare was older than Charles.
 
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