She was hardly going to admit that she didn't care for the country during their marriage. As she said to Rosa Monkton, it was the way she was brought up, in the country, with blood sports going on. But as an adult, she didn't enjoy any of country life.
Charles and Diana
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No Denville she likely would not have admitted that she wasn't really a fan of the country life while they were dating or after they married. Diana loved the sunshine and so the Caribbean and Mediterranean were places that she loved to relax in.
Charles loved the Highlands and the country pursuits associated with country life.
They both enjoyed skiing, but preferred different settings for their summer holidays.
They were just two people with very different interests.
Charles loved the Highlands and the country pursuits associated with country life.
They both enjoyed skiing, but preferred different settings for their summer holidays.
They were just two people with very different interests.
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I have to agree that Diana liked "country life" but was against the blood sports. Its been reported that Diana loved the times her and James Hewitt would get away and go and spend time with Hewitt's mother in Devon (If I'm remembering right) and taking long, peaceful walks.
Country life staying at places like Balmoral is a totally different kettle of fish than visiting someone in the country. Balmoral always had a strict schedule to keep, lots of clothing changes and the days were pretty structured.
I don't believe, however, that Diana would have been happy living totally in the country.
Country life staying at places like Balmoral is a totally different kettle of fish than visiting someone in the country. Balmoral always had a strict schedule to keep, lots of clothing changes and the days were pretty structured.
I don't believe, however, that Diana would have been happy living totally in the country.
I think she only liked "country life" with J Hewitt because it was an occasional escape from her stressed married and public life. She might have enjoyed a weekend in the country once a month or so, with a congenial companion.. and JH was giving her affection, sex and attention.. I don't think she was against blood sports, she just didn't like them.. and she wasn't into gardening or riding or nature walks...
Well, for that matter Charles wasn't particularly into playing or watching tennis, nor was he as keen as Diana was on jet skiing, swimming and other water sports in warm climates.
I don't see why Charles's preferences about holidays had to dominate their married life. So Diana didn't like fishing or blood sports (that is a dislike shared by many Britons) and even the royal family had to give up fox hunting. Did Charles ever try playing tennis with his wife, for instance? Apparently not.
I don't see why Charles's preferences about holidays had to dominate their married life. So Diana didn't like fishing or blood sports (that is a dislike shared by many Britons) and even the royal family had to give up fox hunting. Did Charles ever try playing tennis with his wife, for instance? Apparently not.
No I don't think he was, but she was marrying into a family that mostly did enjoy blood sports and country life.. their leisure time, their lifestyle was Edwardian, with the traditional emphasis on country house living.. house parties for shootng, hunting etc. And at the time of their marriage, the RF were pretty much expected to spend a good deal of their leisure time together whereas nowadays things area lot more flexible. Plus Charles DID enjoy the Balmoral routine, the hunting etc etc. If Diana did not like any of this, and I don't think she did, she was letting herself in for a lot of boring weekends and times when the clan were all gathered at Sandringham or Balmoral.
Tennis also has been a part of royal life. CHarles maternal grandfather George VI did well playing tennis. His sister in law Marina, Duchess of Kent was a big tennis fan and presented trophies at Wimbledon for many years. George VI liked hunting but he also enjoyed playing in tennis matches. I'm surprised Charles did not at least give it a try.
Various sources have stated that Charles refused to change his garden designs at Highgrove in order to accommodate a tennis court for his wife. According to Tina Brown that was in 1983, therefore before Harry's birth and very early in the marriage.
Well, it wasn't just Diana who found Balmoral and all the talk of dead birds, fish and stags soul-deadening. The official biography of Queen Mary states that she didn't much like Balmoral either. (And I cannot imagine Queen Mary riding ponies through the hills or picking up dead grouse at shoots.)
The biography of Princess Margaret I read said that she wasn't a fan of hunting, shooting and fishing either. In fact she often spent most of her time at Balmoral up in her room listening to her radio, reading and putting photos into albums. According to the bio she apparently went there each year because it was a habit she had got into.
So the idea that all members of the RF absolutely adored going north of the border to join in the outdoor activities appears to be a fallacy and Diana was not alone in her attitude to it.
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There are public roads on the estate. one is near that river Charles likes to fish in.
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He did built a pool for her though ...
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But Diana was married to a man who did enjoy it.. and she knew or should have known that she'd have to put up with it for regular visits. QM may not have liked it, but she put up with it, no doubt politely. Diana got increasingly miserable. And She did spend time during their courtship watching Charles at his sports and conveying an impression that she liked country life and was happy to visit balmoral and watch or join in.
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Where ever we are and whatever we do we are all really responsible for our own happiness. If we are bored then we must rectify it.
Many couples don't share passions for the same pursuits - yet are secure in their relationship. How do we know how Diana felt about everything in the country?
It takes maturity to adapt and perhaps Diana married too young, before she knew how to feel content.
History has shown that she and Charles were not suited enough to stay married. Plenty of couples have divorced.
Only those in a marriage know what happens. I think they both married with the best of intentions After divorce, Diana seemed to be happily embracing life before it ended tragically. That is the sadness - an accidental death way too soon.
Many couples don't share passions for the same pursuits - yet are secure in their relationship. How do we know how Diana felt about everything in the country?
It takes maturity to adapt and perhaps Diana married too young, before she knew how to feel content.
History has shown that she and Charles were not suited enough to stay married. Plenty of couples have divorced.
Only those in a marriage know what happens. I think they both married with the best of intentions After divorce, Diana seemed to be happily embracing life before it ended tragically. That is the sadness - an accidental death way too soon.
I doubt Diana knew they were there. She was caught in a distance shot by the paps bundled up in a coat wearing a hood. It's not as if she were dressing up and knew they were there.
She knew that there were reporters watching her and Charles when he went fishing during their courtship. She must have known that there were parts of Balmoral where the reporters could use to get snaps or watch them.
True, she was watching the reporters through a hand mirror, when she was with Charles, fishing. And she scooted out of the way becuase they didn't want the press to get a picture of them together.
Some of the photos were staged. Like the one where she was getting fishing lessons. That made it into the public domain. Both were caught by surprise early on when the press found them together. Diana hurried off but they did find out ultimately she was dating Charles.
What photos of her "getting fishing lessons?"
I'll see if I can find it she's getting instruction. She wore this outfit with a turtleneck sweater and here it is:
https://www.google.com/search?sxsrf...BAgJEAE&biw=1366&bih=657#imgrc=IVFBtlxwTR9wiM
https://www.google.com/search?sxsrf...BAgJEAE&biw=1366&bih=657#imgrc=IVFBtlxwTR9wiM
I cant see the pic very well but it is not as far as I can see one of Diana with Charles
Correct as well known this episode occurred prior to the announcement of her engagement to the PoW. The photo from the fishing lesson with the ghillie was taken after the engagement was annouced.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/41243...er-arthur-edwards-princess-diana-photographs/
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Yes I think that Charles was determined that the press would not get a photo of him and Diana together until they were officially engaged.. so she was on the lookout for reporters when they went fishing. But it seems that the photo of her with the ghillie teaching her to fish is "staged" so Diana was well aware that there were parts of the estate where she could be caught on camera and seen doing this or that....
However, there is another photo around in black and white, with Diana and Charles on dry land. Diana holds fly fishing rods and Charles is behind her with his hands on the rods, presumably teaching her how to cast.
The photo, which of course I can't now find on PinInterest, was taken from the side, both principals are concentrating on the rods and Charles appears to be speaking to her.
That photo wasn't staged. In fact I believe that it would have been perfectly natural for Diana to have tried fly fishing when she was at Balmoral in the first year or two of the couple's relationship, if only to join Charles, who spent hours fishing sometimes.
The photo, which of course I can't now find on PinInterest, was taken from the side, both principals are concentrating on the rods and Charles appears to be speaking to her.
That photo wasn't staged. In fact I believe that it would have been perfectly natural for Diana to have tried fly fishing when she was at Balmoral in the first year or two of the couple's relationship, if only to join Charles, who spent hours fishing sometimes.
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https://www.google.com/search?q=Cha...hUKEwi_4-m5j4vpAhVEWqwKHQQcBmIQ9QEwAXoECAoQEw
Several pics of Charles and Diana in the great outdoors fishing etc.
LaRae
Several pics of Charles and Diana in the great outdoors fishing etc.
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This was the caption with this photo: "Diana was not an enthusiast for country pursuits. Here, with Balmoral head ghillie Charles Wright, she glumly casts into the River Dee – knowing it would endear her to her fiancé Prince Charles three months before the wedding."
Hindsight is a wonderful thing with 20/20 vision. I can remember the Press and TV coverage of the Charles and Diana romance and the engagement, and it would have done justice to a Disney film, complete with animated lovebirds singing on Diana's lap.
Nobody in the media piped up then with multiple stories of Diana apparently hating country life and pursuits. Everything in the garden was lovely. That only happened while the marriage was going pearshaped and afterwards. It was admittedly a much more deferential time in the 1970s/early 80's but plenty of people became much more cynical about the popular press and their narratives after the debacle of the War of the Wales.
Nobody in the media piped up then with multiple stories of Diana apparently hating country life and pursuits. Everything in the garden was lovely. That only happened while the marriage was going pearshaped and afterwards. It was admittedly a much more deferential time in the 1970s/early 80's but plenty of people became much more cynical about the popular press and their narratives after the debacle of the War of the Wales.
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I don't think people realised that she wasn't into country sports, she had been seen accompanying Charles when he was fishing etc. But there were a few commentators and people in general who did note some of the differences.. that she was only 20 and seemed shy and inexperienced whereas he was 32, had travelled..been in the navy etc. And that he was interested in lots of things whereas she had not had much education and didn't seem to be a thinker.
but I think after the marriage, there was so much obvious friction between the 2 of them that although the papers I think did half believe/want to believe it was a love match, there was a niggling undercurrent of reports of tension. Her loss of weight gave rise to speculation that she was ill, or unhappy...
Re that picture of her learnng to fish, I don't know if it was "staged" in the sense that the RF wanted her to be seen learning to fish.
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I read at the time they were going out that she was afraid to ride. So that is one of the main country pursuits riding and foxhunting (which was of course legal at the time). DIana and Charles were really trying to get to know each other and each of Charles' serious love interests did get invited to Balmoral. Sabina Guiness was disqualified as being acceptable for Charles when she sat in Queen Victoria's chair at Balmoral nothing to do with hunting. I think it had nothing to do with what they did during that time, Charles and DIana wanted to spend time together out and away from his family. Diana wrote he would ask her to go for a walk or picnic each day she was there.
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