In the beginning, she must have felt a bit awkward about the attention she was getting and uncomfortable about the affect it was having on her husband, ‘a proud man,’ as she called him when she discussed this issue. I think the problem was that Charles never took a page out of Sarkozy’s book; he should have taken great pride in his wife’s popularity. Instead of thinking of her popularity as having eclipsed him, he should have understood that it actually reflected on him. Together, they were a dynamite team. His various interests, combined with her more humanitarian agenda, would have made for an unstoppable future King and Queen. I realize he was brought up to play the leading role and this was uncharted territory, so we can’t fault him completely, but it was a great loss, nonetheless.
I suspect there was quite a bit of resentment brewing at the Palace; other senior royals couldn’t have been very pleased with the circumstances either. I believe Diana ended up feeling so resented by her husband and the very family that should have supported her and appreciated her contribution, that she finally decided she had had enough. I think she got to the point where she no longer cared and, not unlike many young women who have in-laws they feel they simply cannot satisfy, she decided to enjoy the attention and appreciation she wasn’t getting at home. And if it irked them, oh well. That didn’t make her duplicitous, it means she was human.