Diana's Relationships with The Queen and Other Members of the Royal Family

[shastalucie]

When thinking of which sides people took in the war of the Wales, it's useful to think of pre-Panorama and post-Panorama. I think quite a few royal family members like Pss Margaret were sympathetic toward Diana, but after the 1995 television interview she lost any sympathy from inside the family.

[Dman]

Diana's relationship with the royals were shaky from the start. She said that after the wedding, the family's attitude towards her weren't all that great. She was close to the Kents though and Princes Edward & Andrew.

They had some good times though. No matter the titles, families have their ups and downs like the rest of us.

[Denville]

You've just said that according to Diana Her relationships with most of the RF were shaky from the very beginning. I imagine that there were times when they met at parties and so on and had a pleasant enough time, but IMO there's no indication that there was more than this.. that from early on, the RF became uneasy about Diana and dd not develop any close relationships with her. I think she got on a ibt better with Kate Kent, and for a time with Pss Margaret, but gradually the relationship with Margaret unravelled.. and as for Andrew and Edward, I think that they were young men, Ed a few years younger than Diana, and were mostly "out leading their own lives" when Diana was a young mother.. so I doubt if they were all that close... Overall, her relationship with the RF was pretty shaky wth tehm being uneasy about her volatile personality..adn her finding ti hard to find any common ground with them

[Queen Claude]

According to the article about the tapes Diana recorded in 1997 - the year of her death, Diana maintained a friendship with Prince Edward, and it was Edward that she approached for a recommendation of a videographer to record her.

[Denville]

What is a videographer? I don't think that she was that close to Edward, sicne she seemed quite cool on his girlfriend who eventauly became his wife.

[Mermaid1962]

What's also called a "camera man."

[Kronprinz]

If Diana moved to Clarence House after the engagement in February and lived there until her wedding, how did she get along with the Queen Mother? Did they even have any contact?

I'm sure it must have been daunting for her, being thrown into the court life of the 1920s with no support from Charles.

[O-H Anglophile]

Originally Posted by Kronprinz

If Diana moved to Clarence House after the engagement in February and lived there until her wedding, how did she get along with the Queen Mother? Did they even have any contact?

I'm sure it must have been daunting for her, being thrown into the court life of the 1920s with no support from Charles.

I thought that was not the case, that she actually moved into BP and only stayed at Clarence House the night before the wedding.

[Osipi]

Originally Posted by Kronprinz

If Diana moved to Clarence House after the engagement in February and lived there until her wedding, how did she get along with the Queen Mother? Did they even have any contact?

I'm sure it must have been daunting for her, being thrown into the court life of the 1920s with no support from Charles.

Actually, Diana did not live at Clarence House with the Queen Mum. She did however, spend the night before the wedding there. After the engagement was announced, Diana was given her own apartment (rooms) at Buckingham Palace.

Some sources say that Diana took up residence at Clarence House on the eve of her engagement to Charles but this is incorrect. She may have stayed there the evening before the engagement was announced but moved to BP once that happened and wouldn't return to Clarence House until the night before the wedding.

[dgtns]

Originally Posted by Kronprinz

If Diana moved to Clarence House after the engagement in February and lived there until her wedding, how did she get along with the Queen Mother? Did they even have any contact?

I'm sure it must have been daunting for her, being thrown into the court life of the 1920s with no support from Charles.

hi, check your facts. Diana remained in CH with the QM for a few days at the time of the engagement. I can't remember where I source that info, but read it several times in different places.

[Denville]

and she did not get "no support from Charles". He was busy with his work, true, but she too was supposed to be busy with learning the royal ropes, and preparting for the wedding.

[Denville]

Originally Posted by Mermaid1962

What's also called a "camera man."

I'm sure he would have been very wary if asked to recommend a cameraman.

[duchessrachel]

I just finished reading "The Housekeeper's Diary". It is very eye opening from the perspective of someone who worked for Diana and Prince Charles in regards to Diana's personal relationships.

[Queen Claude]

Originally Posted by Denville

I'm sure he would have been very wary if asked to recommend a cameraman.

The word used in the article was cameraman. Edward was in television production and would now that term even though it was not a common term back then.

I think that Diana approaching Edward for the recommendation clearly shows that she not only maintained a friendship with him but she trusted him.

[Osipi]

I don't think Edward would have thought twice about the request either. He's been in and around the royal family all of his life and he could easily have thought that Diana needed a cameraman to record on film something that she was involved in at the time.

I don't doubt that Diana and Edward had a good relationship between them but then again, I don't think he was that close to her that he would have connected Diana and a cameraman to something dastardly going on.

I also really liked "The Housekeeper's Diary". From Ms. Berry's day to day interactions with the Waleses at Highgrove, it really did paint a picture of how mercurial Diana was in her moods. I think this was the first book that I read that gave me the insight that Diana was a very complex individual and that together, Diana and Charles suited each other like oil and vinegar. They were just two vastly different people.

[Denville]

given that he was pretty bad in using his film company to shadow William when he was at Uni, perhaps he would not have been wary but I cant' imagine why anyone would NOT be dubious about Diana asking about a camera man. Why would she need one? if she was doing a legit project, for one of her charities, they would hardly require her to provide one..
I try to avoid books like Wendy Berry's because the authors are completely in te wrong in writing them, but surely there is plenty of evidence from many sources that Diana was very mercurial.. to the point that some have said she had no "centre" almost..
She didnt' seem to realise at times how very inconsistnet her behaviour was.

[Lady Nimue]

Originally Posted by Osipi

I also really liked "The Housekeeper's Diary". From Ms. Berry's day to day interactions with the Waleses at Highgrove, it really did paint a picture of how mercurial Diana was in her moods. I think this was the first book that I read that gave me the insight that Diana was a very complex individual and that together, Diana and Charles suited each other like oil and vinegar. They were just two vastly different people.

What interested me was that Ms Berry genuinely seemed to bring a level hand to her memoir. She stated that she wrote it to off-set the rampant rumors abroad at that time (fomented by Diana) that Charles was not a good father, or a hands-on father. To that single purpose she clearly spoke and set the record straight.

She made several tantalizing side mentions that she never goes into in depth but if one is able to suss out between the lines a fairly interesting back-story is evident, especially timelines for significant people present in Diana's and Charles' life. She did say in an interview at the time that she knew far more than she ever put into the memoir.

What intrigues me is even as much as she saw Diana in all her 'rawness' (and that of the two Charles was the better employer/boss) she gives a very clear picture of why Diana was so compelling (and she admits to being a bit besotted herself). I especially was taken with her relating her meeting with Diana for the first time (when she got hired): all the 'touches' of the grand aristocratic presence are evident in that 'magical' moment. Ms Berry admits to having been more charmed by Diana to the point that it likely was noted and cost her the position with Charles when the household was breaking up. She was clearly heartbroken losing her position.

It is also the only book I have read that gives up an anecdote that indicates just how 'vivid' (and joyous) the sex life of the couple was (prior to Ms Berry's time). Making Diana's later diss of her husband's 'prowess' all the more seamy, low brow and petty. More insight into Diana's character, that she would say such stuff about her (then) husband.