Skeletons in Lady Di's closet, or Why the princess let her stepmother down the stairs

The identity of Princess Diana, who died in 1997, is still being debated. Was the "Queen of Hearts" a victim of circumstances or a femme fatale seducing men and then abandoning them for another? Only one thing is known - Diana Spencer has been very uncomfortable for the royal family since childhood and scandals around her person have added a lot of gray hair to the queen herself.

In the 70s, Great Britain was in a fever. The most tradition-burdened country in Europe was feverishly getting rid of prejudices and old customs, at times clearly "overreacting." This was not surprising, since everyone knows perfectly well that the stricter and more ancient the traditions, the more unbridled the farewell to them is.

At night, members of the royal family could hear the star returning from a party in a red and yellow sports car, the engine of which roared all over the neighborhood. It was at this time that the formation of Diana's personality took place, which was destined to shake up the monarchy and change society.

Lady Di was unpredictable and temperamental, irritating the royal family. She could suddenly change her mind about going to an important event and, having released the driver, she herself rushed behind the wheel to Kensington Palace to little William and Harry.

Lady Dee with her sons William and Harry

Snatching the children from the hands of the governesses, Diana pushed them into the car to take them to McDonald's and feed them with hamburgers and cola. The children were delighted, which could not be said about Prince Charles and, especially, the Queen. In cafes and eateries, the princess felt much better than in the dining halls of palaces and castles.

Aristocratic origin did not prevent Diana from living simply and richly. In her youth, the princess worked as a waitress, cleaned friends' apartments for money and even worked as a kindergarten teacher. She liked to mess with children and fool around - Lady Dee herself grew up to be a mischievous and naughty child.

Diana's parents, John Spencer and Frances Shand Kaidd, broke up when the girl was only 8 years old and soon her stepmother appeared in the house — the arrogant and boring Rain McCorquodale. Diana could not get along with her father's new wife and immediately gave her the nickname "Acid Rain" (Acid Rain).

Princess Diana with her stepmother Rain McCorquodale

Together with her brother and sisters, Diana mocked her stepmother in every possible way, arranging traps and small dirty tricks for her. The relationship did not change after the girl grew up. In 1989, Diana and Rain met at home on the stairs and there was a usual skirmish between them in this case. But that time something went wrong and Lady Di just pushed an elderly woman down the stairs.

Rain McCorquodale counted all the steps, but fortunately survived, receiving only multiple bruises. Sue Howe, who worked at that time as an assistant to Diana's stepmother, recalled that the scandal began out of the blue, and the use of violence was cruel and unjustified. But Diana rarely cared about what others thought of her and even less often drew conclusions.

Contemporaries recall that Diana was never an angel and was a worthy representative of the youth of her era. She did not like the exact sciences, reading tired her, and talking about a "decent education" was frankly annoying.

When the girl worked as a nanny for Mary Robertson, which was shortly before her engagement to Prince Charles, the woman tried to reason with Diana. She told her that it was worth starting to read for general development, at least newspapers, in order to be able to maintain a conversation in society. But Diana only joked back—she liked primitive paperback romance novels much more.

He immediately broke off relations with Sarah, immediately switching to her younger sister. Their romance was swift — Charles informed his mother about his intention to marry Diana just a couple of months before the official engagement. The Queen immediately made an unmistakable conclusion: "Diana is not ready for life in the palace."

But Charles was supported by his father and the prince proposed to Diana. It seemed that every girl's dream of being a princess, living in a palace and not denying herself anything had come true. But, unfortunately, the marriage did not bring the girl happiness. Charles had very peculiar ideas about family life and spent more time with his faithful long-term passion Camilla Parker Bowles.

Already during the honeymoon, the princess fell into a severe depression and, as she herself said, cut her veins. The tragic story of Diana is described in the book "Diana. Her True Story", written by Andrew Morton. This story has everything — suicide attempts, bulimia, weight loss, psychosis and many other unpleasant things.

In the wedding photos, the bride looks quite happy

To understand why this happened, it is worth recalling how the first days of Diana and Charles' life together passed. The first week of the young couple was spent in Broadlands, the picturesque family estate of Lord Mountbatten, surrounded by oak forests and meadows.

Diana was counting on romantic walks and picnics, but instead her husband offered her a completely different way of spending time.

To make you understand the depth of Diana's despair, it is worth adding that Van der Post is a South African philosopher and thinker, a friend of Prince Charles, in whom he doted. There was a small hope for the second half of the honeymoon, but it soon collapsed.

Wedding cruise on the Britannica - photos of the happy couple for the press

The newlyweds went on a cruise on the Britannica yacht, which turned out to be packed with high-ranking guests, military personnel, musicians, servants and security guards. All the guests were frankly bored and Charles and Diana had to arrange mass gatherings every evening, while portraying a happy couple.

Due to stress, Diana began insomnia and terrible bouts of bulimia, during which the princess swept away everything edible that she could reach.

After the honeymoon, the everyday life of family life began. From August to October, the couple lived in Balmoral, where Charles arranged long walks or horseback rides for his young wife. During such leisure, the prince reasoned on lofty topics and quoted philosophers.

Prince Charles with his mother, Queen Elizabeth II

In the evenings, the prince immersed himself in reading, and Diana, like any respectable princess, embroidered tapestries. The princess ate almost nothing and could not fall asleep, which caused her condition to deteriorate rapidly. Later, Lady Dee recalled that people discussed her appearance behind her back because she looked more like a victim of hunger than a happy young wife.

A little later it became clear that Charles was sorely lacking time for his wife, who was in third place after his mother and Camilla Parker Bowles, with whom he had a nine-year relationship. Neither scandals nor scenes of jealousy could change the prince, who only closed himself behind his books and avoided his wife.

But the fall affected Charles and, realizing that he could lose his child and wife, he changed his attitude to his beloved. Until the birth, he literally blew dust particles off her and fulfilled the slightest whims. Unfortunately, after William was born, everything went back to normal again.

Princess Diana and Paul Burrell

The outlet for the princess was her bodyguard Paul Burrell. Evil tongues even attributed a love affair between him and Lady Dee, but Burrell refuted all speculation, openly declaring that he was homosexual. In fact, the man was both a mom and a friend for Diana. She could tell him about any of her problems, and then cry on a strong man's shoulder.

At the same time, Burrell became Diana's faithful assistant in her affairs of the heart. It was he who organized the secret meetings of the princess with James Hewitt, a riding instructor. By the way, Hewitt became the only man from the whole list presented to the woman after the divorce, the connection with which she actually acknowledged.

In the book that Hewitt co-wrote with Burrell, there is a phrase — "Everything happened quickly and mutually between Diana and me." It is she who characterizes these relationships as accurately as possible. The affair with the instructor led to the fact that society began to insist on the DNA analysis of Prince Harry, who was as red-haired as the princess's lover. But Queen Elizabeth II did not allow such profanation of the Windsor dynasty and the matter was hushed up.

In the last years of her life with Charles, Diana became a regular of newspaper editorials and sections with scandals. "Diana attended Elton John's scandalous party", "Diana came to the evening in red stockings" - similar headlines appeared in the press almost every week.

On November 24, 1995, Diana once again stunned the audience by stating that all 15 years of her marriage were filled with pain and suffering. The princess came to the BBC studio and talked about her problems for an hour in the Panorama program. Viewers learned not only about Charles's infidelities, which forced the princess to seek happiness in the arms of other men, but also about problems with appearance, bulimia, suicide attempts and much more.

Immediately after the broadcast, the queen invited her daughter-in-law to her office, and after a while Diana signed the divorce papers with Charles. After parting with her husband, Diana began an affair with cardiac surgeon Hasnat Khan. According to Burrell, in order to avoid publicity, the man was brought to Diana's residence in the trunk of a limousine and taken away in the same way.

Dr. Hasnat Khan

At one time, Diana even considered marrying a doctor, for which she began to study the Koran. But the couple did not succeed, because Khan did not see himself near a woman who adored social events and lived in a big way. Hasnat wanted a quiet family life, which could not be in marriage with Diana. Soon he left the woman, citing the fact that he was tired of her scenes of jealousy.

The latest for Lady Dee was also an affair with a Muslim - Egyptian billionaire Dodi Al-Fayed. This man surrounded her with care and luxury, and Harry and William doted on him. Everything was going to the wedding, which would again hit the reputation of the royal family. Another scandal began brewing in the Windsor family, since the mother of the English princes, according to tradition, could not marry a man who professed not Protestantism, much less Islam.

But the scandal was not destined to flare up in full force, as Diana and Dodi died in a Paris tunnel on August 31, 1997, and this tragedy put an end to the history of the rebellious princess.