9
occasionally in self-identity
(Dignan, 2004, p. 28). In addition, according to Glick (2004), some
physical effects of victimization could be the inability to sleep, loss of appetite, and a general loss of
interest in physical activities. Long-term effects may include insomnia, anxiety, lower self-esteem,
isolation, alienation, helplessness, lifestyle changes and increased feelings of vulnerability and fear.
If no help is available people that identify themselves as victims can slip into long bouts of
depression. Nevertheless, it also must be noted that some victims find positive outlets for their pain
and that can help them in overcoming their victimization (p. 479). In Diana’s case, the effects the
victimization had on her could be seen in the way her life, personality and actions changed during
the different phases of her life.
The process of overcoming victimization is called victim recovery, which means that the victim gains
the same or better level of functionality as was enjoyed prior to victimization, which fundamentally
means that the person who has been victimized has gained the same or even a better level of
functionality in various areas, for example, trust in others, autonomy of self, self-identity,
interpersonal intimacy, control over personal situations, and restored self-esteem (Dussich, 2006,
p. 118). However, the ability to overcome victimization is sometimes attributed to the victim’s
resilience
(Kostić, 2010, pp. 74-77), which, according to Oxford English Dictionary, is “the quality or
fact of being able to recover quickly or easily from, or resist being affected by, a misfortune, shock,
illness, etc.” (Oxford University Press, 2014). Per Kostić (2010), it is thought that every single person
has the capacity
for resilience, but for resilience to develop one must experience some hardship or
plight. In addition, resilience includes several factors, for example, the sense of control over one’s
own life, empathy, and the feeling of being special when acting for the benefit of others.
Nevertheless, the factors having to do with resilience are very similar to the elements that victim
recovery deals with, and in that way resilience may be seen as an important part of overcoming the
victimization
(pp. 74-77). When looking at Diana this process of recovery may be seen in the way
that her life, personality, and attitude changed after her separation and later on divorce from Prince
Charles. As seen above, victimology is not only concerned with the act of victimization itself but also
with its aftermath and overcoming the victimization and because of that it can be used as a
theoretical background in this kind of research as well.
10
2 Early life
Diana (1961-1997) was born as The Honourable Diana Frances Spencer at 7.45 p.m. on 1 July 1961
at Park House, which was owned by the Queen and situated on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk
about half a mile from the main house where the Royal Family frequently spent their holidays
(Bradford, 2007, pp. 1-2). She was the fourth child and the third girl born to her parents, Frances
and Johnnie Althorp, an heir to the Spencer earldom (Bradford, 2007, p. 8). However, Diana was the
third child still living because before Diana was born her mother had given birth to a boy, John, who
had died the day he had been born (Morton, 2010, p. 71). In May 1964 Diana got a little brother as
her mother gave birth to Charles Spencer, the greatly anticipated heir to the Spencer earldom as
only males could inherit the title (Bradford, 2007, p. 9).
Because it had been of utmost importance to Diana’s parents that they would produce an heir, Diana
became convinced that she should have been a boy and that she was a disappointment to her
parents and regarded as a lesser being because of her gender (Bradford, 2007, p. 9). However, her
parents gave no indication of such thinking: they treated Diana the same as they treated her sisters
and did not consider her to be an inferior substitute for the son they had lost before Diana had been
born (Smith, Diana: The Life of a Troubled Princess, 2007, p. 26). In reality, Diana knew that both her
parents loved her and that she was her father’s favourite (Bradford, 2007, p. 20). According to Smith
(2007), later in life, the fact that Diana saw herself as “the girl who was supposed to be a boy”
assumed enormous significance in her mind and she viewed it as the first rejection of many, which
harmed her self-esteem. The main source of Diana’s insecurity was her continued belief that had
John survived, she would not have been born (p. 26). In addition, Diana, in part, blamed herself for
the breakdown in her parents’ relationship, because, had she been the boy her parents had hoped
for, things between them might have been different (Snell, 2013, p. 17). Overall, this shows that
Diana has had psychological complexes since her childhood.
The marriage of Diana’s parents had already begun to unravel two years before Diana’s birth
(Brown, 2008, p. 22) as a result of
the death of their first son, which had had a profound impact on