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that he himself had known growing up and he did not know any other way to be a parent. Life for
the children was also very limited and local because their father’s social circle was not very wide. As
a result, Diana felt socially inadequate (pp. 44-45). In addition, according to Smith (2007), Diana’s
father was a conscientious parent who treated his children with kindness, although he was a stickler
for manners. Diana and her brother appreciated the example he set for them and the values he
taught. Each day, when the children were home, he tried to have tea with them. He also made an
effort to know his children’s friends. However, as a reserved English gentleman, his inbred formality
and diffident temperament limited his effectiveness as a parent (p. 40).
To a casual observer, Diana seemed happy enough: she was always a busy, tidy little girl and the
warm, maternal, caring streak which characterized her adult life was becoming evident in her daily
life (Morton, 2010, p. 79). According to Smith (2007), this maternal streak was most prominent in
the way Diana suppressed her own needs by looking after her father and, although she may have
wanted someone to care for her, she seemed to find some solace in assuming this maternal role
when it came to her father (p. 38). The utmost effect of Diana’s turbulent childhood was the sense
that she could not depend on either of
her parents, which left her feeling insecure. This resulted in
Diana eventually becoming obsessively determined in her search for a provider of the continuous
love and understanding that she needed but lacked in her childhood (p. 43). Despite Diana’s father
trying to be there for the children, he had other responsibilities during the times he had not specially
reserved for them and left the real upbringing of the children to the women in the house, especially
the nannies and governesses that he had hired to take care of them (p. 27). The inconsistency in his
presence in the children’s lives became increasingly troubling to Diana and she became noticeably
worried whenever he went away. This anxiety about abandonment during her father’s absences
may have led to her hatred of solitude as an adult, because from her school days onward, she
seemed to thrive whenever she was surrounded by other people. She would worry whenever Prince
Charles and her other loved ones had to leave her in much the same way she had worried about her
father as a child (p. 41). Growing up, Diana and her brother had to deal with constant
unpredictability in their lives first with their mother leaving and then because of the nannies that
changed quite frequently (p. 35). After the divorce, working as a nanny for the children became
more difficult, because the children felt that the nannies had come to take the place of their mother