53
On Valentine’s Day 1984, Prince Charles and Diana announced that she was expecting their second
child in September (Smith, 2007, p. 149). As while pregnant with Prince William, she again suffered
from morning sickness, although it was not as bad as the first time (Morton, 2010, p. 147). According
to Smith (2007), however, this pregnancy seemed to progress more smoothly, and Prince William’s
presence was an important stabilizing factor, because even with a nanny in residence, Diana took
an active role in caring for him. Diana also seemed more focused on maintaining her emotional
balance through exercise. Also vital to her mental stability was her full schedule of official
engagements. In April, even the Queen praised Diana publicly through an official statement. By then,
Diana and her mother-in-law had developed an easier relationship. As during her first pregnancy,
Diana withdrew from public activities in July, and the royal couple left for their annual Balmoral visit
in late August. Diana later said that the summer months before Prince Harry’s birth were a time
when she and Prince Charles were closer and happier than they had ever been, although thoughts
of Camilla still preoccupied Diana (pp. 149-152). Prince Harry was born at 4.20pm on 15 September
1984 at St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, London (The Royal Household, n.d.).
54
7 Married life until separation
After the birth of Prince Harry, Diana asked Prince Charles to cut down on his official engagements
so that he could spend more time at home with the children, and although he felt guilty about
neglecting what he considered to be his public duties, he did as Diana asked, which resulted in him
becoming closer to both boys (Smith, 2007, p. 154). Prince Charles and Diana both enjoyed
parenthood, and Prince Charles took his fatherly duties seriously (Bradford, 2007, p. 126). According
to Smith (2007), Diana later said that Prince Charles had enjoyed taking care of their sons, and that
he had done it well. Unlike after the birth of Prince William, Diana did not suffer from postnatal
depression after Prince Harry’s birth, which may have been in part because she resumed a busy
schedule of public engagements in November, just two months after the birth: this time, Diana
seemed determined to hold herself together (pp. 153-154). On 21 December 1984, Prince Harry was
christened Prince Henry Charles Albert David in St George’s Chapel at Windsor (The Royal
Household, n.d.).
Diana’s life revolved around her children: she was a modern mother, who was absolutely devoted
to her children, dedicated to putting them first, and arranged her life around them (Bradford, 2007,
p. 127). Diana wanted her children to grow up in the outside world and not confined in the life of
the royal palaces, and, as a result, Diana attempted to bring up the children as normally as possible
(Morton, 2010, p. 138). She insisted that they attend normal schools with other children (Bradford,
2007, p. 128). When a nanny was employed it was made clear that Diana would be intimately
involved in the children’s upbringing, and she was determined that her children would never be
deprived of physical demonstrations of love that she and her brother had craved growing up, and
as a result she lavished them with love, cuddles, and affection (Morton, 2010, pp. 138-139, 184).
Nevertheless, most of the childcare fell on the nanny, who was a constant and consistent figure in
the life of the two boys and as a result formed a very close bond with them (Junor, 2012, p. 49).
Diana was obsessed with protecting the boys from the press and she arranged deals with the press
so that the boys were not overwhelmed by the press attention, but still became used to the
occasional photo opportunities, as she was determined that they should never have to endure the
press persecution she experienced (Bradford, 2007, p. 129). In addition, Diana was aware of the
55
added burdens of bringing up two children that were popularly known as the heir and the spare,
and she made sure that the boys were aware of their future destinies (Morton, 2010, p. 206).
Shortly after Prince Harry’s birth, Diana began to actively involve herself in charity work, and, despite
her young age, she was a professional in her duties and dealing with public life (Bradford, 2007, pp.
130-131). As far as the public was concerned, Diana had by now adjusted to royal life and settled
into her fairly new roles as wife and mother, but in private Diana still suffered from her mental
problems and her insecurity about Prince Charles appeared to intensify (Smith, 2007, p. 153).
Camilla also remained present in Diana’s mind (Bradford, 2007, p. 132), although Prince Charles did
not go back to Camilla until five years into his marriage with Diana, when he felt that their marriage
was beyond repair (Smith, 2007, p. 162). In addition, according to Bradford (2007), the fact that
Diana outshone her husband in their public lives was driving the couple apart, and the two important
tours the couple undertook in 1985, first to Italy and then to Australia and the United States, for all
their success, made the problem of Diana outshining Prince Charles plainly evident, and Diana’s
success on these tours, instead of gratifying her husband, only resulted in him being increasingly
jealous of her popularity with the public (pp. 134-135, 140). Furthermore, Prince Charles also
resented Diana because she really enjoyed her duties, whereas for him his duties were something
he had to do (Brown, 2008, p. 284). However, through 1985, Diana and Prince Charles still presented
a united public front, even though they seldom socialized together in private (Smith, 2007, p. 160).
At some point in 1985, Diana decided to look beyond Prince Charles for the affection and support
that were lacking in their marriage (Smith, 2007, p. 161) and became close to her personal
protection officer Barry Mannakee (Bradford, 2007, p. 145), who had taken over the post in April
1985 (Brown, 2008, p. 254). There later was much talk of Diana’s relationship with Mannakee, and
Diana admitted to having had a crush on him, but any sexual relationship between them was denied
by the house staff who would have known of it had it happened, but nevertheless, the relationship,
whatever the nature, led to his removal from his post (Bradford, 2007, p. 146). Immediately after
his removal, Mannakee was drafted out of royal service into the Diplomatic Protection Squad
(Brown, 2008, p. 258). Prince Charles knew enough of Diana’s relationship with Mannakee to inform
Diana when he died in a motorcycle accident two years later (Bradford, 2007, p. 147). There is little
Dostları ilə paylaş: |