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813c8ee Diana has embraced the personal and social issues generated by AIDS with candour and compassion. As her brother, Charles says: "It's been good for her to champion a really difficult cause. Anybody can do your run-of-the-mill charity work but you have to be genuinely caring and able to give a lot of yourself to take on something that other people wouldn't dream of touching." He saw those qualities at first hand when he asked an American frie.. Andrew Morton
8bed228 It was her concern and commitment to a friend which last year involved her in perhaps the most emotional period of her life. For five months she secretly helped to care for Adrian Ward-Jackson who had discovered that he was suffering from AIDS. It was a time of laughter, joy and much sorrow as Adrian, a prominent figure in the world of art, ballet and opera, gradually succumbed to his illness. A man of great charisma and energy, Adrian init.. Andrew Morton
5dfc801 When Diana was unable to visit, she telephoned the apartment to check on her friend's condition. On her 30th birthday she wore a gold bracelet which Adrian had given to her as a sign of their affection and solidarity. Nevertheless, Diana's quiet and longstanding commitment to be with Adrian when he died almost foundered. In August his condition worsened and doctors advised that he should be transferred to a private room at St Mary's Hospita.. Andrew Morton
e3be6d9 Such is their mutual antipathy that friends have observed that Diana finds her husband's very presence upsetting and disturbing. He in turn views his wife with indifference tinged with dislike. When a Sunday newspaper reported how the Prince had pointedly ignored her at a concert at Buckingham Palace to celebrate the Queen Mother's 90th birthday, she remarked to friends that she found their surprise rather odd. "He ignores me everywhere and.. Andrew Morton
d3d1b32 The mood in 1984 was not helped by the fact that she was pregnant with Prince Harry. Once again she suffered badly from morning-sickness although it wasn't as bad as the first time. When she returned from a solo engagement in Norway, Diana was still in the early stages of pregnancy. She and the late Victor Chapman, the Queen's former assistant press secretary, took turns to use the lavatory on the flight home. Characteristically he was suff.. Andrew Morton
36233e2 As a close friend commented: "She seems to dread Charles's appearance. The days when she is happiest is when he is in Scotland. When he is at Kensington Palace she feels absolutely at a loss and like a child again. She loses all the ground she has built up when she is on her own." The changes in her are physical. Her speech, normally rapid, energetic, coloured and strong, degenerates instantly when he is with her. Diana's voice becomes mono.. Andrew Morton
bb9c0b3 When Prince Charles arrived home from a recent private visit to France she found his presence so oppressive that she literally ran out of Kensington Palace. Diana phoned a friend who was grieving over the death of a loved one. She could sense that her chum was crying and said: "Right I'm coming over now." As her friend recalls: "She came instantly for me but when she arrived she was visibly unsettled. Diana told me: "I'm here for you but I'.. Andrew Morton
098d148 During a recent lunch with a close friend who is also the mother of two young children, Diana told of an incident which underlines not only the current state of her relationship with her husband but also the protective nature of her son William. She told her friend that the week that Buckingham Palace decided to announce the separation of the Duke and Duchess of York was understandably a trying time for her. She had lost an amicable compani.. Andrew Morton
8abd54e So who is the woman who excites Diana's feelings? From the moment photographs of Camilla fluttered from Prince Charles's diary during their honeymoon to the present day, the Princess of Wales has understandably harboured every kind of suspicion, resentment and jealousy about the woman Charles loved and lost during his bachelor days. Camilla is from sturdy county stock with numerous roots in the aristocracy. She is the daughter of Major Bruc.. Andrew Morton
5d73991 Diana has frequently discussed her concerns about Camilla wither friend James Gilbey. He has provided a sympathetic ear as Diana poured out her feelings of anger and anguish about Camilla. He believes that she is unable to put out of her mind the one-time relationship Camilla enjoyed with Prince Charles. He says: "As a result their marriage is a charade. The whole prospect of Camilla drives her spare. I can understand it. I mean what the he.. Andrew Morton
b020622 She is attracted to outsiders precisely because she feels so alienated from the royal system. As James Gilbey says: "She gets on much better with them than the men in grey because they are tied up with preserving a system which she feels is outdated. There is a natural built-in confrontation there. They are trying to uphold something and she is trying to get out." Her astrologer Felix Lyle observes: "She has a soaring spirit and optimism wh.. Andrew Morton
bf8c4ec As their uncle, Earl Spencer, says their characters are very different from the public image. "The press have always written up William as the terror and Harry as a rather quiet second son. In fact William is a very self-possessed, intelligent and mature boy and quite shy. He is quite formal and stiff, sounding older than his years when he answers the phone." It is Harry who is the mischievous imp of the family. Harry's puckish character ma.. Andrew Morton
7ebe4fd Ironically, during that time, Charles and Diana enjoyed the happiest period of their married life. The balmy summer months before Harry's birth was a time of contentment and mutual devotion. But a storm cloud hovered on the horizon. Diana knew that Charles was desperate for their second child to be a girl. A scan had already shown that her baby was a boy. It was a secret she nursed until the moment he was born at 4.20pm on Saturday, Septemb.. Andrew Morton
393ef78 Diana's world may be characterized as an unstable equilibrium; the unhappiness of her marriage balanced by the satisfaction she finds in her royal work, particularly among the sick and the dying; the suffocating certainties of the royal system matched by her growing self-confidence in using the organization for the benefit of her work. Her thinking about her royal position changes by the month. However, while the graph of her progress shows.. Andrew Morton
1fc3c9c Although she has a tendency to be overly impressed by those with academic qualifications, Diana admires people who perform rather than pontificate. Richard Branson, the head of Virgin airlines, Baron Jacob Rothschild, the millionaire banker who restored Spencer House, and her cousin Viscount David Linley who runs a successful furniture and catering business, are high on her list. "She likes the fact that David has been able to break out of .. Andrew Morton
9765c62 Berry and three other old Etonians, James Bolton, Alex Lyle and Christian De Lotbiniere, were the brains behind "Ski Bob" travel. This was a company, named after their Eton housemaster Bob Baird, which had been formed when they discovered that they were too young legally to book holidays themselves. So these young entrepreneurs started their own company and within the twenty-strong group, which mainly compromised old Etonians, the greatest .. Andrew Morton
a53c103 The men in her life were clean-cut, well-bred, reliable, unpretentious and good company. "Diana is an Uptown girl who has never gone in for downtown men," observes Rory Scott. If they wore a uniform or had been cast aside by Sarah so much the better. She felt rather sorry for Sarah's rejects and often tried, unsuccessfully, to be asked out by them. So she did washing for William van Straubenzee, one of Sarah's old boyfriends, and ironed the.. Andrew Morton
fc7bcaf These days her family, particularly her sisters, Jane and Sarah and brother Charles, are aware of the appalling problems she has endured. Jane has always given sensible advice and Sarah, from being dubious of her kid sister's success, is now very protective. "You never criticize Diana in front of her," notes a friend. Her relations with her mother and her father, when he was alive, are patchier. While Diana enjoys a sporadic but affectionat.. Andrew Morton
ad61de2 While Diana and her mother started planning guest lists, wardrobe requirements and the other details for the wedding of the year, the media vainly attempted to discover her hiding-place. The one man who did know was the Prince of Wales. Andrew Morton
97cfca8 As a child she sensed her special destiny, as an adult she has remained true to her instincts. Diana has continued to carry the burden of public expectations while enduring considerable personal problems. Her achievement has been to find her true self in the face of overwhelming odds. She will continue to tread a different path from her husband, the royal family and their system and yet still conform to their traditions. As she says: "When .. Andrew Morton
466c8c3 Not only did the barbaric incident shake the king's "confidence in the innate decency of mankind," it inspired his son's lifetime loathing of the Bolsheviks, the murder of his godfather, Nicholas II, setting his heart against the Soviets and all their works." -- Andrew Morton
2bf0a36 I don't want my friends to be hurt and think I've dropped them but I haven't got time to sit and gossip, I've got things to do and time is precious. Andrew Morton
1281694 By the side of her bed there was a card, embossed with the Queen's cypher, giving the times of meals and table placements as well as a note saying how the various guests would be conveyed to the racecourse, either in open carriages or black Daimler saloons. Even though her family had rubbed shoulders with the royal family for years, Sarah was understandably nervous. She arrived promptly in the Green Drawing Room for pre-lunch drinks and the.. Andrew Morton
d267877 Over the last few years the counselling, the friendships and the holistic therapies she has embraced have enabled her to win back her personality, a character which has been smothered by her husband, the royal system, and the public's expectations towards their fairy-tale princess. The woman behind the mask is not a flighty, skittish young thing nor a vision of saintly perfection. She is, however, a much quieter, introverted and private per.. Andrew Morton
95b326a On one trip in January this year she and Cardinal Hume spent nearly two hours with homeless youngsters at a hostel on the south bank of the Thames. Some teenagers, many with drink and drug problems, greeted her presence with aggressively hostile questions, others were simply surprised that she had bothered to see them on a cold Saturday night. As she was talking, a drunken Scotsman lurched into the room. "Hey, you're gorgeous," he slurred, .. Andrew Morton
64a1534 An incident which meant a great deal to Diana took place in that same hospital away from the cameras, smiling dignitaries and the watchful public. The drama began uneventfully three days earlier in a back yard in Balderton, a village near Newark when housewife Freda Hickling collapsed with a brain haemorrhage. When Diana first saw her behind the screens in the intensive care unit she was on a life-support system. Her husband Peter sat with .. Andrew Morton
bd171ac but I come back here and I know when I turn my light off at night I did my best. Andrew Morton
b30677b The smallest breach of royal behaviour is deserving of complaint. After a film premiere, she attended a party where she enjoyed a long conversation with Liza Minnelli. The following morning it was pointed out that it was not done to attend these occasions. It had a happy result however. She enjoyed a rapport with the Hollywood star who talked at length about her difficult life and told her simply that when she felt down she thought of Diana.. Andrew Morton
8627b04 The Sovereign has also implied that the instability in their marriage is an over-riding consideration in any musings she may have about abdication. Naturally this does not please Prince Charles who refused to speak to his mother for several days following her 1991 Christmas broadcast when she spoke of her intention to serve the nation and the Commonwealth for "some years to come". For a man who holds his mother in total awe that silence was.. Andrew Morton
05505a7 While Diana finds the monarchy as presently organized a crumbling institution, she has a deep respect for the manner in which the Queen has conducted herself for the last forty years. Indeed, much as she would like to leave her husband, Diana has emphasized to her: "I will never let you down." Before she attended a garden party on a stifling July afternoon last year, a friend offered Diana a fan to take with her. She refused saying: "I can'.. Andrew Morton
d50a404 Although Diana has successfully shaken off the traditional image of the fairy-tale princess concerned exclusively with shopping and fashion it still colours the preconceptions of those she meets for the first time. She is used to being patronized. As she tells close friends: "It happens a lot. It's interesting to see people's reactions to me. They have one impression in mind and then, as they talk to me, I can see it changing." At the same .. Andrew Morton
c7f68bd The boys have been a loving lifeline for the Princess in her isolated position. "They mean everything to me," she is fond of saying. However, in September this year, when Prince Harry joins his elder brother at Ludgrove preparatory school, Diana will have to face the prospect of an empty nest at Kensington Palace. "She realizes that they are going to develop and expand and that soon a chapter in her own life will be complete," observes Jame.. Andrew Morton
3bd033e As Mother Teresa told her during her visit to Rome this year: "To heal other people you have to suffer yourself." Diana nodded vigorously in agreement. While she struggles to find an acceptable equilibrium in her life, she acknowledges the progress she has made. She says: "I've opened up. My life is changing. This is only the beginning." Andrew Morton
be2e433 One evening she can be immensely mature, discussing death and the after-life with George Carey, the new Archbishop of Canterbury, the next night giggling away at a bridge party. "Sometimes she is possessed by a different spirit in response to breaking free from the yoke of responsibility that binds her," observed Rory Scott who still sees the Princess socially. As her brother says: "She has done very well to keep her sense of humour, that i.. Andrew Morton
39041e1 The speeches she is making with almost weekly regularity are a further satisfying feature of her royal life. Some she writes herself, others by a small coterie of advisers, including her private secretary Patrick Jephson, now a firm ally in the royal camp as she personally appointed him last November. It is a flexible informal group who discuss with the Princess the points she wants to make, research the statistics and then construct the sp.. Andrew Morton
89d8593 The Queen's Highland castle retreat, set in 40,000 acres of heather and grouse moor, is effectively the Windsors' family seat. Ever since Queen Victoria bought the estate in 1848 it has had a special place in the affections of the royal family. However the very quirks and obscure family traditions which have accrued over the years can intimidate newcomers. "Don't sit there" they chorus at an unfortunate guest foolish enough to try and sit i.. Andrew Morton
1ecff1d With five emperors, eight kings, and four imperial dynasties rendered obsolete by the conflict, there was never a better time to emphasize that the newly minted House of Windsor--George V changed the family name from Saxe-Coburg und Gotha in 1917 to deflect anti-German sentiment--remained the unchanging keystone in the edifice of an empire upon which the sun never set. The Andrew Morton
c27f6aa Good girls go to heaven, bad girls go everywhere', Andrew Morton
5e425da What they say behind my back is none of my business, but I come back here and I know when I turn my light off at night I did my best. Andrew Morton
e44a2ca Hubbard described Dianetics as a revolutionary and scientifically developed alternative to conventional psychiatry and psychotherapy, arguing that it could alleviate all manner of illnesses, including asthma, arthritis, alcoholism, ulcers, migraines, conjunctivitis, morning sickness, the common cold, and heart disease. In addition, he claimed it could hugely increase intelligence and eliminate burdensome emotions as well as cure conditions .. Andrew Morton
2af0df7 While scientists saw man as a body, Hubbard argued that man was an endlessly reincarnated spirit. He did not worship God, but was his own god. By following Hubbard's applied religious philosophy, an individual could fully realize his immortal nature, freeing himself from his body. At its heart, the appeal of Scientology was not to a man's soul, but to his ego. He could become his own god . . . for a price. Andrew Morton
eae0cfe reality TV personality, property mogul and now President of the United States, Donald Trump attempted, unsuccessfully to woo her. Andrew Morton
c8dc4b2 One of the worst things that happened to her was that she was put on a pedestal which didn't allow her to develop in the direction that she wanted but one which has forced her to be concerned about image and perfection. Andrew Morton
bfb3b7d I always felt so different - I felt I was in the wrong shell. Andrew Morton
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