A Reporter Who Interviewed Princess Diana Reveals Why She Never Fit in With the Royal Family
Princess Diana had so many special qualities. Her ability to connect with people to her captivating charm is what we remember most about her. But one of Diana’s quirks might’ve been what doomed her as a member of the British royal family.
The late princess‘s life is the subject of CNN’s new documentary series Diana. The six-part retrospective aims to look beyond her public image. The show uses rare footage and reframes iconic interviews to showcase the real Diana behind the shy smile.
A preview of the series features Angela Rippon, who helped conduct the interview with Diana and Prince Charles before their wedding. The chat became famous for putting the awkwardness between the couple in full display.
In the clip, published by People Magazine, Rippon recalled how Diana’s true personality came out after they went off air.
“After we did the interview, there was a moment when one of the courtiers came and he said to Diana, would it be alright if we took a photograph now?” Rippon said.
“No, not now,” she recalled Diana replying.
The brief moment, in which Diana chose to go against what the monarchy needed, showed exactly why the late princess never fit in with the family.
“There was something more to Diana, something that was not the marshmallow or the Play-Doh that was going to be molded into what they [the royals] wanted,” Rippon said in the clip. “Running through all of it was a backbone, a knowledge of her own self.”
Diana and Charles married in an extravagant wedding on July 29, 1981. They welcomed Prince William the next June and Prince Harry in September 1984.
But they never had the fairytale marriage.
Charles continued seeing his longtime love Camilla Parker Bowles during his marriage to Diana. The two married in 2005, less than ten years after his divorce from Diana in 1996. The beloved princess died in a car crash just a year after their divorce was finalized.
This article originally appeared on our sister site, Woman’s World.
