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Buckingham Palace, Camilla Parker Bowles, Diana Spencer, Duke of Cambridge, Duke of Edinburgh, Elizabeth II, Kings and Queens of England, kings and queens of Scotland, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, the prince of Wales, The Princess of Wales
I was on a Facebook page that was dedicated to English royalty. The page displayed pictures of HRH The Prince of Wales with HRH The Duchess of Cornwall. I was surprised to read the hate toward the Duchess in the name of Diana, Princess of Wales. There are still some die-hard Diana fans who can be very rigid and venomous in their attacks on The Duchess of Cornwall. The responses surprised me because I thought this type of behavior was in the past. Apparently it is not. Today I wanted to write about Diana, Princess of Wales, a person I seldom write about, and see if I can put some things into perspective.
I understand that many people are royalty watchers, or interested in the British monarchy, because of Diana, Princess of Wales. The wedding of Lady Diana Spencer to HRH The Prince of Wales back in 1981 was the doorway into their fascination with not only the British Monarchy, but Diana herself. I have observed that it is these people who are often most vocal in their praises of Diana and their criticisms of The Duchess of Cornwall. Then there are those, like myself, who were interested in British royalty prior to the royal wedding. This group tends to follow the royal family for other motives. I state this as fact with no judgment implied.
I actually did, and do, admire Diana, Princess of Wales. However, I do not do it at the expense of The Duchess of Cornwall and I also recognize that Diana brought both positive and negative changes to the royal family. Those are the things that i want to write about today.
I think Diana brought a breath of fresh air into the royal family. Her warmth and kindness and willing to be open was a message to the rest of the royal family that they too need to be more down to earth and show their warmth. I think they have followed suit and I think that is one of the biggest influences that Diana brought. I also think she was a wonderful Mom. She did work very hard to give her two boys as normal a life possible given the circumstances of their lives. This was not only beneficial to the boys, it also helped to modernize the royal family and bring it closer to the people.
Although the royal family has been a patron of charities for many many years, Diana brought a style to her charity work that again emphasized her down to earth spirit and care for other people. In a day when AIDS was a frightening unknown entity and people with AIDS were demonized and shunned the attitude that Diana had toward people with this affliction helped to not only reduce the stigma it helped educate people and brought them out of ignorance.
When any marriage ends both parties often share responsibility. There is rarely a one-sided relationship. I really do not wish to rehash what went on in their marriage and who is to blame. First of all I wasn’t there so anything I do know might not be an accurate.
I think my major point in all of this is about moving on. In August of 2013 it will be 16 years since Diana passed away. The problem seems to be that many have not yet moved on and are stuck in some type of anger phases toward the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall. I do think it is time to move on, to celebrate and always honor the life of Diana, Princess of Wales and to also recognize that the Duchess of Cornwall is also a very good person that has brought many good qualities and hard work to the royal family. I do think it is time to move on, to forgive and accept what is and has come to be.