*Includes pictures of Charles, Diana and important people, places, and events in their lives.
*Discusses the controversies surrounding the royal marriage and conspiracy theories about Diana and her death.
*Includes a Table of Contents
“Anywhere I see suffering, that is where I want to be, doing what I can.” – Diana.
“I think it's something that dawns on you with the most ghastly, inexorable sense. I didn't suddenly wake up in my pram one day and say 'Yippee, I —', you know. But I think it just dawns on you, you know, slowly, that people are interested in one, and slowly you get the idea that you have a certain duty and responsibility.” Charles about being heir to the throne.
The British Royal Family is held in awe across Britain, and they have captured the interest of people around the globe. Queen Elizabeth II is respected for her stately demeanor, Prince William and his new wife, Kate Middleton, are deemed trendsetters and attract attention from media starved for gossip, and nobody has held as unique a place in pop culture as the late Diana, Princess of Wales.
While Charles had all eyes on him from birth, the woman who would become Princess of Wales and one of the most famous people in the world was literally nameless for a week. Expecting a boy, the parents finally came to grips with the fact that she was a girl and eventually named her Diana. Fittingly, even though Diana had been born into one of Britain’s most historic and prominent families, the world came to know her better for her first name than her last name, Spencer.
Diana’s first brush with Prince Charles came when the prince was dating her older sister, but the world met Lady Diana after Charles began courting her from 1980-1981. The two were married in the most famous and watched wedding of the 20th century, with nearly 750,000 tuning and over half a million standing outside to see the Royal Wedding.
From then on, Diana became one of the most famous people in the world, with every step she took and every decision she made heavily scrutinized across the world. Though she stayed busy with international charities, human rights work, being a mother, and all of the necessities being part of the Royal Family required, Diana remained a tabloid fixture all the while.
Considered a saint by some and a traitor to the established order by others, Diana nevertheless remains one of the most famous and popular Britons in history. And with Diana's death, the man who may one day be King has often been cast as the villain in the central narrative. Charles has never helped his cause by admittedly attempting to steer clear of the media’s feeding frenzy, going so far as to describe the media in 2002 “awkward, cantankerous, cynical, bloody-minded, at times intrusive, at times inaccurate and at times deeply unfair and harmful to individuals and to institutions.”
The British Royal Family: The Lives of Charles, Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales chronicles the lives of the famous couple, as well as the ins and outs of their fairytale wedding and troubled marriage. But it also presents a comprehensive, objective analysis of the beloved princess and oft scorned prince. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events in their lives, you will learn about Charles and Diana like you never have before, in no time at all.
