Updated
Updated · The News International · Jun 29
Princess Diana Felt Like 'Third Person' in Divorce After Queen Consulted 2 Top Officials First
Updated
Updated · The News International · Jun 29

Princess Diana Felt Like 'Third Person' in Divorce After Queen Consulted 2 Top Officials First

3 articles · Updated · The News International · Jun 29

Summary

  • Paul Burrell's account in A Royal Duty says Diana was furious after learning Queen Elizabeth II had discussed her divorce with Prime Minister John Major and Archbishop George Carey before speaking to her.
  • A confidential letter from the Queen triggered that reaction, with Diana saying, "This is my marriage and it is no one else's business," according to Burrell's recollection.
  • Burrell wrote that the princess felt like a "third person" in her own divorce, underscoring her anger at the monarchy's reliance on government and church consultation.
  • The account revisits tensions around the royal split years after Diana's 1997 death, framing the divorce as not only a personal rupture but also an institutional process.

Insights

Was Diana's divorce a personal tragedy or simply a constitutional matter of business for the Crown?
How did a mother-in-law's letter about divorce force a thousand-year-old monarchy to face the modern world?