Diana, Princess of Wales, was a flawed human being. She was not a saint. Nor was she a victim of any scheme. Amongst all the positive coverage of the late royal, there has also been much criticism, which is what we’re going to over in this post.
The world knew that Diana was an empathetic woman who had a deep love for the flawed underdog. However, she was also seen as a double-edged sword—someone who complained about problems she herself caused.
Diana: The Flawed And “Self-Indulgent”
Over the years, many people have criticised the late ‘People’s Princess’ for her actions. Anthony O’Hear, a philosophy professor, was one of these individuals. He claimed that Diana was “unable to fulfil her duties, her reckless behaviour was damaging the monarchy, and she was “self-indulgent” in her philanthropic efforts.” However, his comments were heavily criticised.
We disagree with Professor O’Hear in his comments. Diana helped shape many of the attitudes the monarchy enjoys today. Her eldest son, Prince William, has backed up this multiple times. The late Princess of Wales inspired much of his charity work, including his current endeavour of fighting homelessness, in which he created the charity, Homewards.
Meanwhile, Prince Harry has done the same landmine walk as his mother did in 2019. A feat he hasn’t touched on in years.
Diana’s charity was not “self-indulgent” as she highlighted that simply touching someone with AIDs/HIV without gloves on doesn’t mean that the disease is transmitted by touch like the common cold. No, she did the research and learned that it is transmitted via bodily fluids like blood or semen. Moreover, this is the same line of thinking as Princess Margaret, who, according to Lady Anne Glenconner, gave her son, who had AIDs, a big hug.
Lady Glenconner expressed that Margaret’s AIDs work was often compared to Diana’s. However, she stressed that both women worked differently. Princess Margaret wasn’t as ‘touchy-feely’ as Princess Diana was.
Lady Glenconner swiped at Diana, saying that Margaret did her AIDs work without needing cameras.
Criticising The Paparazzi While Also Calling Them
It’s no secret that Diana was well-known for calling the paparazzi on herself and then complaining about them when they didn’t go away. Peter Conrad of The Guardian reported in 2007, a decade after Diana’s death, that the late Princess of Wales would call the paps and they were “her source of power.” That is true. Christopher Hitchins backed this up.
Diana knew how to use the media to her advantage. One such example was when she was skiing with William and Harry in Switzerland. The paps followed them there, got the photos, but refused to leave when she told them to. She had called them and told them where she was going to be.
Tina Brown, another royal author, even argued that there was no way Diana was “a victim of media manipulation” and that it was offensive to suggest otherwise. She even spoke about how the whole situation impacted the boys.
Did Princess Diana Hate The British Royal Family?
There is one insinuation that doesn’t sit right. Sarah Bradford once wrote that Princess Diana despised the House of Windsor, often referring to them as “The Germans”, a reference to the family’s German origins before the last name was changed to Windsor.
We do not believe that Diana, as flawed as she was, hated the House of Windsor. Why? Because her children were part of the House of Windsor and her descendants (her future grandchildren) would too. Her only issue was with Charles, whom, we might add, she had become friendly with before her death.
Despite their divorce, they were relatively warm towards each other. They were ill-suited romantically but were better off as friends, not just in the interest of themselves, but their sons.
