Princess Diana was a woman of the people. Although her reign was unconventionally approached, she won the heart of her country and people worldwide. In a BBC Politics interview, she admitted, “I lead from the heart, not the head, and albeit that’s got me into trouble in my work, I understand that. But someone’s got to go out there and love people and show it.” And she did just that. The “people’s princess” chose a different approach in her time, which ultimately left her appreciated and celebrated following her tragic passing.
A proud mother of two sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, Diana was known for exposing her sons to a non-royal way of life. A royal expert by the name of Christopher Warwick said: “William and Harry were very, very fortunate with Diana as a mother because her ideas were so different to the previous generation.” Her children got to live a normal life as any other child deserved to, and she gave them that opportunity despite their status. Although she fulfilled the lives of her two sons, there was one wish of her husband Prince Charles’ that she was not able to grant.
Upon Princess Diana’s second pregnancy, Prince Charles had made it known how much he would love a daughter this time around. The pressure was on almost immediately after the birth of William, with the Royal Family insisting that she has another child, as a spare to the heir. Following an announcement by Buckingham Palace of her pregnancy, the country roared with excitement and could hardly wait for the arrival of the next child. Much to their disappointment, Diana had tragically suffered a miscarriage just later that week, while staying at the Balmoral estate in Scotland. Fortunately, just a year later, she would announce that she was expecting yet again.
Typically, a mother would be rejoiced to be expecting another child, however, was beginning to doubt herself, and according to the book Diana: I’m Going To Be Me, she had told friends “I don’t think I’m made for the production line, but it’s all worth it in the end.” Sticking it out despite the difficult circumstances, she would have a much easier pregnancy this time around, and in September of 1984, she would welcome Henry Charles Albert David Mountbatten-Windsor, whom we know as Prince Harry.
Itai Buenahora
Following difficult labour of nine hours and no medication at all, Diana persevered and welcomed Prince Harry with that wonderful smile of hers. Understandably emotional following the birth of her second child, the feeling was not matched with that of her husband, who was an obvious disappointment. In Andrew Morton’s documentary Diana: Her True Story, she admitted that he displayed a look of “dismay”, as he had always wanted a girl.
Despite the challenges she had faced leading up to the birth of Prince Harry, her husband’s initial reaction was “Oh god, it’s a boy” followed by “And he’s even got red hair” which was utterly offensive to Diana, after the struggle she just overcame. Furthermore, this was offensive due to the fact that her older sisters and younger brother have red hair, too. Prince Charles went on to voice his disappointment to Diana’s mother at the christening of their child. All of this ultimately resulted in the downfall of their marriage. “The whole thing went down the drain,” Diana said in the tapes acquired by the Daily Mail.
This was an undoubtedly challenging time for a new mother of two who now had to play an even bigger role in the lives of her two young children. Struggling with her own anxiety and eating disorder, she had to overcome the obstacles that came her way, while championing motherhood and maintaining her reputation as the “people’s princess”.
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