Diana Vs The Queen

Sun 18th Jan - 7:00AM

A struggle that was only seldom straightforward and only fought out in public fairly late on. It is a subtle duel. It begins long before the marriage of the heir of the throne: Queen Elizabeth is looking for a wife for her son.

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Diana Vs The Queen

“Lady Diana versus Queen Elizabeth” is a struggle that was only seldom straightforward and only fought out in public fairly late on.

It is 6th September, 1997. After Princess Diana’s death it seems the duel between Lady Diana and Queen Elizabeth has been decided. However, it comes to a showdown. A last trial of strength, which the public has been waiting for for years. How will the Queen act when the coffin of Lady Di passes her?

There could not be any more tension – London is a no-fly zone, stores are closed, sport events cancelled. It is dead silent. Will Elizabeth remain motionless and thus declare herself the final winner in this rivalry? Or will she – like so many people – be moved to tears and leave the last triumph to her opponent? How will the nation respond to the reaction of the monarch, how the press? Will the Queen’s reaction be correctly interpreted? Will the gesture of victory be seen as a sign of weakness, a moral defeat? An emotional release? Could it be seen – different from what the Queen might think – as a sign of humanity, of sovereignty? Whatever the Queen might do, there is no silver bullet. Not even for a queen.

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Because of her behaviour, the monarch has heated up the speculations for days. The flags on Buckingham Place are not on half-mast. They are not flying at all. The Queen simply refuses to break with the old tradition that there are only flags when she is present. Because Elizabeth has disappeared to her castle in Scotland, insulated form the outside world, no flags are allowed at her official residence in London, especially not at half-mast.

The Queen even denies Lady Diana a state funeral. After the divorce, Diana was not a member of the royal family anymore. For five long days, Elizabeth has kept silent on the death of her former daughter-in-law. It is not until the sixth day that she hesitantly expresses her condolences. Condolences the nation now hardly believes.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT THE QUEEN

Too much has happened during the last couple of years, too many scandals, too much vitriol. Numerous books have been written and TV reports broadcast. The enormous tension between the English heir to the throne and his wife were at first hushed up and then slugged out most publicly. Eventually the controversy between Charles and Diana became a duel between Lady Di and Queen Elizabeth.

Time and again people assumed a mean mother-in-law to be behind the husband’s actions – he was often sniggered at. Apparently it was the Queen that pushed her son to marry Diana. It was the Queen that knew about Charles’ love affair with Camilla – and allowed it despite Diana’s protest. It was the Queen that refused to approve a divorce when the marriage was shattered. She always claimed reasons of state to be the cause for her strict position. Was the nation more important than the princess’ happiness?

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