Skeletons in Lady Di's Closet, or Why Princess Diana Pushed her stepmother down the stairs (12 photos)

The identity of Princess Diana, who died in 1997, is still being debated. Was the "Queen of Hearts" a victim of circumstance or a femme fatale, seducing men and then abandoning them for another? One thing is certain: Diana Spencer was a major thorn in the royal family's side from childhood, and the scandals surrounding her contributed to the Queen's growing number of gray hairs.





In the 1970s, Britain was in turmoil. Europe's most tradition-laden country was feverishly shedding prejudices and old customs, sometimes clearly going too far. This was unsurprising, as everyone knows that the stricter and more ancient the traditions, the more unbridled the farewell to them.

Punks, bikers, and skaters mingled on the streets of London with prim British ladies and gentlemen, and in the evenings, hard rock or rhythmic disco music wafted from the windows of mansions, not quiet classical piano music. Elton John, the king of British pop, lived next door to the real royal family—his mansion was located next to the residence of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.



At night, members of the royal family could hear the star returning from parties in a red and yellow sports car, its engine roaring loudly throughout the neighborhood. It was during this time that Diana's identity, destined to shake up the monarchy and change society, was formed.

Lady Di was known for her unpredictability and temperament, which irritated the royal family. She would suddenly change her mind about going to an important event and, dismissing her driver, would rush to Kensington Palace to see little William and Harry.





Lady Di with her sons William and Harry

Snatching the children from their governesses, Diana would bundle them into the car to take them to McDonald's and feed them hamburgers and Coke. The children were delighted, which couldn't be said for Prince Charles or, especially, the Queen. The princess felt much more at home in cafes and eateries than in the dining rooms of palaces and castles.

Her aristocratic background didn't prevent Diana from living a simple and fulfilling life. In her youth, the princess worked as a waitress, cleaned friends' apartments for money, and even worked as a kindergarten teacher. She enjoyed playing with children and fooling around—Lady Di herself grew up mischievous and unruly.

Diana's parents, John Spencer and Frances Shand Caidd, separated when she was only eight years old, and soon a new stepmother, the arrogant and tedious Raine McCorquodale, arrived. Diana couldn't get along with her father's new wife and immediately nicknamed her "Acid Rain."



Princess Diana with her stepmother, Raine McCorquodale

Together with her brother and sisters, Diana tormented their stepmother in every way, setting traps and playing tricks on her. Their relationship remained unchanged even after Diana grew up. In 1989, Diana and Raine met on the stairs at home and had the usual altercation. But this time, something went wrong, and Lady Di simply pushed the now-elderly woman down the stairs.

Raine McCorquodale counted every step, but fortunately survived with only multiple bruises. Sue Howe, who was working as Diana's stepmother's assistant at the time, recalled that the scandal arose out of nowhere, and the violence was cruel and unjustified. But Diana rarely cared what others thought of her, and even less often drew conclusions.

Contemporaries recall that Diana was never an angel and was a worthy representative of the youth of her era. She disliked the exact sciences, found reading tiresome, and talk of a "decent education" frankly irritated her.



When Diana worked as a nanny for Mary Robertson, shortly before her engagement to Prince Charles, the woman tried to reason with Diana. She told her that she should at least start reading newspapers for general education, so she could carry on a conversation in society. But Diana merely laughed it off—she much preferred the cheesy, paperback romance novels.

Despite her rebellious spirit and less-than-girlish personality, Diana managed to charm Prince Charles. They first met when she was only 16. The Prince was visiting the Spencers' home because he was dating Diana's older sister, Sarah. Everything was heading toward an engagement, but the woman everyone believed to be the Prince's fiancée gave a scandalous interview that outraged Charles.

He immediately broke off relations with Sarah, immediately turning his attention to her younger sister. Their romance was swift—Charles informed his mother of his intention to marry Diana just a couple of months before the official engagement. The Queen immediately drew the unmistakable conclusion: "Diana is not ready for life in a palace."



But Charles's father supported him, and the prince proposed to Diana. It seemed every girl's dream—to be a princess, live in a palace, and have the luxury of everything—had come true. Unfortunately, the marriage did not bring her happiness. Charles had very peculiar ideas about family life and spent more time with his faithful longtime passion, Camilla Parker Bowles.

During her honeymoon, the princess fell into a severe depression and, as she herself recounted, slit her wrists. Diana's tragic story is described in the book "Diana: The True Story," by Andrew Morton. This story has it all: suicide attempts, bulimia, weight loss, psychosis, and many other unpleasant things.



In the wedding photos, the bride looks quite happy.

To understand why this happened, it's worth recalling how Diana and Charles's first days together unfolded. The young couple spent their first week at Broadlands, Lord Mountbatten's picturesque family estate, surrounded by oak groves and meadows.

Diana had been counting on romantic walks and picnics, but instead, her husband suggested a completely different way to spend her time.

We arrived at Broadlands. On the evening of the second day, Van der Post's books arrived, which he hadn't read. Seven books—all of them arrived during our honeymoon. Charles read them aloud, and we were supposed to discuss and analyze them over lunch every day. You know, it was just dreadful. I had so many hopes, and they were dashed after two days.

To understand the depth of Diana's despair, it's worth adding that Van der Post was a South African philosopher and thinker, a friend of Prince Charles, whom he adored. There remained a sliver of hope for the second half of the honeymoon, but even that was soon dashed.



Wedding Cruise on the Britannic — Press Photos of the Happy Couple

The newlyweds went on a cruise on the yacht Britannic, which turned out to be packed with high-ranking guests, military personnel, musicians, servants, and security guards. All the guests were frankly bored, and Charles and Diana had to host massive gatherings every evening, all while pretending to be a happy couple.

Due to the stress, Diana developed insomnia and terrible bouts of bulimia, during which the princess devoured everything edible within her reach.

My bulimia was completely uncontrollable. The bouts recurred four times a day. I gobbled up everything I could find, and within minutes I was sick... It was exhausting.

After the honeymoon, the daily grind of family life began. From August to October, the couple lived at Balmoral, where Charles took his young wife on long walks and horseback rides. During these leisure activities, the prince would discuss lofty topics and quote philosophers.



Prince Charles with his mother, Queen Elizabeth II

In the evenings, the prince immersed himself in reading, and Diana, like any proper princess, embroidered tapestries. The princess ate almost nothing and could not sleep, which caused her condition to rapidly deteriorate. Lady Diana later recalled that people talked about her appearance behind her back because she looked more like a famine victim than a happy young wife.

A little later, it became clear that Charles was desperately short of time for his wife, who was now in third place after his mother and Camilla Parker Bowles, with whom he had been in a nine-year relationship. Neither scandals nor jealous scenes could change the prince, who withdrew behind his books and avoided his wife.

Everything changed dramatically after Diana became pregnant. However, to capture her husband's attention, she had to fall down the stairs in front of him. The risky stunt, performed in her third month, was carefully planned by the princess, as her close friends later admitted.

But the fall had an effect on Charles, and realizing he could lose both his child and his wife, he changed his attitude toward his beloved. Until the very birth, he literally fawned over her and catered to her every whim. Unfortunately, after William's birth, everything returned to normal.



Princess Diana and Paul Burrell

The princess found refuge in her bodyguard, Paul Burrell. Gossip even circulated rumors of an affair between him and Lady Di, but Burrell denied all speculation, openly declaring himself homosexual. In reality, he was both a mother and a friend to Diana. She could confide in him about any problems she had, and then cry on his strong shoulder.

At the same time, Burrell became Diana's faithful companion in her affairs of the heart. It was he who arranged the princess's secret meetings with James Hewitt, her riding instructor. Incidentally, Hewitt was the only man from the long list of men presented to her after the divorce with whom she actually admitted to having an affair.



Princess Diana and James Hewitt

In the book Hewitt co-wrote with Burrell, there's a line: "Between Diana and me, things happened quickly and mutually." It perfectly describes their relationship. The affair with the instructor led to public pressure for a DNA test of Prince Harry, who was a redhead like the princess's lover. But Queen Elizabeth II prevented such a profanation of the Windsor dynasty, and the matter was hushed up.

In the final years of her life with Charles, Diana became a regular fixture on newspaper front pages and scandal pages. "Diana Attends Elton John's Scandalous Party," "Diana Shows Up to Soiree in Red Stockings"—such headlines appeared in the press almost weekly.

On November 24, 1995, Diana once again stunned the public by declaring that her entire 15-year marriage had been filled with pain and suffering. The princess appeared in the BBC studios and spent an hour on the program "Panorama" recounting her problems. Viewers learned not only about Charles's infidelities, which had forced the princess to seek happiness in the arms of other men, but also about her appearance issues, bulimia, suicide attempts, and much more.

Immediately after the broadcast, the Queen invited her daughter-in-law to her office, and some time later, Diana signed the divorce papers from Charles. After her separation from her husband, Diana began an affair with cardiac surgeon Hasnat Khan. According to Burrell, to avoid publicity, the man was brought to Diana's residence in the trunk of a limousine and then taken away the same way.



Dr. Hasnat Khan

At one point, Diana even considered marrying a doctor, for which she began studying the Quran. But the couple didn't work out, as Khan couldn't see himself with a woman who adored social events and lived lavishly. Hasnat longed for a quiet family life, which his marriage to Diana couldn't provide. He soon left her, citing her jealousy as exhausting.

Lady Di's last affair was with a Muslim, Egyptian billionaire Dodi Al-Fayed. This man surrounded her with care and luxury, and Harry and William doted on him. Everything was heading toward a wedding that would once again damage the royal family's reputation. Another scandal was brewing in the Windsor family, as tradition dictated that the mother of the English princes could not marry a man who was not Protestant, much less Muslim.

But the scandal was never destined to reach its full potential, as Diana and Dodi died in a Paris tunnel on August 31, 1997, and this tragedy put an end to the story of the rebellious princess.