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her out of public life.
Diana’s sensational move and the speculation aroused in the press as to her
motivation and possible pressures behind it overshadowed the wedding at Balmoral in
December of the Princess Royal to Commander Tim Laurence. Anne, apparently, had
wanted to slip off quietly and get married at Crathie, where, under the dispensation of
the Church of Scotland, she could, although a divorced person, marry in church. Her
family, including her mother, had been taken by surprise, Elizabeth, to her daughter’s
embarrassment, learning of it only a week before from the BBC (‘Bloody press,’ Anne is
held to have exploded, ‘you know what Mummy’s like about surprises’). The Queen
Mother had a house-party fixed for that date and had to leave her guests to fly up to
Scotland and back at short notice. The Castle itself was closed. Anne then moved with
her husband to a flat in the uncosy anonymity of the huge blocks of flats called Dolphin
Square on Chelsea Embankment. Since Laurence had held the relatively humble position
of equerry at Buckingham Palace and incurred a certain amount of jealousy and
hostility over his romance with the Princess, it would have been awkward for the couple
to start their married life ‘at the office’. Discreet, quiet, yet with a will of his own,
Laurence is liked by the family. He is ‘terribly nice and frightfully kind,’ a royal relation
said.
Despite advice from her friends, Diana began to score own goals. Some newspapers,
jealous of her close connection with the Daily Mail’s Richard Kay, began to target her.
The Sun published photographs of her at a rendezvous with Kay captioned ‘Two-faced
Diana’, and the News of the World revealed the story of her ‘nuisance calls’ to Oliver
Hoare. Her relationship with James Hewitt was revealed in Princess in Love. Photographs
of her exercising in a West London gym were published in the Mirror and resulted in a
lawsuit by the Princess which mysteriously never came to court. More photographs, of
the Princess sunbathing topless in the south of Spain, were bought up by the loyal
proprietor of Hello! (allegedly at the instigation of the Palace), but while Diana told
Richard Kay of her ‘utter humiliation’ over the pictures and that it had felt ‘like a rape’,
the rumours in the Hello! circle were that Diana did not appreciate their act of
generosity. ‘The Princess of Wales was furious,’ a leading editor said. ‘She didn’t want us
to buy the photographs because she wanted to be seen – she’s obsessed with her body.’
Pressure from the media on both the Waleses was, a courtier said, driving them mad.
The Waleses’ children, particularly Prince William, apparently blamed the media for
their parents’ separation.
It was having its effect on the senior members of the family. Even Elizabeth, who
invited Diana to Sandringham for Christmas 1993, was seen to be ‘fuming’ when the
photographers massed to take pictures of Diana and packed up as soon as they had done
so, ignoring the rest of the family. Although normally uninterested in publicity, she now
took their attitude as a slight. Inside the house the atmosphere was tense and
quarrelsome. At tea over Victorian tables loaded with delicious cakes and scones, there
were family spats. Charles, the proud father, boasted how William had shot twenty
pheasants. ‘That’s rubbish,’ shouted Andrew. ‘I know it was only fifteen.’ Philip, who in