Exclusive: Royal Historian Says Princess Diana Tore the Royal Family’s “Cinderella” Myth “to Pieces

Exclusive: Royal Historian Says Princess Diana Tore the Royal Family’s “Cinderella” Myth “to PiecesExclusive: Royal Historian Says Princess Diana Tore the Royal FExclusive: Royal Historian Says Princess Diana Tore the Royal Family’s “Cinderella” Myth “to Piecesamily’s “Cinderella” Myth “to Pieces

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When Princess Diana married Prince Charles in 1981, their wedding felt like the ultimate modern fairytale. But when the late royal spoke out about her marital troubles, her eating disorder and general unhappiness in the Royal Family, the press turned against her. Speaking to Marie Claire, royal historian Kate Williams says that Diana “absolutely refused” to “perform happiness” for the monarchy’s benefit.

Williams digs into how royal women through the centuries have fought for power in her new book, Regina, and she says that people “want the princess fantasy.”

“We want them to perform happiness, I mean that’s what we want princesses to do,” Williams shares. “And Diana absolutely refused. ‘I’m not doing this. I’m not saying I’m happy. I’m not putting up with this.'”

The author and professor adds that while Grace Kelly was candid about some of her struggles with being a princess, Diana’s pushback was much more public. “And that really was a bombshell because yes, Grace said it, but she said it in much more private ways,” Williams says.

Although Charles and Diana’s marriage was fractured early on, the couple didn’t officially separate until 1992, and the princess’s controversial BBC Panorama interview aired in November 1995. During her sitdown with Martin Bashir, she openly discussed her struggles with bulimia and self-harm and admitted to having an affair during her marriage to Charles.

According to Williams, Diana’s revelations ruined the idea of the royal fantasy. “There’s this expectation that you are Cinderella, happily ever after, and you perform happiness,” she says. Williams continues that Diana’s actions “tore” that idea to shreds.