Princess Diana

Princess. What does the term really mean? Most people associate it with a fairy-tale life. You have everything you want right at your finger-tips. You are perfectly happy and nothing can go wrong. In reality though, is this true? Lady Diana Spencer was seen as a perfect, flawless princess. But who really was she? What did the title “Princess” mean to her? Diana secretly struggled with insecurity her entire life, but her determination and compassion shaped the way the world thought of her.

Throughout her life Diana displayed a very insecure nature. Psychologists think this was rooted in her childhood (Smith). When she was six, her mom left her family (Smith). After her parent’s high-profile divorce was finalized, she remembered her father’s distant, lonely silences, and her mother’s constant crying (Morton 35). Diana described this as a “wish-washy and painful experience” (33). Due to these circumstances she felt detached and different from others at a very young age (34). For Diana’s engagement party to the Prince of Wales, she wore a black dress that she thought was “pretty and smart” (51-52). When Prince Charles saw her, he said with disgust, “only people in mourning wear black” (170-171). She was destroyed by this comment. She needed people’s constant support and compliments (170). Later in her marriage, her husband’s lack of attention led her to suffer from bulimia and to make several suicide attempts (85-86). Once, when she was attempting to gain Prince Charles’ attention, she took a penknife and cut her chest and thighs (77). Seeing the bloody sight he said, “You are crying wolf.” This comment added to her negative self-esteem (188). The constant press coverage put her under lots of pressure. “It warped her sense of who she was through its unrealistic expectations, distortions, exaggerations and outright inventions” (Smith). It made her believe she had to live up to the impossible expectations that were being forced on her (Smith). Diana was easily influenced and very sensitive. She let other people’s views of her and life’s uncontrollable circumstances affect her self-image.

Diana showed great determination by following what she believed in. She had a passion for ballet throughout her entire life. When she was at boarding school, she would sneak down to an empty corridor at night and practice for hours on end. Even though she grew too tall to accomplish her dreams of becoming a professional ballerina, she kept dancing throughout her adult years (Morton 125).