The Diana Decades

On July 29, 1981, Lady Diana Spencer took "Philip Charles Arthur George"

— she mangled the order of Prince Charles'' names during her vows — as her

lawful wedded husband and entered a family hidebound by practices no outsider

could fathom.

It turned out to be much more than she bargained for. It also turned out

to be much more than they bargained for. But for the media, it was a golden

bonanza.

The Media Maelstrom

"The media changed dramatically in that decade of the 1980s," says Bob

Houston, publisher of Royalty Monthly magazine.

"Diana was the spearhead of the American invasion of Britain, the celebrity

culture," says Houston.

"The British media is changing. It is becoming much more celebrity-driven.

And we had this No. 1 celebrity."

Diana, with her photogenic good looks, her sympathetic gestures and an

air of vulnerability, seemed much more relaxed than the other royals, and

much more accessible. She instantly clicked with the public, who couldn''t

get enough of her.

"From the time she entered public life, Diana conveyed her vulnerability

with her eyes, her gestures, her speech, and her touch," Sally Bedell Smith

wrote in her book Diana in Search of Herself. "Alongside her beauty, this

evident fragility made her a star."

Newspaper editors found the public was eager to lap up articles about Diana,

her clothes, her style, her public engagements, how she was raising her

two young sons. The ''80s, says Houston, were "the Decade of Diana."

The ''90s were also good for the tabloids and royal watchers. By the late

''80s, the press — and the public — had caught on to the fact that Diana

and Charles were rarely together. By 1990, many were aware the marriage

of the Prince and Princess of Wales was far from happy. But divorce did

not seem like a possibility.

Fairy Princess and Everywoman

Then, in June 1992, the carefully constructed façade imploded with

the publication of Andrew Morton''s Diana: Her True Story. The book — written

with Diana''s cooperation — exposed the princess''s battles with bulimia

and depression, and reviled Charles as an unfaithful husband.

The revelations of Charles'' relationship with a married woman, Camilla

Parker Bowles, sent the Prince of Wales'' popularity plummeting. But the

revelations of Diana''s problems did not decrease the public''s affection

for her. It only increased their appetite to know more.

"Once the breadth and depth of her emotional struggle became known," wrote

Smith, "she struck an even deeper chord: She became the fairy-princess

version of the troubled everywoman."

The tabloid fodder kept coming: There was the royal separation, the two

camps'' attempts to woo the public, the televised admissions by both Charles

and Diana of adultery. After the divorce became final, in 1996, the media

continued to follow Diana''s every move. And then, on Aug. 31, 1997, came

the car crash in a Paris tunnel that claimed her life.

The massive outpouring of public grief made the Windsors sit up and take

notice. "The amazing eruption of emotion over her death got through to

them that their world has had to change," says Houston.

Charles Gets the Message

The person who really got the message was Prince Charles, who witnessed

not only the public reaction but the grief of his own sons, William and

Harry.

"One of the great discussions, especially since Diana''s death, is, How

does the House of Windsor modernize itself?" says Houston. "They certainly

learned the lessons from the decade of Diana in terms of accessibility,

shedding some of the more pompous aspects of formality."

Charles, along with his sister Princess Anne, have tried to bring the monarchy

more in line with the times, although they''ve faced opposition from some

of the older royals, like Prince Philip, Houston says. "It''s very difficult

to teach old dogs new tricks."

Since her death, there have been several books touting new revelations

about Diana. Smith suggests the princess may have suffered from "borderline

personality disorder." Shadows of a Princess, by Diana''s former private

secretary Patrick Jephson, paints the princess in a rather unflattering

light, describing her as insecure, volatile and vindictive.

Houston doesn''t think negative portrayals have hurt Diana''s image as the

"People''s Princess." "She was manipulative," he acknowledges, "it''s just

an aspect of her people didn''t realize."

It does not detract from what he sees as the princess''s greatest legacy:

her sons. Diana was determined that William and Harry would have as normal

lives as possible. During the four years since her death, Houston says,

"the grand work that she has done bringing up the boys" has been very evident.

"Charles has picked up the baton and is running with it very well," he

says. "Credit should go to Charles for carrying that on. [But] Diana had

them as children."

With the death of the fairy princess, the media and the public has felt

a void. "One of the greatest challenges the royal family faces is to overcome

the apathy" of the public regarding the monarchy, says Houston.

On the other hand, he says, the future looks bright for the royals. "I

think they''ve got a trump card in William."

Queen Camilla?

Since Diana''s death, one of the big questions surrounding the future of

the monarchy has been: Can Camilla ever become queen?

Prince Charles has gradually become more public about his relationship

with Mrs. Parker Bowles. In June, royal watchers were abuzz with the news

that Charles had greeted his longtime love with a kiss — on the cheek —

at a charity reception she hosted. British bookmakers immediately slashed

the odds that the couple would marry within the next two years.

The public has become more accepting of Charles'' relationship with Camilla

since the death of Diana. But a marriage might rock the boat.

Parker Bowles is divorced, an obstacle, given Charles'' future position

as head of the Church of England. And he could not marry without the queen''s

approval.

"Will she ever be Queen Camilla? There are people who thump the table"

in anger at the suggestion, says Royalty Monthly''s Bob Houston. "The younger

generation wonders what all the fuss is about."

Diana''s summer romance with Dodi Fayed turned out to be her last chance

at love. But despite reports that Fayed had planned to present the princess

with an opulent ring on the night they were killed, few royal watchers

think Diana would have married him.

In fact, Diana hooked up with Dodi when she was on the rebound. Her two-year

romance with Hasnat Khan, a Pakistani surgeon who worked at a London hospital,

had just collapsed. Khan''s family said he couldn''t cope with the media

attention, which was interfering with his practice of medicine.