The 5 life lessons that Diana of Wales taught us
Or how her way of publicly overcoming her adversity turned her from a sad princess into a queen of resilience.
As the 20th anniversary of the death of Diana of Wales approaches, facts continue to emerge with which to remember her. As a fashion icon, as a celebrity, as the first royal who became a celebrity ... But, in addition, the character and the person ended up being one, uniting her memorable humanitarian work with the image of a woman who managed to overcome many more difficulties that no one could expect in a member of a royal family.
Diana's life was not a fairy tale despite the fact that her wedding to Prince Charles was defined as such. Her way of humanizing one of the most important monarchies in Europe thanks to her own history has had consequences today: her son, Guillermo, will one day come to the throne following the teachings that her mother left him . Lady Di was the first member of a royal family to refuse to live in an unhappy marriage; she was a pioneer when it came to taking a step as important as she was to separate from an heir to the throne. And, furthermore, thanks to her own work, he managed to forge an image of her that, already divorced from her, kept her as the most beloved member of the Windsors.
With her we realized that "the rich also cry" was true. But, above all, we learned that it is possible to overcome problems by coming out VERY gracefully.
1. Show your disagreement to put yourself in your place
Carlos and Diana's marriage was watering down even when they were just engaged. She was much younger than him (she was only 19 years old compared to his almost 32) but, more importantly, the prince had been in love with Camilla Parker Bowles for years. Although she married totally in love with her, it was clear that she and her new husband had very little in common already on their honeymoon.
They say that already at that time, and on board the Britannia, Diana broke her canvases and his paintings for Carlos because he spent more time in front of the easel on the deck than next to her. The behavior of an almost angry and angry adolescent turned into sadness: without losing her composure, what she did was not hide the lack of love she felt in her public appearances. The lesson we learn from the circumstance that she had to live (an unhappy marriage about which she barely had the capacity to decide due to family pressures) is that we should not be afraid to show that we do not like something. Perhaps Diana took too long to share with the world what she was living, but in the end she managed to defy the Windsors and begin to put herself in her place.
2. Not afraid to tell the truth (even if it is harsh)
"My marriage consisted of three people," revealed Diana, already separated from Carlos, in a notorious television interview. Her husband had been more or less openly unfaithful to her for most of the time they were married. Why call it something else? Why hide it from public opinion as her mother-in-law did, that she was limited to telling him that Carlos was 'incorrigible'? Not even the British throne was put before Lady Di to reveal to the world that the future king practiced infidelity without any shame.
She, too, was not afraid to go public with the situation despite the two children she shared with the Prince of Wales. They had the right to know what was happening at home and they would already know how to forgive their father (or not); in fact, they did.
3. Facing your problems will help you overcome them
There is an image that will go down in history: that of Diana of Wales posing alone in front of the Taj Mahal, the palace that is the architectural representation of love. It was 1992 and she was on an official trip to India with Carlos, a tour that later turned out to be hell for the couple because their relationship, at that time, was already very deteriorated. In fact, only months later their separation was announced. They say that her husband planned her entire schedule so as not to coincide with her, even to pose in what would be the most representative image of the trip.
What she did? She came alone and posed ... alone. Why hide what was happening at Kensington Palace from the world? Why fake a smile that she didn't feel like showing? This photograph was the living image of loneliness, heartbreak, abandonment. Diana could have saved her but she preferred that it was better for the world to be aware of what was happening and, incidentally, she was preparing for what she was going to have to do from now on: to be alone
4. Talk about your problems without being ashamed of them, too
Diana of Wales opened an unprecedented ban, and more so in the royal world, which is to speak of mental disorders publicly. Although the Windsors preferred not even to mention the bulimia she suffered - even though they were aware that it was a constant in her life), she did end up talking openly about her eating disorder, aggravated by the pressures of her position and marriage. unhappy of her. And, most importantly, she did it without embarrassment.
5. Dedicate the best you have to those who matter most to you
One of the facets that will be remembered the most about Diana is the humanitarian one. She kept forfeited her Royal Highness of her title but kept the Princess of Wales (as mother of a future king), a position that gave her unique publicity and relevance in defending just causes. The fight against AIDS, anti-people mines, cancer, child poverty, to finance campaigns for the treatment of mental illnesses ... her agenda has always been very busy in this regard regardless of her personal situation.
And, above all, she managed to impose her criteria in the education of her children, for whom she wanted a childhood as normal as possible. When she was with them, despite the fact that in many moments it was obvious that the harmony between Carlos and her was null, she always smiled, she was complicit and happy. Ultimately, she knew how to give the best of herself to what mattered most to her, that is, her children and her humanitarian causes.
