Tracy Borman reveals four similarities between two Princesses of Wales, Charlotte and Princess Diana, whose untimely deaths prompted outpourings of national grief \u2013 yet whose similarities stretched all through their lives <\/p>
In modern memory, it is Diana, Princess of Wales, who is the People\u2019s Princess \u2013 but before that there was another. Tracy Borman highlights the similarities between Princess Diana<\/a> and Charlotte, Princess of Wales<\/a>, the daughter of George IV and Caroline of Brunswick, one considered the country\u2019s glory \u2013 and Europe\u2019s hope\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n Charlotte |<\/strong> Charlotte\u2019s parents\u2019 marriage was one of convenience. The relationship got off to a disastrous start. Upon meeting Caroline, George IV<\/a> fled from the room in horror, leaving his prospective bride to reflect: \u201cI think he\u2019s very fat, and he\u2019s nothing as handsome as his portrait.\u201d<\/p>\n They separated almost immediately, but not before George had got his new wife pregnant. Charlotte\u2019s birth drove a further wedge between the couple, and the very public spats between the \u201cwarring Waleses\u201d blighted the princess\u2019s childhood.<\/p>\n Diana |<\/strong> Diana was the third daughter of John Spencer, Viscount Althorp and Frances n\u00e9e Roche. Her parents had hoped for a boy, and the increasingly pressing desire for an heir added strain to their relationship.<\/p>\n The birth of their son, Charles, in 1964 failed to save the Spencers\u2019 marriage, and they divorced in 1969.<\/p>\n Diana\u2019s parents both remarried, and Earl Spencer won custody of the children. Diana had a difficult relationship with her stepmother, Raine, Countess of Dartmouth and reflected that her childhood had been \u201cvery unhappy\u201d.<\/p>\n Charlotte |<\/strong> From a young age, Charlotte captured the nation\u2019s hearts. Her innocence provided a welcome contrast to her petulant father and to her scandalous mother.<\/p>\n Like Diana, she did not fit the mould of a typical princess, and as she grew to maturity, she won even greater popularity for her informality and spontaneity.<\/p>\n Huge crowds gathered to witness her every public appearance, and her marriage served to intensify the level of interest in her. In common with the later princess of Wales, Charlotte seemed to represent a bright new future for the monarchy.<\/p>\n Diana |<\/strong> From the moment Lady Diana Spencer was first mooted as a potential bride for Prince Charles, she became a figure of intense public interest. Soon, she was the most photographed woman in the world \u2013 the royal family\u2019s own global superstar.<\/p>\n After their wedding in 1981, the Prince and Princess of Wales were hailed by Time<\/em> magazine as \u201cthe most glamorous couple on Earth\u201d, but Diana\u2019s popularity far exceeded that of her husband.<\/p>\n Her glamour, charm and informality shone an unflattering light on the Windsors, who appeared stiffly formal and staid by comparison.<\/p>\n Charlotte |<\/strong> Princess Charlotte\u2019s death prompted an unprecedented wave of public grief. \u201cEngland, that great country, has lost everything in losing my ever beloved daughter,\u201d lamented her mother, Caroline.<\/p>\n Tributes poured in from across the globe. Charlotte was buried in St George\u2019s Chapel, Windsor, and a monument was erected at her tomb, by public subscription.<\/p>\n But grief soon turned to retribution. The prince regent was accused of showing inadequate sorrow at the loss of his daughter and was even held responsible for her death. And the backlash against Sir Richard Croft, who had superintended the princess\u2019s ill-fated labour, led to his suicide a few months later.<\/p>\n Diana |<\/strong> Few events in British history have prompted the scale of national dismay that followed the death of Princess Diana in a car crash in Paris on 31 August 1997. An estimated 1.3 million floral tributes were placed at the gates of Buckingham and Kensington palaces.<\/p>\nChildhood: Warring parents led to years of misery<\/h3>\n
Public opinion: Their popularity soared above the other royals<\/h3>\n
Death: Intense public mourning boiled over into outrage<\/h3>\n