Diana...Britain's Elvis???

[Duch_Luver_4ever]

I was going along till I heard about the soap saved that she used, and that was too creepy for me. But I can understand the affliction of falling for her at first sight, though^^.

[royalanthropologist]

@sandy says somethings that have piqued my interest:

"Nobody is on the second row of society. Isn't everybody supposed to be equal? It's not the Middle ages anymore."

That is a very ironic statement given the fact that we are on a forum about royalty. Of course we are all not equal, we have have been.

Then also:

"She would have been the mother of a King had she lived and accorded the same honors as the Queen Mum."

I am afraid not. QM was a widow of  King Emperor, a crowned queen empress and mother to a sitting monarch. Two of those things Diana could never achieve after her divorce. The last would come upon the succession of William. So she would never be accorded the same honors as QM.

Indeed Diana would never be in the same league as the QM. For a start: the QM was never estranged from the royal family and was certainly not part of the jet set celebrity group or media cabal. She was part of the old aristocratic style and would never air her dirty laundry in the press.

The two women had very, very different lives and lifestyles. Their places within the monarchy were also very different. At the time of her marriage it had been anticipated that Diana would eventually become a QM-like matriarch of the family. The acrimonious collapse of Diana's marriage put paid to that.

[sandy]

She would still have been the mother of a King. Regardless.  What she would have been titled is subject to speculation. But I believe William would have returned the HRH.

William would not slight his mother had she lived.

I think Diana would have been in the same league. The QM had a loving faithful husband unlike Diana.  Her husband did not come into the marriage preferring another woman. She did not have people she thought her friends provided safe houses for her husband and his lover.  Her husband treated her with respect and love and did not just treat her as someone to provide heirs and she had to put up and shut up. His friends never leaked nasty stories about her. The husband also never confessed to all to hear that he cheated on his wife. Different circumstances. Diana had a husband who preferred the mistress,  his friends provided safe houses for C and C, he told the world he cheated on his wife with a married mistress, he caused scandal, his friends trashed his wife and the mistress called the wife names and usurped her place as hostess. The Queen Mum lucked out.

Charles going into the marriage preferring the mistress caused the "acrimonious" collapse and ultimately the marriage was doomed.

It is interesting to note that after the divorce of the PBs, the Queen Mum would not receive Camilla and she stipulated that there be no C and C marriage in her lifetime.

Camilla is not the same as the QUeen Mum because she was a married mistress first then the other woman in the royal husband's marriage. She never produced royal children for the family. She may be Queen or Princess Consort but she can never be a "Queen Mother" to William. Ever. PRobably Queen Dowager should Charles outlive her.

The two women had different sorts of husbands. One who was mature enough not to bring a mistress into the marriage the other a grandson with a sense of entitlement and self centeredness. I think had he lived, George VI would have advised Charles against getting involved with his friends' wives.

Why aren't we all equal? Not everybody are royalists that believe in a class system.  Diana would not have been second class.

[Trudie]

I actually think that there is a lot more criticism of Diana today than was there in 1996. Likewise there was a lot more criticism in the 1990s than the early 1980s. Diana may have looked after her body and image, but she would no longer be what she was. For someone who thrived on attention and visibility, the move to the second row of society would have been tough. There would be no celebrities who were younger and perhaps even more beautiful or even more accomplished.

The other thing to consider is the fact that Diana would no longer be a queen in waiting would mean that she would not quite enjoy the grand dame prestige of someone like that QM. Of course her stock would have risen when William ascended the throne, but before that she would have to accept a downgrade in her status from what she was when married to Charles.

The more I read, the more I realize that Diana never actually got over Charles or the divorce at all. Even in the last weeks of her life, she was still trying to send messages to Charles. It was still hurting and irritating how it all had ended.

I highly doubt Diana wouldn't accept a downgrade in her status from HRH as she proved in the last year of her life. Those who are really criticizing Diana as you put it are those who were not around from engagement to marriage and divorce these are the people who are buying up the rewriting of history by the likes of Penny Junor and others i.e Lady Colin Campbell who IMO didn't know Diana well but to make money off her wrote stories to flatter the royal court for future favors.

As for status Diana never really cared IMO or she would have been willing to play the game with Charles and Camilla looking away so she could still have the marriage and the HRH however Diana was not going to live a lie just for position so I believe you are wrong there. Diana would never be second class in terms of status as she was born into the Aristocracy and as such is much higher born than even you and her most coveted status IMO is being known as Grandmother as she was a wonderful mother she would have been even more wonderful as a grandmother and I believe her and Carole Middleton would have become friends.