One thing many people admire about the late Princess Diana is her ability to connect with people. Although she was a princess, she still knew how to interact with folks from different backgrounds. According to Diana, this ability of hers came from one tragic event in her childhood.
Princess Diana had a difficult childhood
Diana grew up in an aristocratic family in England. Her parents were John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer and Frances Roche.
Diana had a tumultuous family life, and her parents divorced when she was 8. She called it a “very wishy-washy and painful experience.”
Diana ended up living with her father after her parents’ separation. However, Diana could not stand her stepmother, Raine, Countess of Dartmouth. She and her siblings bullied Raine, and Diana even once pushed her down the stairs.
When she was a young adult, Diana moved to London and lived with roommates. At the age of 20, she married Prince Charles.
Princess Diana learned to relate to people because of 1 event
Royals were traditionally expected to remain closed off. However, Diana loved connecting with people, and she did not follow this rule. For example, she ate food with her staff members—something other royals did not do. She also hugged members of the public when meeting them and knew how to put people at ease.
According to Diana, her parents’ divorce helped her to connect with other folks, especially those who went to similar situations.
“The divorce helped me to relate to anyone else who is upset in their family life, whether it be stepfather syndrome or mother or whatever, I understand it,” Diana said, according to Andrew Morton’s book Diana: Her True Story in Her Own Words. “Been there, done it.”
Additionally, her father also taught her to not look down on anyone.
“I always got on well with everybody,” she shared. “Whether it be the gardener, or the local police or whoever, I went over to talk to them. My father always said: ‘Treat everybody as an individual and never throw your weight around.’”
Princess Diana raised her kids to have sympathy for others
Diana made sure to pass on this lesson to her children, Prince William and Prince Harry. Instead of raising them in a bubble of royalty and nobility, Diana tried to expose them to people from all walks of life. She sometimes took them with her when she visited hospitals and charities that helped the less fortunate.
Additionally, there were also many photos of Diana taking William and Harry to fast-food restaurants and amusement parks, where they stood in line like everyone else.
William and Harry also attended school with other children instead of being educated by a governess like royals of the past. In fact, the paparazzi regularly caught Diana taking her kids to school.
Although Diana’s parenting style was untraditional, she ended up influencing William and Harry, who are raising their kids in a similar manner.
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