Quotes
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Princess Anne : The majority of marriages survive because the majority of people aren't fantasists. They are realists and accept the imperfect reality of being human.
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Princess Anne : Unfortunately, the Wales marriage is a rare example of something that is actually worse than the newspapers report.
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Princess Anne : They said you were on your way.
Queen Elizabeth II : Hello, darling. Oh, thank you.
Princess Anne : What have I done now?
Queen Elizabeth II : You? Nothing. But as his sister and confidante, I thought you might throw some light on a subject about which I've been ostriching, rather: The true state of Charles's marriage.
Princess Anne : You don't want to know.
Queen Elizabeth II : Actually, I do.
Princess Anne : Tea?
Queen Elizabeth II : Yes, please. Thank you.
Princess Anne : The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Queen Elizabeth II : Please.
Princess Anne : All right.
[pause]
Princess Anne : Once upon a time, there was a beautiful young girl who fell madly in love with a handsome prince. Unfortunately, the prince was already in love with someone else, who was herself in love with someone else, and they all lived unhappily ever after. That's it, in a nutshell. Do you need more?
Queen Elizabeth II : A little.
Princess Anne : There's already a big age difference, but Charles is older than his years, and Diana is younger than hers, which makes it not an age gap, but an age chasm. On the face of it, they come from similar aristocratic backgrounds, but their personalities come from different planets. They have different interests, different friends. He doesn't understand her, she doesn't understand him, and considering all that, they've actually done remarkably well. But there comes a point in any failing marriage, and here I speak with some experience, when you realize there's no point in trying anymore and it's easier to just let the current take you away. And the minute Harry was born and duty was done, the marriage was effectively over and they started to find comfort in the arms of others.
Queen Elizabeth II : How many others?
Princess Anne : Diana's been with her bodyguard, her riding instructor...
Queen Elizabeth II : And Charles?
Princess Anne : He's just been with one. He's also been a bit more discreet. The only people who know about Camilla - well, pretty much the whole of Gloucestershire, who all seem to be involved in facilitating it. You can't conduct an extramarital affair without somewhere to meet or sleep or...
Queen Elizabeth II : Yes, thank you.
Princess Anne : But Diana - Aunt Margot tells me at Kensington Palace, it's like a revolving door. That suitors park outside her office because it's the only place with no security cameras. One after another. In and out. In and out. Unfortunately, the Wales marriage is an rare example of something that is actually worse than the newspapers report.
