Spencers lead Harry and William reconciliation efforts
Friends of says that Harry and Meghan have also decided not to publish another book, despite having a deal to do so.
If that really happens, or rather doesn’t happen, it would indeed mark a significant step on the road to reconciliation, especially given Harry’s and Meghan’s veiled threats to keep publishing. Harry told one interviewer: “It could have been two books, put it that way.” Meghan told an interviewer for The Cut she could “say anything” after leaving the family.
“You are the Princess of Wales, you do not do things like that!”
Then-Prince Charles exploded at Princess Diana after she and Sarah Ferguson dressed up as policewomen at Prince Andrew’s bachelor party.
Her hairdresser Richard Dalton reveals this and much more in Diana memorabilia collector Renae Plant’s new book, It’s All About The Hair: My Decade With Diana, as reported by the Mail on Sunday. “Charles was not amused. The next morning he was screaming at her, really shouting. She was crying and he was yelling, ‘You are the Princess of Wales, you do not do things like that!’”
The other time Dalton heard Charles shout at Diana was when “she danced on stage at the Royal Opera House with Wayne Sleep as a surprise for Charles’ birthday. She danced to ‘Uptown Girl’ by Billy Joel and the crowd went wild. But Charles was furious.”
The late Queen Elizabeth was also “furious” when Diana tried an elaborate new hairdo at a State Opening of Parliament, scooping all the headlines the next day—from then on “Diana vowed her hair would never again be the centre of attention and distract people away from the work of the royals.”
Prince Charles looks towards Princess Diana as they await their carriage to depart the Order of the Garter ceremony at Windsor Castle, June 15, 1992.
Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
Dalton, who styled Diana’s hair on every royal tour she did from 1983 to 1991, reveals how he would attach one tiara to Diana’s head using knicker elastic to prevent her getting headaches, and recalled washing her hair over his fairly unglamorous kitchen sink.
Dalton said Diana confided in him about all aspects of her life. “Being the keeper of such big secrets sometimes made me feel sick with stress. My job was to listen, help her feel beautiful and confident and bring a little of the real world into her world.”
She also loved eighties supersoap Dynasty and would make Dalton watch it if she couldn’t because of work commitments. “The next morning she’d say: ‘Tell me everything!’”
“The love she had for Charles was genuine. If only Camilla had stayed away after the marriage, things could have been so different.”
— Richard Dalton
She would listen to Dalton’s report with a packet of Opal Fruits (Starburst), her favorite confectionery alongside “Nestlé white chocolate with crunchy bits in.”
“Diana was madly in love with her husband,” Dalton said. “I saw her day in and day out. The love she had for Charles was genuine. If only Camilla had stayed away after the marriage, things could have been so different.”
“People ask me if I kept a lock of her hair,” Dalton added. “I never did. It didn’t occur to me. I only have one photograph of us together and that was one someone happened to get as we exited a plane. It was a different era. There were no cell phones.”
The plans for Harry’s return to royal life
Is he coming back? As reported by The Daily Beast yesterday, Prince Harry has sought the advice of former aides to facilitate some kind of return to royal life, according to the Mail on Sunday.
Sources emphasized that Harry and wife Meghan Markle are not seeking a permanent return from California; the paper also revealed that, following the departure of chief of staff Josh Kettler, the Sussexes had also recently parted ways with another American PR adviser, Christine Weil Schirmer.
“Harry is turning away from all sorts of Hollywood publicists and is seeking counsel from his old friends and associates,” a source told the paper. “He is clearly reaching out thinking, ‘I need to do something different because what I’m doing is clearly not working.’ In short, he is rethinking the way he operates.”
Prince Harry leaves after King Charles’ coronation ceremony, in London, Britain, May 6, 2023.
Phil Harris/Pool via Reuters
The Mail says one adviser is a trusted figure “from the old school” known for loyalty and discretion. One friend has devised a plan Harry’s return, carrying out “very low-key royal duties.”
A source said the friend believes “if Harry comes back to the UK with zero fuss, and does zero publicity and attends very mundane events, he could prove himself and win over the British public again. He would have to accept, though, that he might be reduced to ribbon cutting for a long period. But it would give him purpose to work again.”
All this would only happen “if certain members of the family could find it in themselves to allow it.”
Holiday time
King Charles looked spry Saturday as he arrived to the sound of his beloved bagpipes at a flower show in Aberdeen.
The Telegraph reported that Charles, who was wearing a kilt, was guest of honor at the Royal Horticultural Society of Aberdeen’s 200th Summer Flower Show, in Duthie Park, Aberdeen.
King Charles visits the Royal Horticultural Society of Aberdeen’s 200th Flower Show at Duthie Park, Aberdeen, Scotland, Britain, Aug. 31, 2024.
Jane Barlow/Pool via Reuters
Charles is on vacation in Scotland, but The Daily Beast has exclusively revealed that he is not staying at Balmoral Castle with his visiting family, instead basing himself at his own home, Birkhall, where he is relaxing by painting and gardening.
This week in royal history
On Sept. 6 1997, the funeral of Princess Diana took place.
Unanswered questions
How receptive are the royals, and specifically Prince William, to Prince Harry’s reported efforts to ingratiate himself back into the Firm?
