Diana--A Closely Guarded Secret by Ken Wharfe Read Free Book Online Page B

Harrow or accompanying her to the wedding of a friend. It was all good experience and, in retrospect, it is clear that I was unknowingly being groomed for the next stage in my Scotland Yard protection career.
    To survive in the surreal world of Charles and Diana one had to adapt quickly or face eviction. I watched many innocents axed for no greater crime than upsetting the frail sensibilities of either the Prince or Princess. Diana, to her credit, was often the first to admit her capriciousness, and frequently regretted hasty judgments. In fairness to her, as well, her mercurial behaviour should be seen in the context of the tension of her failing marriage. In such circumstances her mood swings were perhaps forgivable, if not excusable.
    It must have been terribly embarrassing, if not humiliating, for her to have to hold up her head among her personal staff, most of whom knew that her husband was seeing Mrs Parker Bowles, and had been doing so for a considerable time. The staff were caught in the crossfire of marital disharmony, and had to show discretion about Charles’s involvement with Camilla Parker Bowles or face retribution. Equally, they were aware that, if crossed, Diana was capable of exacting ruthless punishment, and never more so than if she learned of, or even suspected, disloyalty. Conscious of the predicament in which his friendship placed his staff, Charles did at least try to avoid putting them in such an invidious situation. By and large he kept his arrangements private, their trysts only really known to trusted policemen and his most loyal servants. Yet all hiscareful plans and calculated evasions fooled no one. Everybody on his staff knew exactly what was going on, but kept it private for fear of being ousted, a certain fate if they were ever caught gossiping. Nevertheless, some regarded the behaviour of their royal employers as an opportunity for personal advancement. History tells of countless devious royal aides and courtiers, prepared to tell tales of a rival’s disloyalty and the indiscretion of others in order to curry royal favour, and the court of Charles and Diana was no different.
    While the Prince and Princess conducted their romances in private, their country home, Highgrove, once Charles’s private sanctuary, had now become a marital battleground. As a newcomer, even before Graham’s kitchen-table briefing, I soon appreciated that the marriage was in deep trouble. Charles was at best cold towards his young wife, while she was sometimes hysterical, and at her worst could be simply vile. Privately, she would later repent, but faced with her husband’s coolly distant behaviour towards her, this was her only means of provoking a reaction. The Prince was not prepared to give an inch to his demanding wife; as heir to the British throne, he genuinely believed that his birthright decreed that he did not have to. If that meant upsetting his beautiful princess, then so be it.
    I lost count of the number of times the Prince arranged to meet his friends after promising a special dinner with Diana. Her reaction was understandable and often volatile. ‘Stuff your rotten friends, stuff them! – they are not my friends,’ she would scream after he revealed that their private plans had been scrapped because he was entertaining some of his circle. Unmoved, the Prince would rejoin his party, explain that thePrincess had retired with a headache, and continue as if nothing had happened.
    Such scenes were, however, a symptom, rather than the cause, of the cancer within their marriage. Charles and Diana spent weekends at Highgrove, but it was very rare for them to have an entire weekend there alone together. Visits by Charles’s ex-girlfriends, staff told me, were common. In any event, the house was full of guests; if it was not Sarah Keswick, wife of ‘Chips’ Keswick, it would be the Duchess of York or any number of other acquaintances. Charles appeared to relish the arrival of friends at Highgrove,