Inappropriate photo op for William and catherine

[OneLilacHedgehog]

This was at an event this week. But the photo just made me gasp. It looks like the elderly woman is being used as a prop, rather than being treated in a dignified way.

I think it boils down to 'my enemy's enemy is my friend' so anyone who says something that might damage the monarchy is fine by them, they're not choosy.

I prefer the ‘I don’t care either way/no skin in the game/I’m not a fan but’ posters.

They go on to tell you exactly why they care, are down to bone they’ve got that much skin in the game and are fannier than a row of three hundred Dyson fans.

There’s a weird crossover between those republicans who became fans of H&M just after Megxit because they hoped they’d be the disrupters who would help tarnish the monarchy and get the needle closer to a republic, and then there are the H&M fans who didn’t care about monarchy much either way until H&M made it a an ‘us vs them’ issue.

I suspect the former are more likely to be British and have an actual stake in the game and the latter are more likely to be American.

There’s also a sprinkling of hardcore Diana fans who hate Charles with a passion and still see Harry as the little boy behind the coffin rather than a middle aged man.

What an idiotic post. The Walses look genuinely kind and happy and they are just supporting her as she is frail.

You are seeing what's not there in reality but only in your mind.

Those Diana fans seem to have emerged this week with the Spencer book. Some of the threads on here...😵‍💫

Trouble with that is your enemy's enemy can turn out to be your's as well.

I’m surprised they are quite so enthusiastically supporting her brother. In his People article today he talks about just the three instances of physical violence he witnessed from Diana - she pushed him off his bike, slapped her father across the face and then, in 1989 when she was 28 years old, she pushed her stepmother Raine Spencer, aged 60, down a flight of stairs at Althorp.

That latter story had been rumoured - I had always assumed it was as a young teenager. The story takes on quite a different significance when you consider she was an adult!

I didn't know that, I assumed that she was a teenager! Goodness.

It has been known about for years. Diana told the story herself.

So? I'm just commenting that I didn't realise, so it's not "known" to everyone.

I’ve never understood the side-taking in the relationships of famous people, be they royal or just celebrities. The condemnation of Charles over the failure of the marriage baffles me. My take is that the scenario was doomed and that both parties suffered and both were partly to blame, but WE don’t know what really went on so how can we judge?

I was similarly out of step with all the indignation about Brad Pitt, Jennifer Anniston and Angelina Jolie - I couldn’t get worked up about who was to blame, if blame is relevant in these things. All’s fair in love and war.

And that Diana fans are still angry after all this time …let it go! I’m sure Charles has suffered for his perceived crimes and is still suffering. You’d think that would be enough for even the most vengeful person, but apparently not.

I will never understand the outrage. Relationships fail - who knew?

Yes, theres the strange saint - sinner polarity as well.
Diana was a martyr, Charles was evil.
Most peculiar

Diana was cheated on from the beginning.
What I have found is there is a lot of divorced older women who were also cheated on who really identified with Diana. It's why when some people trash Diana, and they do, these women feel like they are being trashed.

Then there are people like me who see what Diana did to change the stigma around aids. Again if you weren't an adult then I don't think you can understand what it was like then. Russell Davies drama shows it best though with even nurses refusing to treat aids patients and treating them badly. They were treated by many like the lowest of the low.

Diana by giving that man with aids a hug literally changed how many people saw aids over night. The nans face wasn't even shown as he was too afraid. People with aids were still forced out of their homes at that point by harassing neighbours and often totally ostracised by family and friends. So people tried to hide the fact they had aids as long as possible,

So for me you can trash Diana all you want. But her work around aids means I will always admire her for the massive impact she had. No other member of the royal family has ever come close to this. And it's because she wasn't afraid to take on a very unpopular and controversial cause.

That is something else detractors don't get. Diana was not safe and bland. She was messy and did things no one would agree with such as affairs with married men. But she had an incredible charisma that drew people in. People don't think she is a saint or martyr as detractors often accuse. They simply don't understand why people admire her.

I have met one non famous person in real life with incredible charisma. People like that almost shine and even when they say nothing, still seem to be the centre of attention. It's a certain energy and it's hard to describe.

Not to quote a long post, but you think that It’s a Sin is the best account of the AIDS crisis? And you have only met one non famous charismatic person?

The condemnation of Charles over the failure of the marriage baffles me. My take is that the scenario was doomed and that both parties suffered and both were partly to blame, but WE don’t know what really went on so how can we judge?

From the POV the failure of my marriage was my ex's fault for his infidelity. Having examined my conscience about it I'm fully aware of my contribution to the failure. It's always occurred to me that people think a successful marriage is due to two people being committed and working at it, but a failed marriage is always the fault of one person not both.

Diana indeed helped to change the stigma around HIV/AIDS. She highlighted the issue of landmines as well, and championed many good causes.
However, she wasn't a saint, and it's not "trashing" her to criticise some of her behaviour, which even her own brother recognises. She was, as most of us are, complex, and she often behaved in a negative way. So what? @OneLilacHedgehog admitted Diana pushed Raine down the stairs.
She was human. By denying her humanity, you're dehumanising her, turning her into a Saint, but she wasn't. It's fair to say that.

The poster isn’t trashing Diana, they are questioning why people don’t seem to grasp that her and Charles’ relationship foundered due to fault on both sides and that it is not black and white. No one is saying that Diana didn’t have charisma and her empathy with the victims of AIDS was remarkable. But having charisma doesn’t make you a saint or mean that you don’t bear some responsibility for your actions. She behaved badly as well 🤷‍♀️

eta ha! X post

I think it's a sin is the best account of the stigma aids patients faced at the time, for younger people who don't understand the culture at the time.
Of course there are far better more historical accounts out there.

I have met various non famous people who are pretty charismatic. But only one person with incredible charisma, yes. As I said she could walk into a room of strangers, say nothing e.g. get a drink, and the attention of the room would be on her. It was incredible. She also looked amazing just wearing old jeans and a jumper, even though she was pretty, but not beautiful.

I would contrast Diana and Sophie. Both are pretty, but Sophie gets pretty much ignored by the press while Diana still gets media coverage. On paper Sophie should get way more public interest. And the difference is charisma.

You see I find your reply extraordinary.
You stare Diana was not a saint, in a comment where I say royalists often accuse people of thinking Diana was a saint, when no one thinks that. It's like you haven't actually read my comment.

And no it wasn't about empathy with an aids patient, you are still missing the point. It was about having the courage to take on a very controversial cause and make a real difference. It wasn't empathy, it was action that made the difference.

I find it ironic that arguments are being made for Diana to be seen as she really is, on a thread that was started to slander William and Catherine with the postng of a photograph that didn't reflect the reality of an encounter. Have I missed a correction to the original premise of the thread or is that being ignored?

Or the very unusual circumstances - the pressure for Charles to marry a woman with ‘no past’ and the manoeuvring by both families to push Diana into it. The Spencer’s need to own their cruel dismissal of her pre-wedding cold feet. It wasn’t what happened during the marriage so much as - it was just doomed from the start.

Charles, being older, should have said no - but they were very different times.

I don’t subscribe to the view that it’s ever simple. I’m in a worrying situation myself at the moment because my son is about to marry someone I know he doesn’t love any more - he’s confessed this to me - and he feels he can’t let the gf down. It’s a nightmare- I can’t bear to think of her being hurt, and he’s a decent chap but this is just never going to work. There are such things as marriages which are doomed before they ever start.

I think the false premise of the thread was exposed early on and OP then disappeared.

Yes, it has wandered about and off topic somewhat, but the original topic had no mileage.

You either haven't read my comment or don't understand it.

"That is something else detractors don't get. Diana was not safe and bland. She was messy and did things no one would agree with such as affairs with married men. But she had an incredible charisma that drew people in. People don't think she is a saint or martyr as detractors often accuse. They simply don't understand why people admire her."

Everyone who admires her knows she was human and not a saint.
You and others don't seem to understand that you can know someone did some things wrong, even very wrong, and still admire them for other things they did.

It's why the trashing of Diana never works. And yes people do try and trash her, not by stating facts but by painting her as a terrible person at worst, or crazy at best. She was a real human being who made real mistakes, and did some very admirable things.

There is a lot of treating Diana like a saint generally around, even if you don’t personally. It’s not true that no one treats her like that, even if you don’t personally. And by saying she had empathy with AIDS victims, I wasn’t ignoring the actions she took. Empathy includes that. Ok? 🙄

Shame because it had comedy value 😆