The Secret Affairs

Diana was still just a teenager when she was put under the pressure to be a perfect princess in the media. Combined with her unhealthy marriage, it was enough to make her spiral into a deep depression, and she became bulimic. She had so much empathy for other people, that a particularly difficult meeting visiting the poor, sick, and wounded made her mental health a lot worse. Instead of recognizing that she needed help, Diana was treated like a child throwing a tantrum, and the royal family continued to ignore her issues.

William was born when Diana was 20 years old. Just barely out of her teenage years, she was supposed to raise a future king. Little William brought a lot of joy and purpose to her life. During interviews, the press would mostly ignore her while they spoke with Charles, and only ask Diana how the baby was doing. Even though this was actually very demeaning to her, Diana's face would light up, and she would gush about how much fun she was having with him.

Even after giving birth to the heir, her relationship with her husband remained cold and distant. She eventually decided that if she was going to be stuck in an unfaithful marriage, she would have an affair, too. When she was 23, Diana fell in love with a cavalry officer named James Hewitt. They were together about a year before her second son, Harry, was born. In pictures showing the two of them side-by-side, it is easy to see why many people believe that James Hewitt may be Prince Harry's biological father. This is such a popular theory, that it was even turned into a stage play that was performed on the West End.

Diana pushed Charles to be more involved in raising the boys, instead of relying totally on nannies. When the boys were old enough to go out, she made sure they had normal experiences like water parks, McDonald's, and shopping. She also brought them to homeless shelters to pass out hot tea and food. Prince Charles scoffed at these ideas, asking why it was really necessary.

When she was 25, Diana fell in love with her bodyguard, Barry Mannakee. They became best friends, and she felt very safe around him. He brought a lot of joy to her life, but Diana claimed that they never actually crossed the line. However, most people still consider this to be an emotional affair at the very least. Once their friendship was revealed, Prince Charles fired Mannakee. Not long after leaving his job at the royal palace, Barry Mannakee was killed in a motorcycle accident. Charles told Diana were on their way to the Cannes Film Festival in France when he told her the news. Charles mentioned Mannakee's death so casually, it was as if he was talking about the weather. Diana wanted to cry, but she knew that within just a few moments, she would have to step out of the car and be photographed by hundreds of people. So, she had to put on a smile yet again, and pretend like nothing was wrong. She later said, "I think he was bumped off ... But we'll never know."

Diana felt that if she did not escape the marriage, she really just might take her own life. She knew that her only hope at getting a divorce would be to get the public on her side. So, she spoke with a journalist named Andrew Morton about the truth of the dysfunctional household. Morton eventually published her biography called Diana: Her True Story--In Her Own Words. For the first time in history, the public got a glimpse into the life of a royal marriage, and it wasn't pretty. Charles responded by being interviewed for a documentary in 1994 called Charles, The Private Man, The Public Role, where he admitted to his affair with Camilla Parker-Bowles. Diana responded by doing an interview on BBC Panorama in 1995. During this interview, she said that she believed Charles was not a good person, and he wasn't even fit to become the next King of the United Kingdom. She believed that her son, William, would do a much better job serving the people. Diana said of herself, "She won't go quietly. That's the problem. I'll fight to the end."