One issue Princess Diana had to deal with was how cold the BRF could be towards her. She made the mistake of believing they could provide emotional support like her more normal family did while she was growing up, and she soon found out the opposite. In fact, she described them as "emotionally constipated" and "coldly Victorian," despite it being the 1980s. I also suspect she had no idea how messed-up that family really was, since they hid it so well from the regular people.
A sad legacy of the British Royal Family is how they originally dealt with emotionally trying issues. They did it in three ways:
1 - "Keep a stiff upper lip" which means they repressed their emotions and put on a stony face that was supposed to look strong for the British People. (Not a good strategy, by the way). In some ways them putting on a strong facade was inspiring to normal people who looked to them for strength, but many also interpreted that as being "cold and unfeeling."
2 - Not acknowledging they had feelings at all, or hiding them in the most private of places. (Again, not a very good strategy).
3 - Pretended they had no problems, or kept personal problems private from the press and the British people.
Princess Diana also lived in a time when there was a stigma towards people with mental health problems. People were looked down upon just for having them, never mind getting help from psychologists/psychiatrists or support groups. She would have been so much better off if that stigma had not existed. But she was part of the BRF, and had to put on a show while married to that idiot she called a husband.
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whoanelly (1558)
2 years ago
I don’t think Diana’s family was as supportive while she was growing up as you seem to think they were. Her messed up family is how she became the insecure, unstable and paranoid ingenue who married Charles, thinking she was in a romantic fairy tale.
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AmeriGirl26 (12376)
2 years ago
I do recall her insecurity issues were rooted in childhood problems with her parents. Maybe she thought she could find comfort in the RF that she wouldn't find with her own family? Both parties had a lot of expectations about the marriage that weren't fulfilled.
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