Courageous or calculating?
After admitting that she committed adultery, doesn't want a divorce and has no plans to leave the limelight, Princess Diana took an early lead Tuesday over Prince Charles in a renewed royal battle for public affection.Buckingham Palace issued a statement Tuesday saying officials would be talking to Diana "to see how we can help her define her future role and continue to support her as a member of the royal family."
"We are not going to enter into a public debate generated by the Princess of Wales' interview, either on or off the record," the palace statement said.
Diana's first public comments about her private life - including acknowledgments of bulimia and self-mutilation - evoked waves of sympathy from millions of Britons. Others denounced what they saw as a manipulative performance fueled by determination to hang on to royal privilege.
"She was absolutely frank and courageous. She's much bigger than the royal family put together," declared Stuart Higgins, editor of 4 million-circulation Sun newspaper. The Sun reported floods of calls running at 75 percent in favor of Diana after her 55-minute interview Monday night.
Preliminary data put the audience for the BBC television interview at 21.1 million, or 36 percent of the nation's 58 million people, the BBC said.
Callers to the BBC's Radio 4 were 2-1 in support of Diana. Detractors accused her of everything from paranoia to publicity addiction.
Nicholas Soames, defense minister and a close friend of Charles, said Diana was "toe-curlingly dreadful" at times.
"I do know great sadness and unhappiness when I see it," Soames said. "But when people claim they have enemies at every turn and are spied on at every corner, I know of no other word for that than paranoia."
Diana, 34, said she didn't want a divorce for the sake of her sons, Prince William, 13, and Prince Harry, 11, but was willing to discuss it if Charles felt differently.
"I await my husband's decision on which way we're all going to go," she said. "To date, neither of us has discussed this subject, though the rest of the world seems to have."
She said her fairy-tale marriage ended because Charles, 47, was in love with an old flame, Camilla Parker Bowles, 48. "There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded," Diana said. "It was pretty devastating."
Charles admitted in 1994 that he was unfaithful to Diana after the marriage broke down in the mid-'80s. The couple married in 1981 and separated in December 1992.
Diana's interview was seen as her retort to Charles' soul-baring. She said trouble began right after the birth of her first son in 1982, when she fell into a depression.
She became bulimic - a cycle of bingeing and vomiting - and cut herself, though she said little more about it.
"Well, I just hurt my arms and my legs. And I work in environments now where I see women doing similar things, and I'm able to understand completely where they are coming from."
She acknowledged having an affair with her former riding instructor, Army Maj. James Hewitt.
"Were you unfaithful?" asked reporter Martin Bashir.
"Yes, I adored him," Diana said. "Yes, I was in love with him."
Diana referred to Charles' aides as "the enemy," said her mail was intercepted and the royal household - she avoided mentioning her mother-in-law Queen Elizabeth II - blocked foreign trips after the separation.
"I don't sit here with resentment," she said during the interview. "I sit here with sadness because the marriage hasn't worked."
Diana said she doesn't expect to ever be queen, but wants to be an ambassador for Britain.
The interview is scheduled to air in the United States Friday on ABC-TV.
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CROSSROADS
More on the latest royal flap is available online. Search for document XDI21.