She deserved a better goodbye.

     I am not alone in anticipating and watching The Crown as soon as the new season came out.  It is the history my age group remembers; Margaret Thatcher, violence of the IRA and most of all, Princess Diana, and her tragic death.
     We happen to live a few doors down from the school that William and Harry went to for their primary years.  Daily, we see the nannies, security details and the occasional parent drop off their children in their extremely adorable uniforms.  So, when we watched in Season 4 episode 2 Princess Diana dropping off William at school, we knew, firsthand, of the door to which he was dropped off.

​I never realized how isolated Princess Diana must have felt.  A friend of mine has children that went to school with Prince William.  She tells of her son having play dates together with the young Prince.  In fact, she told me once that Prince William was over and he told her that his Grannie was coming to pick him up.  As you could imagine, my friend panicked.  That would be the Queen picking up her grandson at their home ?!#*!?  Oh my, what would she say?  What should one do?  Invite her in?  She didn’t have time to tidy the house, so many things ran through her mind.  Of course, that did not happen.  To her relief, the security detail dropped off and picked up, as usual.  But consider that the playdates were not entirely different than when our own children would have playdates with neighborhood children.  And that is the rub.  It was different.  Of course, you would be excited to have your child be invited over to Kensington Palace for a play date, but would you be prepared to know what to say to Princess Diana when you picked them up?  Would you talk about everyday trials and tribulations about parenting with a Princess?  You would think she would have nothing in common with you.  We falsely attribute having different emotions to people of such privilege.  When Princess Diana dropped Prince William off at school and all the mums/nannies were gathered around chatting it up, did anyone reach out to Princess Diana to join in?  Of course not.  My friend said, nobody even knew the proper way to address her.  They all left her alone. Could she have joined the group?  Possibly, but we all recognize now, she was dealing with her own insecurities.  Besides, the paparazzi would never have given her the opportunity.  She did not feel she belonged anywhere.  Not at home.  Not with her own peer group.  And, unfortunately, not with the Royal Family.  In fact, it was unclear if she even had a friend with which to blow off steam, to share her darkest secrets, or to laugh till they cried.  She was, by definition, as alone as one could get.  While Princess Diana carried all that pain alone, we all thought she “had it all”.

​     David said it reminded him of the pretty girl syndrome in high school.  You would never ask out the “prettiest girl” because everyone thought, “she would never go out with me”.  Couldn’t she date anyone she wanted?  Yet, her “having it all” appearance made her unapproachable, and she was never asked out.
     Princess Diana was marrying a mature stranger, who unbeknownst to her was in love with another woman and entered a role she was not sure how to navigate.  When I was her same age, I was immaturely balancing university responsibilities with partying and learning how much fun was too much?  Is it no wonder she did not have the emotional intelligence needed to succeed?  And in time, her compassion and humanity came through and she found her place and her purpose despite everything.  It was too bad, nobody understood her.  It was disastrous that the paparazzi did not give them their privacy. It is tragic when any human being feels so alone.  Princess Diana deserved a better goodbye.