The Princess of Wales was feeling ‘deep anguish’ as she asked for time and space…
Diana, Princess of Wales once made a desperate plea as she transitioned away from the royal family, a body language expert claimed.
Calling on footage from 1993, Darren Stanton explains the former Princess of Wales was on the verge of tears as she made a public plea.
It shows Diana asking for “time” and “space” during a speech at a charity event as she marked out her future after leaving The Firm.
We take a look back at Princess Diana’s famous speech after quitting the royal family, and how son Prince Harry followed in her footsteps.
Diana made the plea in 1993 (Credit: SplashNews.com)
Princess Diana’s ‘desperate plea’ in poignant speech
Speaking to coffee retailer, Coffee Friend, Darren says: “This is a very powerful and inspirational piece of footage and is more of a plea out of desperation than a question.
“It’s clear from her body language and flashes of emotion in her face that she is dealing with extreme mental anguish at this stage..
“…and is feeling deep sadness.
“Most of the speech was phrased in the past tense, so she had already by this time made it a clear and conscious decision that she was going to withdraw from public life if not totally, at least for some time to allow her time away from the cameras.”
Diana did not mention Prince Charles in her speech (Credit: SplashNews.com)
Charles was left out
In the speech, which was in December 1993, Diana mentioned her sons, Prince William and Harry, as a reason for taking a step back from public life.
But she didn’t reference their father, Prince Charles, who she split from the year before.
Darren adds: “Interestingly she makes no mention of Charles. She attributes all of her successes and development as a person to the interactions between the people she has met around the world and cared for and those that have cared for her.
“When she finally retained her seat, I believe she was on the verge of tears…
“…but also wrapped up in pride for finally standing up for herself and taking back her power.
“This was one of, if not the final step, in her journey to transition away from being a Royal to returning to being Diana…
“…liberating herself from the shackles of expectation and scrutiny.”
Darren says that the version of Princess Diana who made this impassioned speech was a million miles away from the naive girl who married Charles and joined the royal family.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle left the royal family in 2020 (Credit: Dutch Press Photo/Cover Images)
Harry and Meghan followed in Princess Diana’s footsteps when they left the royal family
On January 20, 2020, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle revealed their decision to step back as senior members of The Firm. It seems Princess Diana’s son raised many similar points to her own speech when leaving the royal family almost 30 years later.
Similarities were raised between Diana hoping to carry on her duties, the future and leading a more private life.
Diana said during her speech: “A year ago, I spoke of my desire to continue with my work unchanged…However, life and circumstances alter and I hope you will forgive me if I use this opportunity to share with you my plans for the future which now indeed have changed.”
She added: “I attach great importance to my charity work and intend to focus on a smaller range of areas in the future. Over the next few months I will be seeking a more suitable way of combining a meaningful public role, with hopefully, a more private life.”
Princess Diana tragically died in 1997 (Credit: SplashNews.com)
Whereas, Prince Harry said in his own statement: “Our hope was to continue serving the Queen, the Commonwealth, and my military associations, but without public funding. Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible.”
He also said: “I’ve accepted this, knowing that it doesn’t change who I am or how committed I am. But I hope that helps you understand what it had to come to, that I would step my family back from all I have ever known, to take a step forward into what I hope can be a more peaceful life.”
