Upper-crust catfight, supreme snub, or the 90s version of "I don't know her."
Zipped lips and spilled tea be damned, here's the real reason Diana couldn't sit with Anne.
Think it's headache-inducing to organize a family event? Well,
Buckingham Palace is here to say, "Hold my beer" — or Earl Grey, perhaps. The senior
British royals don't do anything halfway, so when the occasion arises — such as the
King's coronation — the royal staff spends months making sure every detail is just right;
from the food to the decorations to the last stitch of designer thread.
Just for the record, it took a whopping 20 years of advance planning to pull
off Queen Elizabeth II's funeral. If we commoners can't even figure out a
decent guest list or a basic seating chart, imagine how tough it is for the Crown. Plus,
there's protocol that simply must be followed. At the queen's funeral, her children, their spouses,
and Prince William and his family were seated in the front row, followed by
the next-ranking royals. Representatives from the British Commonwealth countries,
meanwhile, were placed ahead of other heads of state, including President Biden.
Similar considerations will no doubt be made for the king's coronation. It's generally assumed that
all significant members of the royal family will attend official events either as regular
or featured guests, but sometimes circumstances make that tricky. As fans of the family well-know,
Prince Harry may not be there to see his father crowned because of their ongoing feud.
"Then there comes a point when silence is betrayal."
But his late mother Diana found herself in a similar situation,
when she and Princess Anne were reportedly at odds. Maybe it's something about royal
sisters-in-law. The relationship between Kate and Meghan is similar to the one Anne
had with Diana. Like Meghan, Diana was praised for being a breath of fresh air,
while she was simultaneously criticized for her modern approach. And like Kate, Anne was
a down-to-earth traditionalist who wasn't taken by her sister-in-law's love of fashion and attention.
Vanity Fair published sources who claimed that Anne made no secret of her dislike
for her older brother's wife. The HBO documentary "The Princess" portrays Anne
being asked for her reaction to the birth of Diana's first son, William.
"What about Diana? I don't know, you tell me." "And your reaction to her having a son?"
"I didn't know she'd had one."
"This morning." "Well, good."
The fact that Anne was not asked to be godmother to either Prince William or Prince Harry was also
considered to be a sore spot. Still, in public at least, the two women denied any ill will.
In a 1985 TV interview, Diana claimed she admired Anne's work ethic, adding,
"We've always hit it off very well, and I just think she's marvelous."
Diana also clarified that she and Charles would have named Anne as
godmother if they had welcomed a daughter. In another interview,
Anne described reports of a feud as being, quote, "fairy stories." But
any rumors of a chummy relationship would soon be handily trampled by one blatant omission.
Princess Anne's first marriage in 1973 was to Capt. Mark Phillips. As the first
of Elizabeth's children to marry, she was expected to have a grand wedding,
and she didn't disappoint. The ceremony took place at Westminster Abbey with more
than 1,500 guests. And Anne wore the same tiara that her mother had donned for her own nuptials.
The couple went on to have two children, Peter and Zara Phillips, before separating in 1989.
Soon, Anne was involved with Commander Timothy Laurence while she was still technically married.
She and Laurence kept it under-the-radar before finally tying the knot in '92,
shortly after her official divorce from Phillips. Because of the Church of England's laws against
divorcées remarrying in the church, the couple wed in a Presbyterian church in
Scotland instead. Only 30 close family members and friends witnessed the intimate ceremony. And
Princess Diana wasn't among them. But it appears there was a glaringly obvious reason for it.
"But it's hardly ever does anything go quite according to plan. You have to learn that."
As Hello! magazine noted, Diana and Charles had just announced their separation. And apparently,
the awkwardness of having her there would likely have overshadowed the joy of the day. Anne has
never discussed her feelings about leaving Diana out of her wedding. But insiders allege
that Anne deeply regretted not making more of an effort to support Diana before she died.