Royal Family News: Prince Charles And Princess Diana Drove The Queen To Drink

British royal family news reveals that Queen Elizabeth may have been much more affected by her sons’ divorces than she let on. She has a rep for being cool as a cucumber under pressure but a leading biographer shines a light on her inner decorum.

According to Andrew Morton, in the 1990s she was highly disconcerted by Charles and Andrew’s marriage fatalities.

Royal Family News – The Queen Was Dismayed

It was Charles and Diana’s separation that particularly affected the Queen to the point that she began to drink more. According to the writer she, “No longer did she have just one dry martini in the evenings; her staff noticed that Her Majesty’s modest consumption of alcohol had noticeably increased. In private, the Monarch, known for both her moderation and her iron grip on her emotions, was quietly signaling her distress.”

Morton told the Daily Mail that his previous book about the divorces did not tell the whole story.

Royal Family News – Andrew Morton Is A Renowned Writer

He said, “As the Queen’s latest biographer, I’ve been able to draw on 40 years of reporting on the British monarchy, as well as on largely off-the-record interviews with many courtiers and royal staff. The picture that emerges reveals she was dragged, against her natural inclinations, into an emotional maelstrom.”

He said that she went out of her way to make Diana feel welcome: “the Queen made a big fuss over Diana.”

Royal Family News – The Queen Once Adored Diana

She was so enthusiastic that she, “paid £28,000 for Diana’s oval sapphire-and-diamond engagement ring, and footed the bill for the opulent gala ball held at Buckingham Palace on the week of the wedding.”

But on the couple’s Mediterranean honeymoon, “the Princess had been consumed with jealousy of Charles’s former mistress, Camilla Parker Bowles, and suffering from a combination of exhaustion and bulimia,” painting a picture of what was to come.

Eventually Diana had, “wild mood swings, often choosing to remain in her room rather than join the family for picnics or barbecues. Not only was it a discourtesy to her as host but also it interrupted the smooth running of the castle, necessitating the changing of staff rotas so someone was always at Diana’s disposal.” And we all know how this fairytale ended.

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Editorial credit: James Pearce