Princess Diana Described Herself as a ‘Good Product,’ Said Media Attention Was ‘Isolating’
According to Princess Diana, she knew she was a “good product” as a royal. But the media attention she received left her feeling isolated.
She once explained that she was initially unsure why people liked her so much, and it confused her that she quickly attracted the spotlight. But eventually, she realized she was a commodity. And she knew she could either sink into self-pity or learn to swim in the reality of being a royal.
Princess Diana became a ‘good product’ when she got engaged
Diana became an international celebrity upon her engagement to King Charles III, followed by their historic wedding in 1981. Subsequently, their children’s births and their marriage’s unraveling attracted increased attention.
As reported by PBS, Diana learned to use the media, specifically tabloids, to her advantage as a royal. They wrote, “… While she was alive, her adeptness at manipulating the media was widely recognized, as was the fact that during the latter years of her ‘loveless’ marriage to Prince Charles, the tabloids had been one of her greatest weapons.”
“Who can forget the poignancy for instance, of that lone shot of her in front of the Taj Mahal and the endless comment it sparked about the Princess’s isolation and her ‘unrequited love’?” they explained. “But she herself set up the famous photograph.”
But, in Diana’s words, she did what she had to after realizing she could sink or swim in her sensationalism.
Princess Diana thought people liked her because she was a ‘good product’
In Diana’s infamous interview for the BBC with Martin Bashir, transcribed by PBS, she opened up about what becoming a royal was like. And she said, in essence, she had to learn to be an easy-to-sell commodity.
“It took a long time to understand why people were so interested in me, but I assumed it was because my husband had done a lot of wonderful work leading up to our marriage and our relationship,” Diana explained.
“But then … during the years,” she added, “you see yourself as a good product that sits on a shelf and sells well, and people make a lot of money out of you.”
She shared that it was “isolating,” noting, “But it was also a situation where you couldn’t indulge in feeling sorry for yourself. You had to either sink or swim. And you had to learn that very fast.”
Diana explained that she and Charles faced “phenomenal” media pressure as a couple. She offered that fact was “misunderstood by a great many people.”
People were ‘insatiable’ for coverage of Princess Diana before, and especially after, her death
Paparazzi chased Diana’s vehicle before the 1997 crash that killed her. And some observers argue that they contributed to the tragedy.
The media also cashed in on her death in some ways. The Wall Street Journal reported that the Daily Mail printed 2.85 million copies in a day following Diana’s accident. That was an approximately 30% increase from a regular day.
Carol Wallace, the managing editor of People magazine in 1997, said to WSJ, “We covered Diana probably like Newsweek and Time cover the president of the United States.”
Wallace added that readers were “insatiable” for coverage of Diana, and her death only amplified that.
