Princess Diana felt 'empty' after royal engagements but Kate is 'supported'
In many ways, Princess Diana was seen as a truly groundbreaking member of the Royal Family.
This wasn't just because of her iconic style that is still replicated today, or simply the philanthropic causes she chose to get behind - even though some have argued that she managed to change their trajectory for good - it was also because of her willingness to be honest about some of the difficulties she faced in her private life and her struggles with her mental health.
She was the first member of the House of Windsor to admit these vulnerabilities publicly, and a royal expert has claimed that the late Princess of Wales confided in them about how "empty" she used to feel after taking part in official engagements, as she struggled to forge her own path inside the monarchy.
The expert, Jennie Bond, who previously worked as the BBC's royal correspondent, revealed to OK Magazine that Diana once confided in her about how terrifying she first found taking part in her royal duties after she officially became part of the Royal Family aged just 20 years old.
"I remember how Diana told me how lost she was during those first engagements. She would be reluctant to get out of the car because she didn’t know how she was just going to walk over and greet the huge crowds. She found it all incredibly daunting and felt she had no support," Bond said of her revealing conversations with the late princess.
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This led directly to Diana's increased struggle with an eating disorder, the expert claimed, explaining that the overwhelming nature of the attention Diana received coupled with a lack of guidance within the Royal Family left the late princess dealing with a sense of emptiness.
"Diana told me how empty she felt after carrying out royal engagements. She said no one praised her or gave her any encouragement. She felt lost and lonely, so she ate. And then threw up," Bond added.
But it seems as though the royal family learned from the mistakes made with Diana, as when her son Prince William's wife Kate was made part of the family, her husband and her father-in-law King Charles made every effort to ensure she was "supported" in her royal duties. Equally, the expert explained, Kate was allowed to pace herself as she got used to her role, which Diana never had the opportunity to do, as she was thrown in at the deep end as a young woman.
In Diana's bombshell interview with Martin Bashir - which has since come under scrutiny for the illicit methods the journalist used to obtain his exclusive sit-down with Diana - she opened up candidly about her struggle with bulimia and explained the isolating nature of the disorder.
"And that's like a secret disease. You inflict it upon yourself because your self-esteem is at a low ebb, and you don't think you're worthy or valuable. You fill your stomach up four or five times a day—some do it more—and it gives you a feeling of comfort. It's like having a pair of arms around you, but it's temporarily, temporary. Then you're disgusted at the bloatedness of your stomach, and then you bring it all up again".
Earlier, in 1993, Diana secretly collaborated with royal author Andrew Morton on his biography of her, and in tapes she recorded for the author to use, she admitted that her struggles with this disorder began the week after she got engaged to Charles.
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