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This Day in History Class is a production of I Heart

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Radio.

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Hello and welcome to This Day

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in History Class, a show for

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those interested in the big and small

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moments of history. I'm

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Gabe Lousier, and today we're

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talking about the time when a British monarch

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took the matter of someone else's marriage

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into her own hands. The

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day was December. Britain's

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Queen Elizabeth the Second, sent

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a letter to her son, Prince Charles

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and his wife, Princess Diana, urging

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the couple to get a divorce. The

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note was sent after three

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years of married separation, during

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which time both Charles and Diana

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had pursued other relationships.

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The protracted royal scandal

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had troubled the Queen for some time,

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and when she was finally convinced that

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their marriage was beyond repair,

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she advised them to make their split

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official. Prince Charles,

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heir to the British throne, was

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married to Lady Diana Spencer,

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a school teacher. On July night

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one, the ceremony at

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St. Paul's Cathedral was attended

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by more than twenty six hundred guests

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and nearly a billion people across

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seventy four countries watched

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the event live on TV. Three

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years later, the couple had

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their first child, Prince William,

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and then their second, Prince Harry,

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in four Over

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time, what had seemed like a fairy

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tale romance gradually lost

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its luster. The couple

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spent more and more time apart,

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a fact that did not go ignored

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by the media. It quickly

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became clear that the biggest obstacle

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in the marriage was that Charles

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was in love with someone else. Diana

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had long suspected that her husband

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still had feelings for Camilla Parker

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Bowls, his ex girlfriend from

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the early nineteen seventies. Diana

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had hoped that time and their

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own growing family would dull

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the old attraction, but it never

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did. As the years went

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by, the couple grew more estranged,

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and Charles eventually started an affair

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with Camilla. Diana

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knew about the not so secret affair,

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and soon the whole world did too.

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Finally, in Charles

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and Diana announced that they were separating,

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but would continue to carry out their royal

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duties. The awkward

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arrangement continued for three years

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and finally reached its tipping point.

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On November that

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evening, Diana gave a revealing

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interview on a British current affairs

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program called Panorama.

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During the broadcast, which was watched

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by almost twenty three million people,

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Diana referenced her husband's long

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term affair with Camilla. She

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said, quote, there were three

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of us in this marriage, an

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arrangement that she aptly described

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as crowded. Diana

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went on to describe her husband's entourage

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as the enemy, and suggested

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that the monarchy itself was

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in need of a major overhaul. The

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revelations struck a chord with

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the public, who quickly sided with

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the princess against the rest of the royal

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family. One month

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after Diana's tell all interview,

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a royal messenger appeared at

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her front door. He delivered

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a letter in the Queen's hand writing, bearing

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the crest of the House of Windsor. The

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message was kurt and more

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than a little cold. It read

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quote, I have consulted with the

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Archbishop of Canterbury, and

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with the Prime Minister, and of

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course with Charles, and

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we have decided that the best course

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for you is divorce. You'll

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notice that the letter reads more like

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an order than as a request

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or suggestion. That's partly

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because Diana had already made it

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known that she didn't want a divorce.

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The queen's letter was to tell the princess,

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in no uncertain terms, that the

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choice was no longer hers to make.

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Diana said as much herself. After

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reading the letter, She reportedly

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told her butler, Paul Barrell, quote,

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that's rich. They get to

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decide whether I divorce. In

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the end, the Queen got her way,

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as queens typically do. Charles

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and Diana filed for divorce two

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months later, and in August of

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nineteen ninety six, their fifteen

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year marriage came to an end. Per

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the terms of the final agreement, Diana

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relinquished the title of her Royal

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Highness as well as any future

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claim to the British throne. In

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exchange, she was awarded a substantial

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settlement and was allowed to retain her

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place at Kensington Palace, as

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well as her title of Princess of

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Wales. She and Charles

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also agreed to joint custody of

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their sons, but sadly, the

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terms of the separation wouldn't

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matter for long. The

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following year, on August thirty

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first, nineteen ninety seven, Diana

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died in a car crash in Paris.

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According to French police, Diana's

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driver, who also died in the crash,

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had been heavily intoxicated and

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caused the accident while trying to get

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away from a group of paparazzi photographers.

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The pain of that day still lingers

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for countless people, a sure

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sign that Diana Spencer achieved

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a goal she first described in

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her interview with Panorama,

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the desire to be not a queen

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of a country, but a queen

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in people's hearts. As

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for Prince Charles, he married

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his longtime mistress in April

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of two thousand five, and

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the royal family has been drama

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free ever since. I'm

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Gabe Louzier and hopefully

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you now know a little more about history

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today than you did yesterday.

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You can learn even more about history

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by following us on Twitter, Facebook,

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and Instagram at t D I HC

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Show, And if you'd like to advise

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me on any major life decisions,

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you can send a rudely brief note

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to this day at I heart media

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dot com. Just make sure

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you've consulted with an archbishop first,

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otherwise I ain't listening. Thanks

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to Chandler May's for producing the show,

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and thank you for listening. I'll see

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you back here again tomorrow for another

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day in history class. For

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more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the iHeart

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to your favorite shows.