Prince William and his wife, the Duchess of Cambridge, are all set for their maiden tour of India. The royal couple sought to pose for the perfect picture in front of the Taj Mahal, with an intention to recreate that famous photo of William’s mother, Diana, sitting alone in front of the monument to love — leading to much ink being dispensed for the story of her failing marriage back in 1992. What was forgotten was that Prince Charles was also in town, to strengthen economic ties between the UK and India. And on the same day of his gathering industrialists for a meeting, Diana chose to spend time in Agra ... making the entire coterie of the British press to follow her instead.
"While Prince Charles reserved his wit for occasions and followed the drill that sets royalty apart, Princess Diana was the more approachable one," wrote Gargi Parsai for The Hindu on February 23, 1992. Here we reproduce her column that followed Charles' and Diana's visit in full:
“Okay … everybody, take position."
The heavily accented British voice belonging to the Buckingham Palace spokeswoman, called. And every time she did, more than 40 Indian and foreign, (mostly British), photographers and correspondents fell into "position" behind a cordon, imaginary or otherwise. Only the positioning was discriminatory. Vantage points for the British media, while the Indian photographers and reporters tried their best to squeeze in. It brought to mind the shooting of Richard
Attenborough's "Gandhi" in India, with all those incidents of blatant discrimination against the Indian crew and artistes.
Prince Charles and Princess Diana's first visit together to the country vividly brought alive the history of India's colonial past, though not so much for the demeanor of the Royal couple, as for the trappings of a decadent past around them. It was in a way, in the fitness of things that the Royal couple began their six-day visit with a tribute to the architect of India's freedom, Mahatma Gandhi, at Rajghat.
Thereafter the couple went about most business their own ways. This being her first visit to India, the Princess of Wales had more sight seeing and philanthropic projects on her agenda, while the Prince went in for interests close to his heart — a visit to the Delhi School of Planning and Architecture in New Delhi and meetings with Indo-British industrialists in Bangalore, Hyderabad and Calcutta. Had they been an ordinary couple their individual itineraries would have been an expression of their individuality. But since they were Royalty, their different plans seemed to be a confirmation of the growing chasm between them, particularly from the point of view of the British media.
Princess Di's visit alone to the Taj Mahal at Agra, especially, provoked disapproving noises from many of the 40-odd British media persons covering the visit. Most saw in this evidence of the death of a romance that was at its height till four years ago. That they stayed in separate suites at the Rashtrapati Bhavan disappointed many, (even if this was done as protocol), much as their plans of leaving India separately.
Princess Diana flew back to be with the children at Kensington Palace in London after the six-day State visit, while Prince Charles stayed back to go trekking in the Himalayas.
Such was the media obsession with the aura of glamour and romance of the Royal couple that the serious issues of economics and trade that the Prince had planned (British Minister for Overseas Development accompanied them) were virtually given a go-by, at least while they were here. The Prince was here to strengthen the existing ties between the two countries and promote economic and business cooperation.
There was no doubt that on her first visit to India the Princess of Wales stood head and shoulders over others, quite literally and figuratively. At 5'10', minus the stilettos, she overshadowed the heir apparent to the British throne, again in figurative and literal terms. When the Prince called an important meeting with industrialists in New Delhi, the entire British Press corps covering the Royal visit took off to Agra to shower their attention on Princess Di.
The Princess did not disappoint them. It was easy to see why she is more popular of the two. While Prince Charles reserves his famous wit and humour for occasions and generally follows the drill that sets Royalty apart from commoners, Princess Di is more approachable.
She has acquired for herself the image of a compassionate Royal who really cares. Her gesture of touching AIDs victims to show that the disease is not contagious has won her several admirers the world over. Indeed, the anganwadi workers and village women with whom she warmly shook hands at the Parivar Seva Sanstha in Agra may not be aware of the worth of that handshake. Ask Uma Kumar, an ex-Indian Airlines air hostess who touched the feet of a policeman at Rajghat for letting her stand at the gate. Her (unfulfilled) desire: "To shake hands with Princess Diana just once."
However, not everyone was impressed with Lady Di. Connoisseurs of haute couture were disappointed by her choice of outfits. "It seemed to be a hastily put together wardrobe. Or she just didn't care," observed the high priestesses of fashion.
Visiting Buckingham Palace media persons also felt Lady Diana had not lived up to her reputation of being one of the best dressed women in the world. "She is very fond of bright colours and she always matches the flag of the country she visits. That's a theme she always follows. Except for the banquet given by the President, Princess Diana did not wear any new creations during her three-day stay in New
Delhi. That's rather unusual." The media persons could not help but build meaning into what they read as the Princess' lackadaisical approach to her clothing.
Meaning was also built into her impressions of the Taj. "Fantastic. It was a thrilling experience," was sought to be interpreted by the British media as, "Fantastic. It was a healing experience." Of course, we all know that the latter makes for better copy.
There was also much ado about whether Prince Charles would get a kiss from Princess Diana, as is customary, after he played a polo match in Jaipur. Whether it was by design or naturally, Prince Charles put all speculation to rest, at least for the time being, by giving his wife a peck after receiving the cup from her for winning the match hosted by Maharajah Bhawani (Bubbles) Singh in Jaipur.
Had it not been for the tensions in Kashmir and Punjab then, the Charles-Diana visit would have received better media attention in New Delhi. Diana's visit to Agra, just as Prince Charles' meet with industrialists in New Delhi almost drew a blank. Most people turned to BBC to watch Lady Diana gamely get into an Indian-made car when the British High Commission's Range Rover broke down in Agra or visit a self-professed abortion clinic to "bless" their family planning programme.
To cap it all was the amazonian Buckingham Palace spokeswoman who never seemed to tire of repeating, mostly for the benefit of the Indian media, "No questions please. They NEVER answer any questions," But, the Prince and
Princess of Wales refused to play dummies.
They answered questions, mixed with the core of the Indian population and seemed to generally enjoy their visit. It’s about time people like her the spokeswomen realise that India is no longer a jewel in any crown. She wears the crown.
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