Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
Royal Talk: Susan Maxwell Skinner recently addressed a small gathering at the Campbell Library.
Former journalist speaks on Diana
Susan Maxwell Skinner was a member of the royal press corps
By Moryt Milo
More than 750 million viewers watched the royal wedding of Lady Diana Spencer to Prince Charles on July 29, 1981. Sixteen years later, on Sept. 6, 1997, more than 2.5 billion people viewed Pricess Diana's funeral.
Susan Maxwell Skinner was a member of the Buckingham Palace press corps--a group of journalists accredited by the palace and allowed to follow the royal family wherever it goes--and covered Princess Diana and the royal family for eight years. Skinner has recently written a book, Remembering Diana, and she spoke about her experiences at the Campbell Library on Feb. 5.
Her presentation was a blend of photos, lecture and music, as she said, "Diana regarded herself as a mother first and the Princess of Wales second."
Skinner, a New Zealander who married an American and has lived in Sacramento for 12 years, says, "I wrote the book with the American culture in mind. I wanted to portray Diana's humanitarian work and her relationship with her boys, who were the center of her life."
Skinner says today she can speak more openly about covering Diana's early years as a princess, but when she first left the palace press corps she was more guarded about her experiences. In her presentation Skinner told the audience how, only weeks before Diana's death, Prince William asked his mother to tell their convoy of drivers, speeding at 100 miles per hour, to slow down, fearing someone would be killed.
"Unfortunately no one paid attention to his remark," Skinner says. "Imagine if Diana had."
Skinner also says that as time goes by, she realizes her experiences as part of the press and covering Diana are historically important.
"Only now do I realize how astonishing that seems to some people," Skinner says.
Skinner told more than 30 Campbell residents in the audience that Diana was the first member of the royal family to whom people could relate and not think of as a distant figure. She was the most hands-on of any royal mother and wasn't shy about telling people her parenting experiences. It was a form of candor that was unheard of before Diana married Prince Charles, Skinner says.
Skinner also talked about touching moments between Diana and Prince William, and how, even at the age of 6, Prince William felt he had to protect his mother from scrutiny and criticism.
At the prince's sixth birthday, when Skinner asked him what he would like to be when he grew up--if he wasn't in line to be the king--the prince turned to Skinner and said, "I'd like to be a policeman and look after Mummy."
"Diana struck a chord with ordinary people," Skinner says. "I don't think it was engineered by her. She just did what she could in the very best way she knew how, and somehow she got it right."
Although Skinner says Diana was in no way a saint, through her years of contact with Diana, Skinner believes she was sincere.
To illustrate her point, Skinner told the audience about the time the press traveled to Calcutta, where Diana met Mother Teresa.
"I overheard Mother Teresa say to Diana, 'We are both working for God. In your role you bring people light.' I don't think Mother Teresa would have said that if she thought Diana was a phony."
In a separate interview Skinner told The Campbell Reporter that once the tabloids began following Diana and publishing intrusive photos and stories, the "golden era of royal journalism ended."
The public's taste for all the dirty linen and the constant invasion of Diana's privacy forced the rest of the media to compete with that type of journalism, Skinner says.
"The public wanted to know non-newsworthy things, no matter what," she says.
Campbell, California
