Posted on 07/24/2004 6:24:05 PM PDT by quidnunc
The Prince of Wales was "taken to the cleaners" and handed over his entire personal fortune to Diana, Princess of Wales, as part of their divorce settlement, his former personal financial adviser has revealed.
Geoffrey Bignell, who handled Prince Charles's financial affairs for more than a decade until 1996, disclosed that the heir to the throne was forced to sell his entire investment portfolio to meet the demands of the Princess.
"Princess Diana took every penny he had," Mr Bignell told the Telegraph last week. "I was told to liquidate everything, all his investments, so that he could give her the cash. He was very unhappy about that. That's when I stopped being his personal financial adviser because he had no personal wealth left. She took him to the cleaners."
As part of the divorce in July 1996, Diana reportedly received a lump sum of £17.5 million and an allowance for her private office. The Queen also allowed her and the Waleses' two sons, Princes William and Harry, to continue to live in Kensington Palace.
The Waleses' divorce was negotiated through their respective solicitors. Anthony Julius represented the Princess and Fiona Shackleton represented Prince Charles. The Princess, who was killed in a car crash in Paris in 1997, was encouraged by Mr Julius to give up her title "Her Royal Highness" a move she later regretted in return for a better financial deal.
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(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
I hadn't realized Charles was faithful to Camilla for 30 years, but I did know that the marriage between Charles and Diana was arranged by the Queen. Which begs an open question to anyone that may be in the know; are Camilla and Queen Elizabeth even to this day, on speaking terms?
The Blood Doctor? I'll have to remember that. All that interbreeding with "our kind of people", for want of a better phrase, wreaked havoc with Europe's Royals. Thanks for the recommendation.
I'm not defending adultery. She was wrong to lower herself to Charles' level.
judging by her education, her parents didn't seem to believe in her higher education. She worked at a daycare. I think they had her on ice. Virginal royal blood obviously commands a high price in some circles. She would have been happier marrying a commoner who actually loved her.
I'm sure that after Charles did his duty and sired two sons, he didn't touch her again. A married woman with an impotent husband will deal with it, but when she realized that Charles just used her uterus, then became once again became exclusive with Camilla, well what woman wouldn't go bonkers?
This was not a normal situation. Diana couldn't just go get a lawyer and file for a divorce. People have said that Diana shrewdly created a sh*tstorm to force the Queen's hand into ordering them to divorce.
Nope, she should have not had affairs, and Charles should have given up his married lover, Camilla.
Diana also had a deep belief in giving to others. She used her popularity to raise millions for charitable causes. Before you say anything, if she was just doing it for publicity, then why were her and Mother Theresa on such good terms? You think Mother Theresa couldn't spot a phony? Btw, she died a few days after Diana...
Just because Diana made some really bad choices early on in her life, does not make her a prostitute or a slut, of course jmo...
Oh, you're right about the haemophilia starting with Queen Victoria, didn't mean to imply that was incorrect...I was just commenting on who it was that looked alike (grin). As far as the haemophilia goes, Victoria's granddaughter, Alix, formally known as Tsarina Alexandra of Russia, was a carrier and her son had haemophilia...which led to Alix's involvement with Rasputin, as she searched for a way to cure her son, the heir to the Russian throne.
Another of Victoria's granddaughters became Queen Ena of Spain and haemophilia caused tragedy in the Spanish Royal Family, as well as elsewhere throughout the family lines. There is an excellent book on Victoria's son Leopold (PRINCE LEOPOLD by Charlotte Zeepvat), who died young of haemophilia, and it includes a family tree highlighting where the haemophilia struck -- sad yet fascinating.
"Call girl"? "Slut"? "Prostitute"?
I thought I'd walked into D.U. for a minute there. I'd hope for more in the level of discourse here on Free Republic. I think one can discuss opinions on the Diana/Charles/Camilla issue, including issues of right and wrong, etc., without resorting to using such vile terms to slander the dead.
JMHO.
well you said it alot better than i could.
I suppose its easier to deal with people as groups than as individuals, which would explain why seemingly intelligent people fall in to this trap.
"She didn't leave me with a bloody brass farthing!"
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