The royals - Kitty Kelley [251]
When he read Diana’s rendition of their private meeting as recounted in the Mail, he decided to get a gag order. He insisted a confidentiality clause be included in their divorce agreement to keep her from writing or speaking about their marriage. Diana accused him of extortion and demanded that he sign a similar pledge, but he resisted. He said his word of honor was enough.
During that meeting in his office, she had told him that if he made it clear to the world that he, not she, was requesting the divorce, she would agree to proceed with negotiations. She even offered to give up her royal status. Her title became a sticking point, but at first she said she didn’t care about it. After the meeting she called the Queen to say she agreed to a divorce “with deep regrets.” She told the Queen it was “the saddest day of my life.”
Then her lawyers started haggling. They began by insisting on a lump sum payment of $75 million. His lawyers protested the amount and the method of payment: Charles wanted to pay less and in yearly installments rather than a lump sum. That way he could withhold money, in case Diana got out of line. But she refused. For her it was all or nothing. When he balked at paying her legal fees, which he said were “excessive,” negotiations stalled. Her side reminded his side who wanted the divorce. She threatened to withdraw and force him to wait two more years to get a no-consent divorce decree. Then he would be able to get one automatically because their separation would have met the requisite five years. But, for the Queen, further delay was intolerable. She intervened, and Charles paid his wife’s legal bills—$120,000.
After five months of acrimony over almost every issue, the lawyers for both sides produced a document as intricate as a treaty between two warring nations. “The only element missing was a map delineating the deployment of troops,” mused a man familiar with the agreement. “Everything else was covered—insignias, titles, possessions, even boundaries. [Diana was required to seek the Queen’s permission to leave the country, unless on private holiday. With the Queen’s permission, she could use the Queen’s aircraft, but only if accompanied by her children.] Diana is entitled to keep all gifts of royal jewelry [the value of which is said to exceed $100 million] for her lifetime. She agrees not to lend or sell any jewels given to her by the royal family, including the thirty-carat sapphire brooch that was the Queen Mother’s wedding present. Upon Diana’s death, the jewelry passes to her son, William, for the future Princess of Wales. A codicil to her will nailing this down is attached to the divorce settlement.”
The only area not disputed was the children: Charles and Diana agreed to share responsibility for raising their sons, including equal access and custody. Every other aspect of their contentious marriage was bartered down to the last square foot of office space Diana would be allocated. Charles agreed to pay her about $26 million, including her taxes, over a period of five years. In addition, he will pay $600,000 a year for her office staff, supplies, and equipment.* Diana retained use of her residence at Kensington Palace, until she chooses to move or remarry.
In the middle of the negotiations, Diana reconsidered her royal status. She said she wanted to keep her title “for the sake of the boys.” Previously she had joked, “I don’t need another title—I was born with one.” But her friends emphasized that while Lady Diana might get a seat on the bus, Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales could commandeer the bus, the driver, and all the curtsying passengers. They said the title of HRH gave her protection against being run over.
So important is the designation of royalty in a class-bound society that her friends don’t want to see Diana curtsying to others. Nor do they want to see her lowered in public esteem like the disgraced Sarah Ferguson, who had been