Instances are few and far between of public figures discussing their eating disorders in years past. One instance of this that left an indelible impact came from a woman who has become known for her resilience in the face of private turmoil - Princess Diana. The world watched as Princess Diana navigated the complexities of royal life, but behind the glamour and headlines lay a personal struggle that would eventually touch and inspire millions. This article delves into the truth behind the weight loss rumors that surrounded Princess Diana, exploring her battle with bulimia, its impact, and her lasting legacy on mental health awareness.
Diana's Hidden Pain: Unveiling the Bulimia Struggle
Diana’s struggle with bulimia was first brought to light in 1992 when Andrew Morton published “Diana: Her True Story.” This memoir gave an in-depth look into the hidden pain Diana struggled with, including her struggles with bulimia and past suicide attempts. It was a revelation that humanized the princess, revealing a vulnerability that resonated with people worldwide.
In 1995, Diana stated to BBC, “I didn’t like myself, I was ashamed because I couldn’t cope with the pressures. I had bulimia for a number of years, and that’s like a secret disease…It’s a repetitive pattern which is very destructive to yourself [1].” She also noted that her bulimia seemed to be the only thing people saw, reporting that she “was crying out for help” but that, instead of listening to what was really going on, people automatically labeled her as “unstable [1].” The revelations shocked the world and impressed upon so many that mental illness does not discriminate and cannot be seen with the naked eye.
The Crown's Portrayal: A Mix of Reality and Sensationalism
In a scene from season 4 of The Crown, a newly engaged 19-year-old Diana Spencer has just moved into Buckingham Palace. But her new life as a princess-to-be isn’t the fairy tale she dreamed it would be. Instead, she finds herself isolated and lonely as her fiancé Prince Charles spends time with another woman (his now-wife Camilla Parker Bowles). In the scene, Diana creeps into the kitchen at night, opens the refrigerator, and starts eating spoonfuls of delectable treats-one, then another, then another, then more. A few moments later, viewers see her hunched over a toilet bowl, making herself vomit. The Crown is known for sensationalizing real-life events, even when it borders on uncouth: In season two, for example, the show exaggerated Prince Philip’s involvement in his sister Cecilie’s tragic death. The depiction of Diana’s bulimia, however, is very much rooted in reality.
The third episode of season four of The Crown begins with a trigger warning: “The following episode includes scenes of an eating disorder which some viewers may find troubling. Viewer discretion is advised. Information and resources for those struggling with eating disorders are available at www.wannatalkaboutit.com.” Those scenes, it turns out, are focused on Emma Corrin’s Princess Diana. She’s suffering from feelings of deep loneliness upon joining the royal family, her husband-to-be is having an affair with Camilla Parker Bowles, she’s all alone at Buckingham Palace, and the media is watching her every move. After any event that disillusions her from the fairy tale she imagined her marriage would be-like when she discovers that Charles called Camilla every day from abroad while he hadn’t bothered to ring his fiancée once-The Crown shows Diana bingeing food and then in the bathroom. The scenes are tough to watch-instead of letting the viewer deduce what was going on, creator Peter Morgan opts to show the painful process of purging in its entirety. In one instance, the camera fixates on Corrin’s heaving, exhausted body, draped across the toilet bowl.
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Emma Corrin told Vogue that Diana’s honesty-at the time, an unthinkable act in a family that epitomizes the concept of the stiff upper lip-played a major role in how she approached her portrayal of the late princess. “I was very determined that I didn’t want it just to be alluded to-I didn’t want it just to be a flushing of the toilet or her wiping her mouth,” she said. “I wanted you to see her experiencing it because she was so candid about her struggles with the media, which I think was incredibly ahead of her time.” Corrin and the producers worked closely with Beat, a U.K. nonprofit dedicated to eating-disorder awareness, on the story line to ensure that her scenes accurately captured Diana’s plight without glorifying it.
Shining a Light on Bulimia
Diana’s discussion also helped the public better understand the nature of the disorder. She described bulimia as “a symptom of what was going on in (her) marriage [1]” as well as “a survival mechanism [2],” supporting the notion that eating disorders can arise as unhealthy methods of coping with turmoil.
News outlets at the time saw Diana’s decision to speak on her struggles as her ultimate triumph, stating that “The Establishment saw it as an attack…They were right…by bearing witness, she broke the vow of silence that is the perpetrator’s secret weapon [3].” Diana’s admission brought to light what was shamefully hidden in the dark, releasing the power it had over many who suffered in silence.
The Triggers and the Cycle
Elizabeth Emanuel, the designer of Diana’s wedding gown, later revealed in interviews that when they started dress fittings, Diana’s waist measured 26 to 27 inches. By July 1981, it had whittled down to 23. Reports at the time also suggested that Diana’s deep unhappiness with her relationship served as her major trigger: “Bulimia nervosa, the eating disorder Diana developed within a year of becoming Princess of Wales, was not (as Charles’s friends have suggested) an illness which made a marriage go sour,” wrote Anthony Holden in a 1993 issue of Vanity Fair. “It was an illness caused by a sour marriage.”
When asked if she had told anyone in the royal family about it, Diana said she hadn’t. “You have to know that when you have bulimia you're very ashamed of yourself and you hate yourself-and people think you're wasting food-so you don't discuss it with people,” she explained. “The thing about bulimia is your weight always stays the same, whereas with anorexia you visibly shrink. So you can pretend the whole way through. There's no proof.” Her raw, candid confession sent shockwaves through the world at the time-eating disorders were rarely talked about openly. To have a global superstar do so, on such a stage, challenged a major societal stigma.
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Bulimia is an eating disorder characterized by binging which is then followed by tactics to avoid weight gain. It is an emotional disorder that encompasses a misrepresentation of one’s body image and an all-consuming desire to lose weight. It is a constant cycle of extreme overeating followed by intense sadness and self-induced vomiting, purging, or fasting. There is often much shame and guilt that surrounds bulimia.
The Impact and the Medical Consequences
After opening up about her unhappy marriage and experiences with bulimia, Diana became “human” and relatable in the eyes of the public. She “spoke publically about her feelings, about her attempted suicides, about her bulimia, about her suffering, about everyday problems that people endure…That is something that really challenged the hierarchy [4].” During a time when no one, particularly the Royal Family, spoke openly about these aspects of life, Diana created a dialogue that paints those that experience and overcome mental illness as survivors, not victims.
Since the princess prompted a discussion about bulimia, our society has become more aware of its presence. However, bulimia is still often dismissed in the discussion of eating disorders. While anorexia is often thought of as the most common eating disorder, in reality, bulimia affects more individuals, yet is still discussed less frequently. Additionally, bulimia can be especially dangerous because it is more likely to go unnoticed, as the person can maintain a “normal” body weight, yet be causing detrimental damage to their health. The medical consequences that may arise from bulimia include tooth decay, stomach rupture, and electrolyte imbalance, which can lead to irregular heartbeats or heart failure.
Spencer: A Fictional Glimpse into Diana's Struggles
Spencer, a 2021 drama and historical film, focuses on the life of Diana, Princess of Wales. While royalty is typically viewed as something aspirational, Spencer showcases the dark side of fame and the overall pressure of the throne. The film also shows other raw, realistic components of Princess Diana’s life, such as her battle with an eating disorder.
In the film, the audience sees the Princess of Wales’s eating habits during a fictional account of a Christmas spent at the Sandringham Estate, a royal residence in England. At the same time, the audience watches the breakdown of Princess Diana’s marriage to Prince Charles.
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One of the scenes that was particularly triggering for Princess Diana was the Royal Family tradition of weighing each family member before the holiday festivities. Diana feels extremely uncomfortable with this but is forced to do so due to Queen Elizabeth’s order. In order to get her retaliation, Princess Diana purposely shows up to events late, wears the incorrect attire, and leaves the curtains in her room open which goes against royal protocol.
A major scene involving food in the film involves the family’s tradition of lavish meals with multiple courses. Each member of the Royal Family has an assigned attendant. The attendant is responsible for watching the family members eat their food and drink their beverage, paying attention to when plates need to be taken away and when drinks need to be refilled. For the Princess of Wales, this tradition was pure misery.
Princess Diana’s eating disorder is viewed as a secret within the Royal Family. One of Diana’s stylists even comments on her rapid weight loss since she has to take her dress in. In the movie, Prince Charles states that Diana should “do [the Royal Family] the courtesy of not regurgitating it all into a lavatory bowl before the church bells even ring.” These types of comments can be extremely harmful to those struggling with disordered eating.
It is important to note that Spencer is fictitious. That is to say, it shows a potential theory of what could have happened during Princess Diana’s time spent at Sandringham Estate. It is loosely based on specific facts, such as Diana’s tumultuous relationship with the Royal Family, the ending of her marriage to Prince Charles, and her struggles with bulimia. The film undeniably pulled back the curtains on disordered eating. The film shows many scenes involving purging and weight is mentioned several times throughout the film. After all, the movie was trying to showcase the reality of Diana’s life at that moment in time which included mental health issues and eating problems.
The People’s Princess and Her Enduring Legacy
The public view of Diana as “The People’s Princess,” has continued long after her tragic death in 1997 and her family continues her legacy. In 2016, William and Harry, and daughter-in-law, Kate, began the “Heads Together” campaign, aimed at “tackling stigma, raising awareness, and providing vital help for people with mental health challenges [1].”
Prince William recently spoke about his mother’s experience in a new documentary “Wasting Away - The Truth about Anorexia,” stating that he was “absolutely” proud of her for speaking about her struggles with bulimia and emphasized that “we need to be matter-of-fact about it (mental illness), and not hide it in the dark where it festers [1].” William also reported that “mental health needs to be taken as seriously as physical health [1].”
“For Princess Diana to speak openly about these behaviors and thoughts really shows her strength and her dedication to helping others because it is likely that most people would never have even known she was fighting an eating disorder,” Dr. Kendra Becker, clinical psychologist at Massachusetts General Hospital’s Eating Disorder Clinical and Research Program, tells Vogue of Diana’s legacy. “Her example not only de-stigmatizes eating disorders themselves but also sets an example for seeking help and addressing the shame around these behaviors, thoughts, and feelings that allow them to persist."
Busting Myths and Misconceptions
To the adoring public, Princess Diana’s life looked perfect-she was beautiful, slender, dressed in the finest gowns, and lived in a castle. But people who look like they have everything going for them are not immune to eating disorders or other psychiatric issues. These problems can affect anyone, including those who appear to “have it all.” In The Crown, Lady Diana’s disordered eating remains her hidden secret, which is the case for many who suffer from bulimia.
Although Netflix provides a warning before episodes that some depictions may be “troubling,” these warnings may not work as intended. One thing the series leaves out in Diana’s struggles with an eating disorder is the fact that she claimed it started when her then-fiancé Prince Charles made a critical comment about her weight. By the end of season 4, The Crown depicts Lady Diana hunching over the toilet bowl but stopping herself from going through with the self-destructive ritual, a sign that she’s on the road to recovery. But the series doesn’t represent the challenges Diana would have surely gone through or the treatment she sought in real life to help her heal from the disorder. Recovery from eating disorders is possible, but it doesn’t happen quickly. The princess suffered for years in silence before bravely going public with her private struggles in a 1992 biography and a 1995 BBC interview. Her public acknowledgment encouraged countless others to seek help.
The Crown deftly reveals how low self-esteem, feelings of isolation, social pressures, and relationship issues can contribute to eating disorders. What it leaves out is the role the brain plays in the condition. Based on the brain SPECT imaging work at Amen Clinics-160,000 brain scans from patients in 150 countries-people with eating disorders tend to have abnormal activity in certain areas of the brain. Typical SPECT findings in eating disorders include overactivity in the anterior cingulate gyrus (associated with getting stuck on thoughts and behaviors) and basal ganglia (the brain’s anxiety centers), and issues in the parietal lobe (involved in sensory processing and direction sense and often seen in people with body dysmorphic disorder).
Diana's Diet: Beyond the Eating Disorder
One thing many royal fans don't realize, however, is that Princess Diana ate a largely vegetarian diet. Former palace chef Darren McGrady often posts royal recipes on his YouTube channel, and in one video, he shared that one of Diana's "favorite dishes" was stuffed bell peppers. "She probably had it two or three times a week," McGrady said. McGrady cooked for Diana for the four years prior to her 1997 death, and said that "healthy" options were at the core of her eating habits. The late royal ate a mostly vegetarian diet mixed in with fish and chicken. "Stuffed eggplant" and "rainbow trout" were other favorites, per McGrady, and he shared that Diana would often come and hang out in the kitchen and watch him cook. Because of her focus on light, nutritious eating, McGrady said his "cooking changed" accordingly, explaining he didn't use any "heavy creams and rich sauces" like he did when working for Queen Elizabeth. The chef also shared that Diana "didn't eat beef at all." One food that wasn't on the menu full-stop, though, was pork. "She never ate pork," McGrady told the outlet.