ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, February 29, 1996 TAG: 9602290078
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: LONDON
SOURCE: Cox News Service
The royal romance that foundered in loveless obligation and led to mutual adultery is finally going to be put out of its withered misery.
Prince Charles and Princess Diana met at Diana's residence in Kensington Palace on Wednesday and agreed to a divorce.
Charles wanted the divorce sooner rather than later. Diana wanted the best deal she could get before she agreed.
``Split decision,'' was the verdict of Channel 4 TV news.
Divorce means that Diana will never become Queen of England. But little else was clear after the announcement by Diana's office - which seemed to take Buckingham Palace and Queen Elizabeth II by surprise.
There was no word about whether Diana had received the role she had asked for - that of a ``queen of hearts'' goodwill ambassador for Britain. No financial settlement was announced - media reports had said she was asking for $24 million - and there were sharp differences between the two sides over whether Diana would retain her title of Princess of Wales.
Britain's rabid tabloid press was all over the map this morning, with some papers casting Diana as the winner in the dispute and others poking fun at what they said was her premature announcement.
``Diana's Divorce Victory,'' declared a Page One headline in the Sun.
``What a farce!'' responded the Daily Mirror. ``Diana says, `I've agreed [to] divorce.' `Palace says, `Oh no, she hasn't.'''
What was certain was that a marriage that began with a fairy-tale wedding in 1981 and collapsed into years of highly public rancor and bitterness, capturing media attention worldwide, was finally nearing an end.
In December, fed up with the bickering, the queen recommended that Diana and Charles divorce. Charles, 47, immediately agreed to his mother's request, but Diana waited to consult her lawyers.
On Wednesday, Diana, 34, said yes, too.
``The Princess of Wales has agreed to Prince Charles' request for a divorce,'' a statement issued on her behalf said. ``The Princess will continue to be involved in all decisions relating to the children and will remain at Kensington Palace with offices in St. James's Palace.''
St. James's Palace is Charles' official residence.
Charles also will keep apartments at Kensington Palace so their children, Prince William, 13, the second in line to the throne, and Prince Harry, 11, can readily visit both parents when they are home from boarding school.
Diana's spokeswoman Jane Atkinson said the princess decided on the move Wednesday afternoon after a meeting with her husband. It was agreed to amicably, she said. ``The Princess of Wales will retain the title and be known as Diana, Princess of Wales,'' Atkinson told Reuters.
Buckingham Palace disputed the report.
``We can confirm that the Prince and Princess of Wales had a private meeting this afternoon at St. James's Palace,'' a Buckingham Palace statement said. ``Details of the divorce settlement and the princess's future role were not discussed,'' a palace statement said.
``The queen was most interested,'' the statement added acidly, ``to hear that the Princess of Wales had agreed to the divorce.''
The Times of London reported today that Buckingham Palace would have preferred that it make the announcement and said palace aides were angry at Diana for pre-empting them. The Guardian said Diana's statement ``appeared aimed at wrong-footing her enemies at Buckingham Palace, who were given no warning.''
Prime Minister John Major's office said he had no comment.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, the spiritual head of the Church of England, said the divorce ``is in the best interests of all concerned.''
Charles has said he has no intention of remarrying, although Camilla Parker Bowles, the woman with whom he had an affair, is recently divorced. As king, Charles would head the Church of England, which does not accept remarriage of divorced people.
Lord St. John Fawsley, a constitutional expert, said Charles' possible succession to the throne would not be affected by the divorce, because that right as the queen's eldest son rests on law, not marriage.
``Charles will advance to a much stronger position'' after the divorce, St. John Fawsley said.
David Starkey, a historian and expert on the monarchy, said, ``I don't think it's (the divorce) of any constitutional implication whatsoever.''
The British Broadcasting Corp. reported that the divorce will go through ``clean and tidy,'' and that Diana would get the financial settlement she has requested.
Although the decision has been made to divorce, ``nothing is going to happen immediately,'' said Anthony Julius, one of Diana's lawyers. He said lawyers for the two sides must still discuss the time frame.
Unless both Charles and Diana had mutually agreed to divorce, under the law, they would have been forced to remain married for 22 more months. At that point, five years after their official separation began, a divorce request by only one party would have been sufficient to end the marriage.
LENGTH: Medium: 94 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshots) Diana, Charles. color.by CNB