Princess Diana news: Close friend reveals Diana’s remarkable change after divorce | Royal | News (Details)

The Princess of Wales, who divorced from the Prince of Wales in 1996, went through a remarkable transformation that freed her from years of sorrow, according to her close friend and dance maestro Mr Deane.

The dance expert and then director of the English National Ballet revealed he had dinner with a “reborn” Diana on the very day she finalised the divorce with Prince Charles.

After the Princess went to watch his performance of the Swan Lake at the Royal Albert Hall, he recounted: “On the day her divorce was made official, Diana visited one of our shows, which really shows the connection she felt to our art and how it calmed her.

“After the performance we dined, like always. 

“She appeared strong, never complained. No more drama.

“She had lost the burden that weighed her down and a new Diana was born, free of pain and sorrow.

“It was clear all this had made her stronger.

“She now had a future. Or so she thought.”

Mr Deane said Diana and him bonded over their shared love for ballet. 

The dance maestro revealed Diana learnt to find strength in ballet to get through what he called an “hellish nightmare”.

He says: “She should have never married Charles.

“That marriage was hellish. It was one dramatic moment after the other.

“It was just a hurricane of grief because Diana realised that the real love of her husband’s life was Camilla.

“She said, ‘I cried all through my honeymoon. I was so tired because of all the bad things around me.’ 

“During that time full of depressions and tears she got thin. They could see her bones.

“The doctors just gave her pills instead of really taking care of her.

“All everyone wanted was a quick fix.

“It was Diana herself who took charge of her recovery and confronted Camilla.

“Camilla said something like, ‘What are you so worried about? Everyone adores you, you’re on a ­pedestal, you’ve got everything you want.’

“To which Diana said, ‘Yes, but you’ve got my husband.’ 

“Soon after that they divorced and for her that was such a release.”

Leaving her royal husband “really changed” the princess, Mr Deane continued.

According to him, Diana evolved from a “mousy little girl” into a “swan of confidence” in just a few years.

He revealed: “Her divorce really changed her. She became more confident.

“A true change from the woman I got to know six years before, right after her engagement to Charles. 

“We met after a performance at the Royal Opera House.

“She was so quiet, a mousy little girl excruciatingly shy and very insecure.

“I got to know a very different Diana when she became a patron of my English National Ballet.

“We shared the same sense of humour and could really make each other laugh.

“She trusted me and could be herself with us. 

“To us, the team, the dancers she wasn’t a princess, she was just Diana.

“She didn’t have an attitude, she didn’t do protocol.

“She was open, kind and friendly to everyone.

“She also loved to come to our rehearsals and I never knew her calmer than when she immersed into our world.

“The older she got the less of a quiet insecure little duck she became.

“No, she grew into a swan with confidence and I admired her for that, having that strength and courage when her life was so tough at that time.” 

During the year that followed the divorce, Diana found new life in her charity work.

Mr Deane said: “She was very positive about the rest of her life.

“She knew what her mission was – doing charity work and helping bring peace.

The princess promised to meet Mr Deane again after spending the summer in France with Dodi, son of Egyptian tycoon Mohamed Al-Fayed.

But she died on August 31 1997, in a tragic car crash that also claimed the lives of Dodi and the car’s driver Henri Paul.

Mr Deane recalled hearing the Princess telling him: “I’ll see you in September at your next premiere.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

He added: “Those words never stop haunting me.”