You have to have some background here - Night time soaps like "Dynasty", "Dallas", "Falcon Crest", and "Knot's Landing" were all the rage in the early 80s. All of them featured tons of backstabbing among the wealthy and usually one couple true blue to each other throughout the lying, cheating, and stealing of their friends and family. So the storybook romance, at least as it was presented in the early 80s, between the 19 year old beauty and the 33 year old somewhat horse faced heir to the British throne was eaten up by the American public.
I rather wish it had really been the way it is portrayed here, although the opening scene of a young prince Charles rather ogling Diana as a child is creepy by today's standards. Unfortunately, as everybody knows now, Diana Spencer was merely the virginal Protestant who fit the bill as future mother to the heirs of the British throne rather than Charles' true love. THAT role had been the one of his current wife, Camilla, since the 1970s. But Queen Elizabeth rejected Camilla as a future wife for Charles because Camilla was not a virgin. The ensuing car wreck of scandals that appeared after her son married Diana, caused by the mismatch in interests and lack of love, and lack of truth in advertising to Diana as to what she was getting into apparently taught the royals a lesson for the 21st century - Let the young people fall in love.
Back to the film. Diabetics really shouldn't watch, but the performances are actually very good and quite a time capsule of the innocent early 80s, even though "innocent" is a word that those of us who lived through the early 80s would never use to describe that time.
Also note appearances by classic film era greats Ray Milland and Olivia DeHavilland. Their only other appearance in a film together was in 1946's hard to find "The Well Groomed Bride".
I rather wish it had really been the way it is portrayed here, although the opening scene of a young prince Charles rather ogling Diana as a child is creepy by today's standards. Unfortunately, as everybody knows now, Diana Spencer was merely the virginal Protestant who fit the bill as future mother to the heirs of the British throne rather than Charles' true love. THAT role had been the one of his current wife, Camilla, since the 1970s. But Queen Elizabeth rejected Camilla as a future wife for Charles because Camilla was not a virgin. The ensuing car wreck of scandals that appeared after her son married Diana, caused by the mismatch in interests and lack of love, and lack of truth in advertising to Diana as to what she was getting into apparently taught the royals a lesson for the 21st century - Let the young people fall in love.
Back to the film. Diabetics really shouldn't watch, but the performances are actually very good and quite a time capsule of the innocent early 80s, even though "innocent" is a word that those of us who lived through the early 80s would never use to describe that time.
Also note appearances by classic film era greats Ray Milland and Olivia DeHavilland. Their only other appearance in a film together was in 1946's hard to find "The Well Groomed Bride".
