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2020’s Big Q: Charles or Diana?
Stand-up comedians and supporters Kaneez Surka and Kajol Srinivasan present their closing arguments
“Charles wanted a trophy wife. But he got a personality.”
By Kaneez Surka
I binge-watched season four of The Crown a week after it dropped, googling the events as I watched, even though we have all followed Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s lives, and realised that both of them are just human beings who did good things and bad. The romantic in me, however, is happy that Charles and Camilla are finally together.
Charles was forced into a marriage because he couldn’t do what his grandfather’s brother, Edward III, had done – abdicate to be with someone he really loved. Charles wanted both the title and love – and there’s nothing wrong with that. The title comes with responsibilities, after all. But he didn’t have the confidence and conviction of a king who could bring change. Instead, he followed tradition at a time when women around the world were becoming more empowered.
And so, he didn’t expect someone like Diana in his life, an empowered woman. Charles took for granted rules that his grandfather and father lived by when it came to extramarital affairs. He expected Diana to be a quiet trophy on his arm, which she wasn’t – an important lesson to men, even today. Diana turned out to have a personality!
Camilla was Charles’ go-to person, even when it wasn’t sexual. She ‘got’ him and allowed him to shine. Some men have hurt egos when women shine. Diana shone.
Kaneez Surka is a stand-up comedian and actor.
“As an Indian, I identify with Charles”
By Kajol Srinivasan
While Princess Diana was a victim of the toll extracted by the huge golden cage that is the British monarchy, so was Prince Charles. He lived his whole life in the shadow of a domineering parent, and as an Indian, I really identify with that! If I wasn’t allowed to marry the person I loved, no one, however gorgeous or nice, could compensate. And Diana was 19 to his 32 – perhaps she was not suited to understanding his complexities. At 19, I wouldn’t have either.
If I were Charles, I would go mad while I waited for the job that I was born for to come my way. Every decision would be made for me, some in the full knowledge that it would make me miserable. Yet, I would have to appear calm and composed. And while Charles shared Diana’s misery, let’s face it: she was just so much easier to like.
To those who say he doesn’t seem fit to be king, the king of England is not required to be much more than a figurehead. Charles was born and bred for that job.
It must have been hell to live in proximity with Camilla, but not truly share lives. I’m not advocating infidelity, but in a world with such restrictions as the monarchy, I’d have probably done the same. I think Camilla was his only friend.
Kajol Srinivasan is a stand-up comedian and a movie buff.
From HT Brunch, December 27, 2020
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