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New Statesman
3 days ago
- Politics
- New Statesman
Princess Diana's kinder Britain
Edward White has pulled off an unusual experiment in his biography of Diana, Princess of Wales – the life of one of the most famous women in history captured entirely in long shot. There are times when his resourceful use of contemporary Everyman diaries and interviews with insightful nobodies provides valuable historical insights, and others when it's a bit like reading a profile of Lawrence of Arabia from the point of view of the sand. Only occasionally does the real Diana, the practised superstar I lunched with in New York six weeks before she died, break out of the suffocation of mass perceptions and cultural analysis. One such moment is a killingly self-revealing story I didn't know (and as a Diana biographer myself it always quickens my pulse to find a nugget that escaped me). According to Alastair Campbell, in 1995 Diana advised an as-yet unelected Tony Blair 'to touch people in pictures' and be sure to be photographed with 'down and outs'. 'Children with no hair,' she told Blair coolly, 'were especially effective in curating a reputation for compassion.' A mask-off moment hard to forget. The future PM was, White tells us, 'rapt by her shrewdness and savvy'. But not enough to want to give her the formal ambassadorial role she craved when he got into Downing Street. By then, tabloid coverage of her multiple affairs and her association with the son of the tawdry Mohamed Al-Fayed, who had been caught up in an MP bribery scandal, were too much of a political risk. However, when I met with her in New York in June 1997, the princess clearly was still hankering to be the British government's freelance Queen of Hearts. Her huge, limpid blue eyes filled with artful sincerity when she told me across the lunch that she felt she could be 'an enormous help' to bringing peace to Northern Ireland. Was she delusional? It's not surprising that by the end of her life, Diana had become high on her own supply. But in her presence, it was impossible not to be seduced. No photographs do justice to the combination of that blonde radiance and conferred charisma. In her stockinged feet Diana was five foot 11 inches, and when she crossed the Four Seasons restaurant to our table wearing three-inch Manolo heels and a peppermint green Saint Laurent suit, with a short skirt that gave full rein to her limitless legs, she electrified a dining room used to the appearance of high-wattage celebrities. White's book dives deeply into how Diana was mythologised by the media and the British people and, as her marital unhappiness seeped out and exploded, became a proxy for random sublimated pain that in turn confirmed her own sense of magical power. A sex worker at the time, whose observations White comes across in an oral history of prostitution project, considered Diana's life filled with parallels to her own. 'She had the same sort of shite [as me] when she was a kid. You know, didn't do particularly well at school… She said 'up yours' to so much hierarchy'. So muses the sex worker about a woman who was born into one of Britain's oldest aristocratic families and set her cap at an early age to marrying the future king. It's one of the most misunderstood aspects of Diana's story – especially during the Megxit coverage – that Diana, like Harry and Meghan, longed to escape from the cage of monarchy. But Diana's problem was not with being royal. She knew she was brilliant at that. (In her divorce demands, continuing to live at Kensington Palace was a non-negotiable.) It was being married to a man who was in love with someone else and was hopelessly jealous of his wife's popularity. Even after the royal divorce was final and she was supposedly thrilled to be free, Diana told me how much she regretted losing Charles, and wistfully spoke of how they could have been 'such a great team'. I tend to agree – had she married him at 30, rather than at 20. Dianaworld needs more helpings of such emotional content, but White's surround-sound approach amplifies how Diana was both shaped by the aristocratic culture of the Britain she was born into and how much she had changed that culture by the time she died. I was fascinated, for instance, by his parsing of Diana's early childhood trauma due to her parents' divorce. An underlying theme of his book is the abiding question of how external contemporary events unwittingly affect the behaviour of, or are absorbed by, the people who live through them. In the case of Diana's mother, Frances, her decision to leave Earl Spencer for the wallpaper heir Peter Shand Kydd occurred in 1967, when Diana was six, around the same time as British divorce numbers were surging. There was an explosive BBC documentary titled Whicker's World: The Stresses of Divorce: one episode features the celebrity model Sandra Paul, who bolted on her aristocratic husband, Robin Douglas-Home, a cousin of Diana's father. (It's incredible television even today, well worth the bad-quality YouTube rendering.) Alan Whicker's interviews with the couple are more intimate and fascinatingly invasive than anything in modern confessional talk shows or reality TV, mostly because it's rare to see candour like this expressed in such cut-glass accents. The distressed, ethereal beauty Sandra explains how she could no longer tolerate Robin's selfishness and Robin, with his quivering cigarette and clipped Noël Coward delivery, tells us he how he just cannot, cannot live with this humiliation and the 'leering little clerks in solicitors' offices' who arranged his divorce. 'I had to be ruthless in order to be free,' Sandra tells Whicker. 'It's the kind of statement,' says White, that, 'could have come from Diana's lips 30 years later.' In a book in which it's mostly hard to discern what the author really thinks of his subject, it's clear that White is unimpressed by many of the hyperbolic myths around Diana. He deflates the now-accepted view that she transformed attitudes to Aids and ushered in a new era of British emotionalism. There is no doubt that the princess's famous visit to patients in the Aids ward of the Middlesex Hospital in 1987 was the hand shake (without gloves) that went round the globe. But he considers Harry's declaration – and that of many others – that his mother 'changed the world' with her embrace of Aids patients is predictably overwrought. He suggests it's more likely that a long-running Aids storyline about the character Mark Fowler on the massively popular TV soap EastEnders was far more influential in changing cultural attitudes. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe Similarly, Diana's public admission to suffering from eating disorders was not as pioneering in White's telling as it seems in sainted myth. Revelation of her bulimia in Andrew Morton's 1992 bombshell book came over a decade after Susie Orbach's bestselling Fat Is a Feminist Issue, which explored the often-concealed dysfunctional relationship women have with food and body image, and led to a wave of obsessive women's magazine coverage of the topic. Where we must credit Diana is her impeccable flair for capturing the zeitgeist, an ability to identify all the right things to care about and talk about at just the right moment which burned her into the nation's psyche. White may be correct that EastEnders played a more significant role in easing British attitudes to Aids, but Diana's global fame and royal mystique elevated its acceptance, and even made it into a fashionable fundraising cause. Charles and Diana on their honeymoon, in the grounds of Balmoral Castle, August 1981. Photo by Central Press/White doesn't have a fully baked new theory about the explosive grief of Diana Week, those seven days of histrionic mourning that rocked the streets of London in the wake of the princess's death. Some of the Mass Observation diary entries and interviews he turned up likened the Dianaists of 1997 to 'spellbound Nazis in 1930s Berlin'. Both mourners and 'those who felt differently', White observes, 'frequently framed their criticism of the other lot as the appearance of something not truly British. For decades, the Queen's aloofness, inscrutability and restraint had been hailed as the epitome of a distinctively British attitude to life. Now those same qualities were reviled as horribly out of touch with modern Britain.' At a minimum, Diana Week was the moment when a national dam broke and repudiated the harsh-faced politics of the Thatcher era and the Major government still attempting to hang on to them. The collective emotion was in perfect sync – as, even in death, Diana always was – with the coming of New Labour and Tony Blair who used the word 'compassion' seven times at the Labour Party conference a month after the funeral. White suggests the notion that the outpouring presaged the inklings of a rise in populism that 'had usually existed only on the fringe'. Like Boris Johnson, who at the time mocked the Diana frenzy as 'a Latin American carnival of grief', and Donald Trump, whose motto was always 'I alone can fix [the country]', Diana 'cast herself as a people's tribune who refused to be silenced by a bullying elitist establishment, just as those two men do'. Diana as a harbinger of Brexit? The irony of that thought is that the chaos of the post-referendum years has only strengthened a monarchy beloved more for its sangfroid than its sentiment. If Prince Harry is Diana's emotional heir, his efforts to reproduce her confessional connection to the British people have been rejected in favour of the stoic elder brother and his wife, who give the least away. One of Diana's greatest gifts, White suggests, was 'creating an atmosphere of intimacy where none existed'. And yet her personification of a kinder, more caring world blazes still. Tina Brown is the former editor of Tatler, Vanity Fair and the New Yorker and the author of 'The Diana Chronicles'. Her weekly newsletter Fresh Hell is on Substack Dianaworld: An Obsession Edward White Allen Lane, 400pp, £25 Purchasing a book may earn the NS a commission from who support independent bookshops [See also: Jarvis Cocker at 61: Is this hardcore?] Related
Time of India
14-06-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
Unrealistic to expect victories without scoring goals: Kalyan Chaubey
Indian Football players (@IndianFootball via PTI Photo) New Delhi: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) is expected to start the hunt for a new coach once its technical committee and executive committee approve mutual termination of Manolo Marquez's contract at its meeting on June 29. Manolo, who took over as full-time coach only on June 1 after a dual role shared with FC Goa, has informed the federation that he does not want to continue with national team duties. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! According to sources, the contract can be terminated only if both parties agree. 'We have an executive committee meeting on June 29, where we will take a call (on Manolo's future),' AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey told reporters in the Capital on Friday. Yashasvi Jaiswal's Coach on England Prep, Opening Partner, & Playing Under Gill 'Manolo Marquez is one of the longest serving foreign coaches in Indian football. Over the years, he has managed multiple clubs and won trophies, including ISL trophy and Super Cup. Compared to others, his understanding of Indian football, including strengths, weakness of Indians, as well as opportunities and challenges within the Indian ecosystem, is better.' Under Manolo, India have won just once — against lowly Maldives at home — in eight matches but even more worryingly, failed to score in the last three matches. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like No dark spots, 10 years younger! Just take this from Guardian URUHIME MOMOKO Learn More Undo This includes a home draw against Bangladesh and away defeats to Thailand and Hong Kong. Goalscoring has been a consistent problem and reflects in the mere seven goals that the team has scored in 15 matches since Jan 2024. India have also not won a competitive game since Nov 2023. Quiz: Who's that IPL player? 'It is unrealistic to expect wins without scoring goals. There has been a steady decline in goals being scored from 1.64 (in 2015) to 0.75 currently. While we appreciate Sunil Chhetri's efforts at 40, as a nation we also need to ensure there was supply of more forwards in a systematic manner. 'It's difficult for wa player who has played the supporting role in the club for 11 months, to shift to the No. 9 role (in international matches). We have not had positive strikers in the last 10 years,' said Chaubey. Only Chhetri, India's highest goalscorer, has been a constant feature in the starting lineups of the last four national team coaches: Bob Houghton, Stephen Constantine, Igor Stimac and Manolo Marquez. The AIFF is hoping it can solve the striking woes and overcome India's wretched run of form, with the inclusion of OCI players. Chaubey said his office has contacted 33 footballers from across the world, some of whom already have the Overseas Citizen of India card, while others are being assisted by the federation. 'Like all sports federations (in India), AIFF is committed to aligning with the laws of the land. Under FIFA's framework and regulations, we are also actively exploring the possibility of securing approval for the inclusion of OCI players in the national team,' said Chaubey.
Time of India
13-06-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
Unrealistic to expect wins without scoring goals, says AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey
Manolo Marquez (left) took over as full-time coach only on June 1 after a dual role shared with FC Goa, has informed the AIFF that he does not want to continue The All India Football Federation (AIFF) is expected to start the hunt for a new coach once its Technical Committee and Executive Committee approves mutual termination of Manolo Marquez's contract at its meeting on June 29. Manolo, who took over as full-time coach only on June 1 after a dual role shared with FC Goa, has informed the federation that he does not want to continue with national team duties. According to sources, the contract can be terminated only if both parties agree. 'We have an Executive Committee meeting on June 29, where we will take a call (on Manolo's future),' AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey told reporters in the Capital on Friday. 'Manolo Marquez is one of the longest serving foreign coaches in Indian football. Over the years, he has managed multiple clubs and won trophies, including ISL trophy and Super Cup. Compared to others, his understanding of Indian football, including strengths, weakness of Indians, as well as opportunities and challenges within the Indian ecosystem is better. ' Under Manolo, India have won just once – against lowly Maldives at home – in eight matches but even more worryingly, failed to score in the last three matches. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like เทรดทองCFDsกับโบรกเกอร์ที่เชื่อถือได้| เปิดบัญชีวันนี้ IC Markets สมัคร Undo This includes a home draw against Bangladesh and away defeats to Thailand and Hong Kong. Goal-scoring has been a consistent problem and reflects in the mere seven goals that the team has scored in 15 matches since January 2024. India have also not won a competitive game since November 2023. 'It is unrealistic to expect wins without scoring goals. There has been a steady decline in goals being scored from 1.64 (in 2015) to 0.75 currently. While we appreciate Sunil Chhetri's efforts at 40, as a nation, we also need to ensure there's supply of more forwards in a systematic manner. It's difficult for a player who has played the supporting role in the club for 11 months, to shift to the number nine role (for international matches). We don't have positive strikers in the last 10 years,' said Chaubey. Only Chhetri, India's highest goalscorer, has been a constant feature in the starting lineups of the last four national team coaches: Bob Houghton, Stephen Constantine, Igor Stimac and Manolo Marquez. The AIFF is hoping it can solve the striking woes and overcome India's wretched run of form, with the inclusion of OCI players. Chaubey said his office has contacted 33 footballers from across the world, some of whom already have the Overseas Citizen of India card, while others are being assisted by the federation. 'Several countries ranked below India in FIFA ranking have adopted the policy of allowing naturalised players,' said Chaubey. 'This strategic move has contributed to their positive performances and better global standing. AIFF has proactively initiated communication with relevant departments regarding inclusion of OCI players. The initial response has been encouraging but we are fully aware that such changes do not happen overnight. 'Like all sports federations (in India), AIFF is committed to aligning with the laws of the land. Under FIFA's framework and regulations, we are also actively exploring the possibility of securing approval for the inclusion of OCI players.' Follow more information on Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad here . Get real-time live updates on rescue operations and check full list of passengers onboard AI 171 .
Time of India
12-06-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers 2027: Manolo Marquez set to exit as India coach after Hong Kong defeat
Manolo Marquez Panaji: India coach Manolo Marquez cut a forlorn figure after the solitary goal loss against Hong Kong, understandable for a man who savoured just one win from his eight games in charge of the national team. The first six games were in his dual role as coach of club and country but worryingly for the Spaniard, both his games as full-time coach of the national team ended in defeats. If the 0-2 loss against an under-strength Thailand in an international friendly was brushed aside with the focus being on the AFC Asian Cup 2027 final-round qualifiers, the defeat against Hong Kong left everyone deflated. 'The dressing room is like a funeral, practically,' Manolo said after the game at the Kai Tak Stadium on Tuesday. 'We are not very happy. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! We are sad. But I still think that India has possibilities to qualify.' India are at the bottom of the four-team group with just a point from the first two games, starting with a draw against Bangladesh. Singapore and Hong Kong are on top with four points. Only the group winners make it to Saudi Arabia in 2027. Mathematically, India can finish on top, but even if it happens, Manolo won't be around to savour the achievement as the Spanish coach is expected to part ways with the All India Football Federation (AIFF) as soon as later this month. 'From June 1, Manolo became a full-time national team coach, and he cannot walk out of his two-year contract on his own,' a senior official told TOI on Wednesday, 'Both parties must agree on termination. Given the situation at the moment, with the chief coach hesitant to continue and the results not entirely convincing, the mutual parting of ways is a mere formality.' 'Nitish Kumar is a guy who can bowl that magic ball': India bowling coach Morne Morkel A formal parting of ways is expected to take place when the technical committee of the AIFF and its executive committee holds separate meetings on June 29. Manolo will be disappointed with the unexpectedly early end to his stint as national coach. Having managed teams at every level, including grassroots, youth, third division, second division, women's football, and the LaLiga with Las Palmas in 2017, the national team job was the only one missing for the Spaniard. He was brought on board after agreeing to do a dual job with FC Goa and India, but the results have been far from satisfactory. 'I cannot say anything negative about the players. The attitude was there, we had a plan too. In some moments, I felt we could have played better with the ball and be brave. But this is about the situation that the team is not winning, and the players are a little nervous,' said Manolo. Quiz: Who's that IPL player? It was Manolo who flew down to Bengaluru from Goa to convince Sunil Chhetri to come out of international retirement, seeing him as a short-term solution, given that the other leading scorers among domestic players was an uncapped winger and a left-back. Chhetri agreed, scored once against Maldives -- Manolo's only win as national team coach -- but hardly made an impression in the subsequent games. Against Hong Kong, India's highest international goal-scorer didn't even make it to the starting XI. When the next round of Asian Cup qualifiers are played against group leaders Singapore, away (Oct 9) and home (Oct 14), AIFF would have found a replacement for Manolo as national coach. Replacing Chhetri won't be as straightforward, unless the 40-year-old forward decides it's time for India to start afresh. Maybe his starting on the bench on Tuesday was a pointer to how things might shape out in the coming months.
Time of India
11-06-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
Likely Manolo Marquez exit points to national team shake-up
Action from the Hong Kong, India AFC Asian Cup qualifier on Tuesday. India lost 1-0. (AIFF) Panaji: India coach Manolo Marquez cut a forlorn figure after the solitary goal loss against Hong Kong, understandable for a man who savoured just one win from his eight games in-charge of the national team. The first six games were in his dual role as coach of club and country but worryingly for the Spaniard, both his games as full-time coach of the national team ended in defeats. If the 2-0 loss against an under-strength Thailand in an international friendly was brushed aside with the focus being on the AFC Asian Cup 2027 final round qualifiers, the defeat against Hong Kong left everyone deflated. 'The dressing room is like a funeral, practically,' Manolo said after the game at the Kai Tak Stadium on Tuesday. 'We are not very happy. We are sad. But I still think that India has possibilities to qualify.' India are at the bottom of the four-team group with just a point from the first two games which started with a draw against Bangladesh. Singapore and Hong Kong are on top with four points. Only the group winners make it to Saudi Arabia in 2027. Mathematically, India can finish on top, but even if it happens, Manolo won't be around to savour the achievement as the Spanish coach is expected to part ways with the All India Football Federation (AIFF) later this month. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Transform Your Child's Confidence with Our Public Speaking Program Planet Spark Book Now Undo 'From June 1, Manolo became a full-time national team coach, and he cannot walk out of his two-year contract on his own,' a senior official told TOI on Wednesday, 'Both parties must agree on termination. Given the situation at the moment, with the chief coach hesitant to continue and the results not entirely convincing, the mutual parting of ways is a mere formality.' A formal parting of ways is expected to take place when the technical committee of the AIFF and its executive committee holds separate meetings on June 29. Manolo Marquez and Sunil Chhetri during a training session in Kolkata in May 2025. (PTI) Manolo will be disappointed with the unexpectedly early end to his stint as national coach. Having managed teams at every level, including grassroots, youth, third division, second division, women's football, and the LaLiga with Las Palmas in 2017, the national team job was the only one missing for the Spaniard. He was brought on board after agreeing to do a dual job with FC Goa and India, but the results have been far from satisfactory. 'I cannot say anything negative about the players. The attitude was there, we had a plan too. In some moments, I felt we could have played better with the ball and be brave. But this is about the situation that the team is not winning, and the players are a little nervous,' said Manolo. It was Manolo who flew down to Bengaluru from Goa to convince Sunil Chhetri to come out of international retirement, seeing him as a short-term solution, given that the other leading scorers among domestic players was an uncapped winger and a left-back. Chhetri agreed, scored once against Maldives -- Manolo's only win as national team coach -- but hardly made an impression in the subsequent games. Against Hong Kong, India's highest international goal-scorer didn't even make it to the starting XI. When the next round of Asian Cup qualifiers are played against group leaders Singapore, away (Oct 9) and home (Oct 14), AIFF would have found a replacement for Manolo as national coach. Replacing Chhetri won't be as straightforward, unless the 40-year-old forward decides it's time for India to start afresh. Maybe his starting on the bench on Tuesday was a pointer to how things might shape out in the coming months.
