Prince William Given Royal Slap by Princess Diana

A barefooted Princess Diana and an aproned Prince Charles didn’t fare too well in the parents’ race at their sons’ school, but it was the spanking that Di gave Prince William that made the news.

Diana shed her shoes before running across the turf in red culottes and a striped sweater, placing third or fourth in the mothers’ race Wednesday, depending on who was doing the judging.

Charles was well back in the field of fathers who donned aprons for a race.

The day finished badly for William, 7, despite his team’s triumph in a tug-of-war. Diana spanked him after he defied her orders by dashing off to play with his pals at the end of his school sports day.

The Sun newspaper ran a picture of the spanking under a headline that declared “Wallop.” Another tabloid, the Daily Mirror, heralded it as the “slap that could change the world,” saying too many parents have been brainwashed into thinking that any kind of punishment is wrong. “But there is a great difference between a slap from a loving parent, like Princess Diana, and corporal punishment,” the newspaper said.