In Rare Step, Diana Denies Rift With In-Laws

The Princess of Wales took the unprecedented step Friday of denying “untrue and hurtful” allegations in the British press about her relationship with Queen Elizabeth II and the queen’s husband, the Duke of Edinburgh.

Princess Diana returned to London on Friday after an official trip with her husband, Prince Charles, to South Korea. The tour was widely reported with pictures and stories calling attention to the royal couple’s “unhappy” marriage.

But some stories--apparently related to a new chapter in Andrew Morton’s controversial biography of the princess--indicated that the queen insisted that a reluctant Diana make the official Asia trip. Other stories reported that Diana was furious because of a nasty letter sent to her by her father-in-law, Prince Philip, complaining about her authorizing her friends to leak stories to Morton critical of the Royal Family.

In the short statement issued by Buckingham Palace at the princess’ request, Diana condemned as “misleading” the newspaper reports that there has been friction between her and her in-laws.

“The Princess of Wales would like to single out from the recent wave of misleading reports about the Royal Family assertions in newspapers this week directed specifically against the queen and the Duke of Edinburgh,” the statement said. “The suggestion that they have been anything other than sympathetic and supportive is untrue and particularly hurtful.”

Prince Charles, who remained behind in Asia to visit Hong Kong, was said by palace sources to have “warmly endorsed” the announcement.

The South Korean tour has been portrayed in the popular press as a public relations disaster; pictures that have been printed have emphasized the royal couple’s failure to even acknowledge each other’s presence during various ceremonies. About 50 British journalists who cover the palace scrutinized the couple on 12 public occasions in four days in South Korea and reported that they barely exchanged a word, touch or glance.

On Friday night in London, royal watchers noted that the rare palace announcement mentioned only Princess Diana and her royal in-laws but it did not seek to counter widespread reports that the couple’s marriage is in deep trouble.