Prince Charles offers divorce settlement
July 4, 1996
Web posted at: 11:20 p.m. EDT (0320 GMT)LONDON (CNN)--Prince Charles Thursday offered his estranged wife, Princess Diana, a settlement to end their 15-year marriage and an acrimonious battle that has plunged Britain's monarchy into crisis.
While Diana was attending a charity ball Thursday evening in London, Prince Charles' lawyers delivered the offer to Diana's legal team, a gesture that may end weeks of apparent deadlock over the divorce.
If Diana accepts the offer, widely reported to include a lump sum of about $32 million, the marriage could be declared over before the couple's 15th wedding anniversary on July 29.
The settlement is believed certain to offer guarantees of equal access to the couple's children, Prince Harry and Prince William, but Diana's future role and title are as yet undecided.
Two-year separation
Diana has been separated from the 47-year old prince for over two years while he has continued his controversial liaison with Camilla Parker-Bowles. Under English law, the separation is grounds for divorce, or decree nisi, which could be obtained before the month ends.
A decree absolute, which would end the marriage, would take a further six weeks.
Queen Elizabeth II urged the couple in December to make the final break.
If Diana decides to reject the settlement, Prince Charles would have to wait until the couple has been separated for five years to get a divorce without Diana's consent.
The bitter end to the couple's marriage gradually became a propaganda war between the two to win public sympathy.
Fodder for tabloids
Tabloid magazines had a field day prying into the lives of the royal family, while both parties appeared on television to make lurid confessions of infidelity, further damaging the popularity of the House of Windsor.
To avoid further embarrassments, the settlement will include a so-called "gagging clause" to keep both parties from writing tell-all books.
The divorce will not change Prince Charles' position as supreme governor of the Church of England, Britain's state religion, and it will not affect his right to the throne of England.
But there has still been no agreement on a role for Diana, whose place will always be important in the royal family because she is mother to a future king, Prince William.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Related stories:
- Papers say Di ready for divorce - January 4, 1996
- Princess Diana follows in Prince Charles' footsteps - November 19, 1995
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