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Charles, Diana agree to divorce by August 28
July 12, 1996
Web posted at: 12:00 p.m. EDT (1600 GMT) LONDON (CNN) -- The last chapter of the storybook marriage of Britain's Charles and Diana has been written by lawyers. It does not include the words "happily ever after."
The Prince and Princess announced Friday that they have agreed on a swift divorce, after three and a half years of separation, public sniping and a decade or more of misery.
Diana agreed to relinquish the title of "her royal highness," to be known in future as Diana, Princess of Wales. Theoretically, she would be obliged to curtsy to her sons -- Prince William, 14, and Prince Harry, 11 -- who both carry the HRH title.
She will retain her apartments at Kensington Palace, a Buckingham Palace spokesman said.
Their financial agreement was not announced but published reports recently had suggested that Charles had offered a lump sum of at least 10 million pounds ($15 million) plus a generous annual allowance.
Diana, 35, relinquishes any claim to one day being queen of England. But she will still be a wealthy princess living in a palace, free to pursue her dream of being "a queen in people's hearts."
The split, which their lawyers said would be final August 28, brings an end to a soap opera of tears, betrayal, bulimia and emotional distress.
Charles, 47, the heir to Queen Elizabeth II, could become the first divorced English king since George I, who reigned from 1714 to 1727.
He's also free, if he wishes, to marry Camilla Parker Bowles, the old flame that Diana despised. Mrs. Parker Bowles returned to the marriage market in March 1995 when she and her husband divorced.
Diana, who has spoken of the trauma of her own parents' divorce, had protested that she did not want the marriage to end.
The announcement came just ahead of the couple's 15th wedding anniversary on July 29.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Related stories:
Prince Charles offers divorce settlement- July 4, 1996 Papers say Di ready for divorce- January 4, 1996 Related sites:
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