Our anniversary meeting “80 years of Parisian, 80 headlines »
The very first issue of Le Parisien appeared on August 22, 1944, in the midst of the liberation of Paris. To celebrate this birthdaywe have selected 80 historical or emblematic headlines from their time. Sport, news items, space conquest, presidential elections, disappearance of stars… They tell the story of eight decades of current affairs. We have chosen to tell you behind the scenes. A series to discover until the end of the year.
On Wednesday July 29, 1981, the Prince of Wales married Lady Diana Spencer in London. For the occasion, Le Parisien Libération, “the leading Parisian morning daily”, devotes its front page to them, and celebrates their “Love Story”, in English in the title. Charles32, heir to the English throne who has been dragging his feet for years, holds in his arms his young 19-year-old fiancée in a lace shirt and frill, with a Hollywood star blow-dry. Everything is ready to tell, on four special pages, the story of their happiness.
Forty-three years later, the disgruntled will notice that the prince’s hand barely touches the shoulder of his bride, and that he towers over her with a good head, even though they were both the same height, 1.78 m. But on this great day, the entire planet, like our newspaper, is focused on the celebrations. And he does not deprive himself of any romantic impulse on the central pages.
An engagement that the whole kingdom hoped for
Nothing is missing, from their meeting on August 27, 1979, at Balmoral, the summer residence of Queen Elizabeth II, to their last interview as engaged couples, the day before the ceremony. Charles confides that he is “not sure if he can stop himself from crying on his wedding day” and reveals that they have received more than 100,000 letters and nearly 15,000 gifts from admirers of all ages. Diana, for her part, explains that she will go to bed early the day before the ceremony.
Special correspondent for a week in London, Catherine Tardrew certainly went to bed later, to detail, in six columns, what brought the future king together, “a formidable seducer whose numerous conquests give rise to more than one feeling of jealousy” , and this “very young girl, full of health and grace”: hilarious tap dancing lessons, a salmon fishing trip at dawn and without a chaperone, a candlelit dinner with raw champagne. Then an interview between Charles and Elizabeth II, his queen mother, a very discreet visit to the Court physician to confirm that Lady Di “was made to give her husband and sovereign robust and vigorous heirs”, and the announcement, finally, on February 24, an engagement that the whole kingdom was hoping for.
Since that date, romance has turned the heads of young English women, seduced by the look and modern “neglected scholar” haircut of the future Princess of Wales. What our great reporter notices, but leaves aside so as not to spoil the party, is that Diana, on her wedding day, had lost all her childish curves since her engagement. Fifteen kilos less, which had forced the designers, David and Elizabeth Emanuel, to take back her dress which had become too big. A fleeting shadow on the dream picture of these weddings which hid a marriage of convenience. Charles, in love with another woman, already married, and Diana, already consumed by loneliness.
“Just married!” » In the next day’s edition, Thursday July 30, Le Parisien brought out English on the front page to celebrate the princely couple. Diana, like an apparition, displays a radiant smile (and rolls her eyes to the sky) on the arm of her husband “for less than an hour”, who contemplates her with a tender air on page 13. Her ivory dress all in gathers , ruffles and crinoline, imagined by hitherto unknown couturiers, is completed with a diamond tiara and a majestic train eight meters long… A Sleeping Beauty dress, copied in less than 24 hours to respond to the wild demand: all English women wanted the same one to marry.
A communicative joy
Like in a fairy tale, their kiss on the balcony, a gesture of crazy spontaneity after all the protocol of the ceremony, had been a joyful surprise for the already won over spectators and the readers of Le Parisien who discovered it on the central page, all dedicated to photos of the event. In the crowd in front of Saint Paul’s Cathedral, our reporter recalls, there was, as is often the case in England, as much beer as there was enthusiasm.
Near her, an “upper middle class” family, middle class with a bourgeois tendency, had equipped itself with a portable television so as not to miss anything of the ceremony broadcast live on television, and followed by 900 million viewers who They didn’t have the chance to be there. As overwhelmed as they were delighted, they exclaimed each time the bride appeared: “How pretty she is.” » Their infectious joy did not take long to infect our special correspondent.
Alone the queenshe notes, “remained extremely serious”. Maybe she already knew that fairy tales don’t exist. And that Charles, despite his strong sense of duty, was not so ready to settle down. But no one, that day, could have suspected what Diana would become: the mother of two princes, William and Harry, but above all an international star, a modern icon with a tragic destiny. The heroine of a century where princesses divorce, and take their revenge with class, and leave an unforgettable memory in the hearts of their fans. No offense to the man who, four decades later, is finally king. In the meantime, other weddings of royal couples have rocked our headlines.
Almost thirty years after Diana, on April 29, 2011, Kate was the queen of the day. Le Parisien – Today in France once again delights in the fairy tale and this time diverts a cult British series, “Amically yours”, to title “Amorously yours”. The brides are “so beautiful, so modern”. No doubt, it’s the new marriage of the century.
Catherine Tardrew is once again our special correspondent in London. She points out “the shadow of Diana” on this union by recalling that the engagement ring, a sapphire surrounded by 14 diamonds, is the one that Charles had given to Lady Spencer. The newspapers are having a field day comparing the two young women.
Happy news is not that frequent, and Le Parisien does not hesitate to pull out all the stops to celebrate the “chic and shocking”, even “revolutionary” union of Harry and Meghan, on 19 May 2018. And it’s mind-blowing.
“Gospels, fiery sermons, Hollywood stars… The nuptials of Prince Harry and former American actress Meghan Markle have shaken up old habits”, summarizes our newspaper, for which these two “do nothing like the others”. Nothing, except the kiss of the newlyweds which will appear on the front page of Le Parisien the next day. Like Charles and Diana, like Kate and William.