English Original
Although neither of them remembered the occasion, Diana first met her future husband when she was just a baby. It happened during the winter of 1961, when twelve-year-old Charles, Prince of Wales, was visiting his mother's Sandringham retreat. At the time, Prince Charles barely glanced at the tiny baby sleeping in her cot. After all, how could a twelve-year-old boy be interested in babies? But the Prince would eventually take a very keen interest in this particular baby — it would just take some time.
In fact, it would be sixteen years before Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer met in the middle of a farmer's field during a shooting party in November 1977. It was a cold, rainy, bleak afternoon when sixteen-year-old Diana, dressed in a borrowed parka that was too large for her, boots, and blue jeans, crossed the field to meet the heir to the British throne. It was almost twilight when the two came face to face near Nobottle Woods.
"What a sad man," Diana thought when she first saw him. The future Princess was intrigued to finally meet the most eligible bachelor in England, though she was not impressed with his five-foot-ten-inch height, thinking to herself that she would tower over him in high heels. But Diana would later say that she admired his beautiful blue eyes.
The Prince later remarked that he thought Diana was "a very jolly and attractive" girl, "full of fun," though Diana herself believed that "he barely noticed me at all."
Diana first came to the attention of the royal family when she acted as a bridesmaid for her sister Jane's wedding that April. It was the first major social occasion that Diana attended as a young woman. Many of the royals were surprised at how beautiful and mature the once-gawky girl had become. Even the Queen Mother, Prince Charles's grandmother, noticed Diana's beauty, grace, and charm. She complimented the Earl on the fine job he had done in bringing Diana up.
A short time later, Prince Charles sent his valet to hand-deliver a formal invitation for Diana to accompany him that very evening to the opera and a late-night dinner at the palace. Though she was flustered, and the invitation came at such short notice, Diana accepted. The evening was a success, and an invitation to a party on the royal yacht came soon after.
Although she was intimidated by the crowd at Balmoral, Diana was wise enough not to stay in the castle itself. She asked for, and was granted, an invitation to stay with her sister Jane and her young husband at their cottage on the Balmoral estate. The Prince visited Diana there every day, offering to escort her to a barbecue, or extending an invitation for a long walk in the woods.
When Charles went to Switzerland for a ski vacation, Diana missed him terribly. He called her after a day or two, and told Diana he had something important to ask her. He arrived home on February 3, 1981. Three days later, he arranged to see Diana at Windsor Castle. Late that evening, while Prince Charles was showing Diana the nursery, he asked her to marry him.
To his surprise, Diana treated his proposal as a joke. She actually giggled. But soon she could see that Prince Charles was serious. Despite an insistent voice inside her head that told her she would never be Queen, she accepted his proposal.
Diana told Prince Charles over and over that she loved him.
"Whatever love means," was his reply.
中文翻译
尽管两人都不记得那次会面，但戴安娜第一次见到她未来的丈夫时，还是个婴儿。那是在1961年的冬天，当时12岁的威尔士亲王查尔斯正在他母亲的桑德灵厄姆庄园度假。那时，查尔斯王子几乎没有看一眼睡在婴儿床里的小宝宝。毕竟，一个12岁的男孩怎么会对婴儿感兴趣呢？但王子最终会对这个特别的婴儿产生浓厚的兴趣——只是需要一些时间。
事实上，直到十六年后的1977年11月，在一次射击派对上，查尔斯王子和戴安娜·斯宾塞女士才在一片农田中央相遇。那是一个寒冷、阴雨、萧瑟的下午，16岁的戴安娜穿着一件借来的、对她来说太大的派克大衣，脚蹬靴子，身着蓝色牛仔裤，穿过田野去见英国王位的继承人。当两人在诺博特尔树林附近面对面时，天色已近黄昏。
“多么忧伤的男人，”戴安娜第一次见到他时想。这位未来的王妃终于见到了英国最抢手的单身汉，感到很好奇，尽管她对他五英尺十英寸（约1.78米）的身高并不感冒，心想自己穿上高跟鞋会比他高出一截。但戴安娜后来会说，她欣赏他漂亮的蓝眼睛。
王子后来评论说，他认为戴安娜是“一个非常快乐、有吸引力的”女孩，“充满乐趣”，尽管戴安娜自己认为“他几乎没注意到我”。
戴安娜第一次引起王室注意是在那年四月，她为她姐姐简的婚礼担任伴娘。那是戴安娜作为年轻女性参加的第一次重要社交场合。许多王室成员惊讶地发现，曾经那个笨拙的女孩变得如此美丽和成熟。就连查尔斯王子的祖母，王太后，也注意到了戴安娜的美丽、优雅和魅力。她称赞伯爵把戴安娜抚养得很好。
不久之后，查尔斯王子派他的贴身男仆亲手递送了一份正式邀请函，邀请戴安娜当晚陪同他去看歌剧，并在宫殿享用深夜晚餐。尽管她感到慌张，而且邀请来得如此仓促，戴安娜还是接受了。当晚很成功，不久之后又收到了参加皇家游艇派对的邀请。
尽管被巴尔莫勒尔堡的人群吓到，戴安娜很明智地没有住在城堡里。她请求并被允许邀请，与她的姐姐简和姐夫一起住在巴尔莫勒尔庄园的小屋里。王子每天都去那里看望戴安娜，提议带她去烧烤，或者邀请她在树林里长时间散步。
当查尔斯去瑞士滑雪度假时，戴安娜非常想念他。一两天后他打来电话，告诉戴安娜有重要的事情要问她。他于1981年2月3日回到家。三天后，他安排在温莎城堡与戴安娜见面。那天深夜，当查尔斯王子带戴安娜参观育儿室时，他向她求婚了。
令他惊讶的是，戴安娜把他的求婚当成了一个玩笑。她竟然咯咯地笑了。但很快她就看出查尔斯王子是认真的。尽管她脑海中有一个固执的声音告诉她，她永远不会成为王后，她还是接受了他的求婚。
戴安娜一遍又一遍地告诉查尔斯王子她爱他。
“爱为何物，”他回答道。