LONDON — Princess Diana ignored royal protocol against answering press criticism to assure the world she is "not about to become an alcoholic."
One of London's Sunday newspapers alleged recently that Diana, Britain's future queen, and her "best friend" and sister-in-law, Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, were upsetting the rest of the Royal Family by swigging too much champagne.
"Contrary to recent reports in some of our more sensational Sunday newspapers, I have not been drinking," Diana told a formal luncheon.
After a short pause and a ripple of laughter, she went on: "And I am not, I assure you, about to become an alcoholic."