LONDON, Mar £ : Prince Charles' divorce from Princess Diana is getting off to a bad start, reports AP.
The first round of talks ended in a public dispute, and now her former lover is reportedly offering to tell all about tneir romantic affair on television.
Charles flew to Switzerland Friday night, leaving his lawyers to handle a nasty wrangle with Diana over what the couple agreed about the terms of their divorce.
A dispirited Diana skipped^ her gym session and remained at home in Kensington Palace.
"The princess has nothing earmed but may see friends or 1k to friends on the tele-Shone," said her spokeswoman ane Atkinson. "Sne is fine in, the circumstances and is hoping to pick up on her public engagement* next week.
Diana wasn't seen Friday, disappointing the pack of photographers waiting hopefully outside the gym. Their vigil was not-in vain, however : a gunfight brdke out ap ok! warehouse nearby between police and five men suspected of hijacking a security van. No one was injured. and the five were arrested.
Diana faced man trouble on a second front, following reports that a TV team is hawking a tell-all Interview with former lover James Hewftt, ex-riding Instructor and current social outcast.
The Sun newspaper said Hewitt and Anna Pasternak, who wrote a book about the affair in 1994, hope to negotiate a broadcast deal.
The man Diana said *he "adored" answers Ms Paster-
nak's questions on every aspect of the affair," The Sun . said.
"Mr Hewitt is very frank, honest and candid about their physical, relationship in the Same wav as the princess was" in her television interview, Mr Pasternak was quoted as say-iqg-.
Her motive was not money, .she said when the book was published, but : "It was too beautiful a love to remain a secret."
Sky Television said it was aware of the Hewitt TV interview "but has rejected the programme and will not be screening it any shape or form." said news chia Ian Cook.
It was bad Journalistic practice, he said. to pay producer*
for an interview in which The subject doesn't face "independent, rigorous questioning."
But Nick Ferrari, head of programme at Live TV, a London cable channel, said he was ready to offer a six-figure sum.
"We are not moral guardians or censors — our Job is to entertain and inform," Ferrari said.
"When Di»na announced Wednesday that she had accepted a divorce. Diana's office said it had been agreed that her future title would be Diana, Princess of Wales, .that she could keep her Kensington Palace apartment and offices at St James's Palace, and con-tinue to be fully involved in the upbringing of their sons. William. 13, and Harry. 11.
Queen Elizabeth 11 was interested" to hear Diana s
decision. Buckingham Palace said, but it insisted that, apart from an agreement to divorce, nothing had been settled.
Diana's lawyer Anthony Julius fired off a tough letter to Charles' legal representatives Thursday : "If we cannot rely on agreements that have been made. It would be unsafe to continue negotiations.''
Charles' lawyer. Fiona Shackleton, sent a reply Friday evening, but no details ^merged. as both sides appeared to heed Queen Elizabeth H's request that the di yorce negotiations to tic car-ried'out in private.
Reporter Richard K^y. a Daily Matl reporter in whom Diana has confided before, wrote Friday that Diana told him the palace statement had amounted to an accusation that
she was lying.
"I have given them everything they wanted and they are still not satisfied. I did not want this divorce but I have agreed to it. Now they are playing ping-pong with me, he quoted her as saying.
The way the princess decided to relinquish that style Her Royal Highness is another point of dispute.
Diana s spokeswoman Jane Atkinson said Wednesday. "She agreed to give ft up as part of the discussions."
The queen s pre** secre lary. Charles Anson, said Thursday : "The decision to drop the title is the princess ana the prtnce*a alone It I* wrong that the queen or the prince asked her. I'm saying categorically that la not true.