Those titled folk in the pages of Debrett's Peerage are no strangers to the pages of TIME. In the past 58 years, regal faces have appeared on 79 covers; Britain's Prince Charles was our subject in 1969 and 1978. For this week's cover story on his betrothed, Lady Diana Spencer, London Bureau Chief Bonnie Angelo concentrated on the former World's Most Eligible Bachelor. Angelo's first experience as a royalty watcher dates back to 1957, when she covered Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip's visit to Canada and Washington. This time she found herself sitting on Prince Charles' right during a recent dinner for American correspondents in London. Says Angelo: "He was a lively dinner partner, interested in everything --and great fun. Anybody who wants to can mount a case against the monarchy, but as long as the British like the idea, they couldn't have a better next-up than this unstuffy, concerned and remarkably egalitarian man." Correspondent Erik Amfitheatrof, meanwhile, set out to sketch a detailed portrait of the elusive Lady Diana. On the day the engagement was announced, he spotted Lord Spencer, Diana's father, taking pictures of the crowds in front of Buckingham Palace. He turned the chance encounter into an interview. Says Amfitheatrof:

"What impressed me most was how lovingly and simply he talked about his daughter, not as a future Queen but as a wonderful young woman, concluding that Charles was lucky to have her."

In preparing the story, TIME correspondents worked sources on both sides of the Atlantic. In London, James Shepherd surveyed the booming business in royal curios and souvenirs, Arthur White interviewed Elizabeth and David Emanuel, who are designing Diana's wedding gown. Boston Correspondent Barry Hillenbrand researched the American roots of Lady Diana's family, and in Washington, Correspondent Eileen Shields interviewed Journalist and Biographer Anthony Holden. This week's story was edited by Stephen Smith and written by Jay Cocks, who was fascinated by what he calls Lady Diana's "dazzling star quality." Says Cocks: "We've all been told the sun's been setting on the British Empire for the past 40 years, but when this wedding takes place it's going to look like high noon. Lady Diana is that rare phenomenon: a real-life embodiment of the Hollywood image of a princess. Her marriage to the Prince of Wales is interesting not only as a social and national ritual but also as the most engrossing kind of theater."

John A. Meyers

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.