Bianca Vs Ebele: To slap or not to slap

On Wednesday, June 14, 1990, Princess Diana and Prince Charles attended their children’s school sports day. The two participated in their sons’ school’s parents’ race. Diana ran barefooted across the turf while Charles wore an apron. In the mothers’ race, Diana came third. Charles was amongst the last to reach the finishing line in the fathers’ race. Prince William, who was seven years old then, was part of his teams’ tug-of-war competitors. William’s team won. But that was not the story that made the front-page news the next day.

In the course of the day, William defied Diana’s orders and ran off to play with his friends. For doing that, Diana spanked William with a slap.

The next day, the Sun newspaper showed a picture of the slap as it landed on William’s face with the caption, “Wallop.” The Daily Mirror ran the same story with a screaming headline, “The slap that could change the world.” The newspaper went on to say society had brainwashed British parents into believing that any kind of punishment was wrong. “But there is a great difference between a slap from a loving parent, like Princess Diana, and corporal punishment,” the newspaper said.

Reading the headline in Nigeria, it got stuck in my head. I could not imagine how that slap had the potential to change the world. I thought about it then, and I still think about…