Here are the dark secrets that lurked behind the scenes of this royal marriage
Prince Charles and Princess Diana may have looked like the perfect couple, but throughout the years of their tumultuous marriage, the public realized the pair’s romance was deceiving. Affairs, suicide attempts, and more tarnished the image of the most talked-about couple of the 20th century. Here are the dark secrets that lurked behind the scenes of this royal marriage.
Prince Charles wept the night before his wedding to Diana
Prince Charles knew he was marrying someone he did not love. | Carl Court/Getty Images
In the newest biography of the Prince, it’s revealed that he reportedly cried the night before he wed Princess Diana. The reason? His former flame, Camilla Parker Bowles. He was still torn up over his love for her and apprehensive about settling down with Diana. Camilla was seen as unfit to be Charles’ wife because of her past with her eventual husband, Andrew Parker Bowles.
Next: There were red flags on the honeymoon.
Problems unfolded on their honeymoon
There was trouble in paradise very early on. | Patrick Riviere/Getty Images
Diana wrote letters about her honeymoon to her secretary in confidence, and their recent release shows that problems were present as early as the honeymoon. Diana wrote, “The honeymoon was a perfect opportunity to catch up on sleep…” Reports have also said that Diana was prescribed valium while the two honeymooned in Balmoral, Scotland.
Next: The couple’s sex life was off.
The intimacy between the two was ‘very odd’
There was no passion or love between the two. | Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
The only way Diana could describe Charles’ actions was “odd.” In a series of recorded tapes, the Princess admitted that everything about their relationship was strange, including the couple’s sex life, which only had a life once every three weeks. “Sort of once every three weeks and I kept thinking … And then I followed a pattern, he used to see his lady once every three weeks before we got married,” the tapes revealed. Diana used “odd” to also describe how often Charles would call her before they wed — also once every three weeks.
Next: Charles had choice words about his feelings for Diana.
There was a big sign right from the beginning
There love was not obvious to those around them. | Getty Images
It could be the most famous line Charles ever said. When the two announced their engagement in 1981, a reporter asked if they were in love. “Of course,” Diana said, yet Charles replied with a deceiving, “Whatever ‘in love’ means.” At the time, it wasn’t seen as too much of a red flag. However, as years went on and the recording was rediscovered, it quickly made sense that it was a telltale sign the two were not happily engaged.
Next: Diana was not kept in the dark for very long.
Princess Diana was very aware of the affair
Princess Diana knew exactly what was going on. | Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images
Although Diana was crushed at the thought of Charles rekindling his former flame, she still remained in the marriage. “There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded,” Diana once said. She said it in such a nonchalant way that it was clear she’d had knowledge of the three-person relationship for a long time.
Next: Diana once took drastic measures.
… and she attempted suicide when she learned of it
She was heartbroken over the news. | Vincent Amalvy/AFP/Getty Images
Diana attempted suicide multiple times in her life. The first was up at Balmoral, when she tried to cut her wriststo put herself out of the misery that was her marriage to Charles. Another attempt happened when she was pregnant with Prince William. Diana threw herself and her unborn baby down the stairs. She revealed in tapes that it was to get Charles’ attention, so he would notice how much she was struggling.
Next: The secret was quickly leaked.
A recording confirmed the infidelity
Their private phone conversations were released. | Abdelhak Senna/AFP/Getty Images
The affair between Charles and Camilla was proven with the infamous “Camillagate” recording, where Charles was caught saying inappropriate things over the phone to his mistress. He also told Camilla he loved her. Although recorded in 1989, the tape went unpublished until 1993, when it then wreaked havoc on the Royal Family for exposing the infidelity of the highly-regarded prince.
Next: Diana’s mental state continued to decline.
Charles led Diana to develop bulimia
She felt triggered by his comments. | STR/AFP/Getty Images
A comment Charles made to Diana while the couple was engaged “set something off” in her, according to released tapes. When Charles grabbed Diana’s waist and made a comment about her weight, it led Diana to bulimia. She claimed it felt like she was releasing her stress. She went from a 29-inch waist all the way down to 23.5 inches before her wedding day.
Next: Another factor tore apart the marriage.
Diana’s mental state had an effect on the couple’s marriage
They didn’t start off their marriage on a happy note. | AFP/Getty Images
Among other things like Charles’ affair and the couple’s false love, Diana’s mental and emotional instability also took a toll on the couple’s marriage. Diana was prescribed valium for her condition but refused to take it. She was paranoid that the Royal Family was trying to sedate her. She constantly cried, and although she eventually agreed to see a therapist, she only had eight sessions, which did not help her overcome her paranoia and depression.
Next: Infidelity ran deep between this couple.
Diana had affairs of her own behind Charles’ back
Princess Diana had a few rumored flings herself. | YouTube
The most notable affair of Diana’s was the man behind “Squidgygate,” James Gilbey. He was caught on tapehaving intimate phone conversations with Diana. Another well-known fling was with James Hewitt, Diana’s horse riding instructor. The affair lasted five years and led some to think that Harry was actually Hewitt’s child.
Next: What happened on the night of the crash?
Some believe Prince Charles was behind the deadly car crash
This theory is quite chilling. | POOL/AFP/Getty Images
10 months before Diana’s deadly crash, she claimed in a letter that Charles was planning a car accident for her. Diana said the reasoning was so that he’d be able to marry — the couple had divorced not long before her accusation. She gave the note to her butler, Paul Burrell, and asked him to keep it “just in case” something happened. The complete accusation was not revealed until 2007.
Next: This gift said it all.
Prince Charles gave Camilla a bracelet just before his wedding to Diana
Right before his wedding, Prince Charles gave a token of love to Camilla. | Patricia Del Melo/AFP/Getty Images
Charles and Camilla had nicknames for one another: Fred and Gladys. A couple of weeks before his wedding to Diana, Charles gifted Camilla a bracelet with a G and F inscribed on it, and Diana was aware, which made her apprehensive to follow through with the royal wedding.
Next: Those closest to Diana refused to help her.
Diana told her sisters she did not want to go through with the wedding
She confided in her sister, Lady Sarah McCorquodale. | Scott Barbour/Getty Images
Before the wedding, Diana confided in her sisters over her second thoughts about the marriage, especially after she found out about the bracelet. Her sisters encouraged her to go through with the wedding, and at this point she had no choice. Diana recalled them saying it was “too late to chicken out.”
Next: Charles’ affair affected someone else, too.
Prince Charles’ affair caused a falling out between him and the queen
They seem to now be in good terms. | Stefan Rousseau/WPA Pool/Getty Images
The Queen was not happy about Charles’ extramarital affair, and experts suspect it led to a falling out between the mother and son. After Diana’s death, it was reported that the queen told him Camilla could not be in his life. He made a statement saying that he never intended to marry again. In 2005, he and Camilla tied the knot.
Next: Someone tried to come between the wedding before it happened.
People warned Charles against marrying Diana
They were warned not to wed. | Vincent Laforet/AFP/Getty Images
According to the newly released biography about the Prince, Charles was cautioned about the age difference between Diana and him. Penny Romsey, the wife of Louis Mountbatten’s grandson Norton Knatchbull, told Charles that the two didn’t have enough in common to wed. She also told him she felt that Diana did not have true intentions in marrying him and just wanted the spotlight.
Source: cheatsheet com
Tags: Princess Diana, Prince Charles, Princess of Wales, Marriage, Wedding, Breakup
