The marriage of Princess Diana and now-King Charles was fraught with difficulties. What appeared to be the greatest fairytale in royal history quickly devolved into a union riddled with falsehoods, controversies, and even infidelity.
Charles and Diana finally divorced in 1992. Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before Diana, in an infamous BBC interview in 1995, aired her opinion of the mistreatment she endured within the Royal Family and the mental health difficulties it caused. It was the final nail in Charles and Diana’s coffin, and the pair divorced a year later.
Divorces are virtually always contentious, regardless of what one party thinks of the other. Diana now details the divorce processes from her perspective in newly released letters that will be auctioned.
Needless to say, it’s safe to say that things were not going well.
Princess Diana was adored by the British people throughout her life. As we all know, it ended tragically when she was killed in a vehicle accident in Paris in 1997.
Princess Diana was born into a privileged family. She was born on July 1, 1961, in Park House in Sandringham, and she had several people outside her family to provide for her every need. Her parents, Frances and Johnnie Spencer, were English aristocrats. As a result, their estate in Norfolk, England, grew to be massive.
Diana became known as the “People’s Princess,” because she was always concerned about the people and showed her love for them, no matter who they were.
Aside from her parents, the others who helped raise her were a huge part of why she had the aforementioned upbringing and perspective as an adult. A nanny named Inge Crane moved into Park House when the future princess was only three years old.
“Park House has always had something distinctive about it. “It’s difficult to pinpoint what it is,” she remarked in her first CNN interview.
Diana’s childhood was ultimately extremely fortunate. Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, for example, were frequent visitors to Park House.
Diana had two nannies from the age of nine, Inge Crane and Mary Clarke. Despite her wealthy upbringing, they described her childhood as “average.” Diana enjoyed animal interaction, being outside, and climbing trees.
“I never want to get divorced.”
Her parents separated in 1969. Diana was devastated by her failed marriage. Clarke remembered walking up to her at school and seeing her with “downcast eyes.”
But Diana’s mental health was not the only thing that suffered as a result of the divorce. She felt different from the other students at school. Divorces were uncommon at the period, and in the Spencer case, her father was granted custody of the four children.
Diana’s remarks from that time will live with Mary Clarke forever.
“She said, ‘I will never marry unless I’m truly in love because if you’re not in love, you’ll get divorced — and I never intend to get divorced,’” Clark explained. “This was quite a meaningful statement for a young girl to make.”
“Diana’s dreams throughout her childhood were really just to be happily married and to have a large family,” she added.
Charles and Diana first met in 1977, when the future king paid a visit to the Spencer home, Althorp. Charles had already formed affections for Camilla Parker Bowles, who would play a pivotal role in the Charles/Diana drama.
According to stories, Camilla and Charles dated for a time before the future king left to serve in the Royal Navy. Camilla was involved with and engaged to Andrew Parker Bowles by the time he returned.
Diana was traumatized by Charles’ “weird” engagement response.
The pair was quizzed on everything from how they met to their honeymoon plans. Diana later said that the inquiry regarding whether they were in love was “crazy,” yet she answered yes. Charles, on the other hand, had an insightful remark.
“Whatever ‘in love’ means,” said the Prince. Diana was irritated by his remark.
“We had this dreadful interview the day we announced our engagement,” Princess Diana recounted, according to Diana: In Her Own Words, her authorized biography.
“‘Are you in love?’ questioned this idiotic [reporter].” What a difficult question, I thought. So I said, ‘Of course we are,’ to which Charles replied, ‘Whatever love means.’ That completely surprised me. What a bizarre response, I thought. It was traumatic for me.”
On July 29, 1981, Charles and Diana married in St. Paul’s Cathedral. There were approximately 3,500 guests in attendance, and an estimated 750 million people watched it on television globally.
