After a whirlwind romance, Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer married in a fairy-tale 1981 Royal Wedding. However, after welcoming Prince William and Prince Harry, their marriage became a nightmare, with the Prince and Princess of Wales cheating on each other.
Diana famously said there were three people in their marriage. To hear all about the royal drama and the intrusion of a third party, keep reading!
A Prince Is Born
Prince Charles Philip Arthur George Windsor was born in Buckingham Palace on November 14th, 1948, during the reign of his grandfather, King George VI. When the reigning king passed away in 1952, his eldest daughter became Queen Elizabeth II, and Charles became first in line to the throne.
Charles became Prince of Wales in 1958, as most heirs apparent had been since Edward II in 1301. He was not invested until he was 21 in an elaborate ceremony at Caernarfon Castle in 1969.
Diana’s Early Years
Diana Frances Spencer was born on Sandringham Estate on July 1st, 1961. Her parents were John and Frances Spencer, Viscount and Viscountess of Althorp. She was born into nobility, and all four of Diana’s grandmothers were ladies-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother. Diana was also a distant cousin of legendary British wartime Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill.
Around the time Prince Charles became Prince of Wales, Diana’s parents divorced, although she continued to live at Sandringham Estate, which her noble family leased from the royal family.
Bachelor Charles
Prince Charles joined the Royal Navy and, believe it or not, was a bit of a ladies’ man. He dated Georgiana Russell, the daughter of Sir John Russell, who was the British ambassador to Spain, Lady Jane Wellesley, the daughter of the 8th Duke of Wellington, Davina Sheffield, and Camilla Rosemary Shand, whom he was besotted with.
Camilla was the love of his life, but he returned from a naval posting to find out she had married Andrew Parker Bowles, becoming Camilla Parker Bowles. More on her later…
princess diana in bikini
Princess Diana was photographed on multiple occasions in chic swimwear, capturing the attention and admiration of the public and media alike. The image you’ve shared shows her wearing a colorful, patterned bandeau bikini, reflecting her personal style that often blended elegance with casual ease.
This particular photo was likely taken during one of her many vacations, a time when the Princess could step away from the public eye and enjoy private moments, although such privacy was often fleeting due to her immense popularity and the ever-present paparazzi.
Prince Charles Meets Lady Diana
In November 1977, 29-year-old Charles was dating Diana’s older sister, Lady Sarah Spencer. When he visited Sarah at their Althorp Estate family home, he was rather smitten with Diana, a 16-year-old schoolgirl.
Diana later admitted, “We sort of met in a plowed field […] I made a lot of noise, and he liked that, and he came up to me after dinner, and we had a big dance.” Charles joked, “I remember thinking what a very jolly, amusing, and attractive 16-year-old she was.”
Someone to Watch Over You
In 1979, the IRA assassinated Prince Charles’ favorite uncle, Lord Mountbatten, by blowing up his boat in Ireland. The following year, Charles and Diana met at a house party. Sitting next to him on a bale of hay, she said, “You looked so sad when you walked up the aisle at Lord Mountbatten’s funeral.”
She continued, “It was the most tragic thing I’ve ever seen. My heart bled for you when I watched. I thought, ‘It’s wrong, you’re lonely, you should be with somebody to look after you.’”
The Balmoral Test
Diana’s compassion struck Charles, but she later confessed, “The next minute, he leaped on me, practically. It was strange. I thought, ‘This isn’t very cool…’ but I had nothing to go by because I’d never had a boyfriend.”
Despite this odd encounter, Charles embarked upon a whirlwind romance with this demure, kind, compassionate, down-to-earth woman who loved to dance. Charles took his new girlfriend to Balmoral to introduce Diana to The Queen. As shown in The Crown, Diana passed The Balmoral Test with flying colors.
A Royal Engagement
Prince Philip wrote to his son, advising Charles to either propose or end things to protect Diana’s reputation. Charles took this as an order from his father. So, on February 6th, 1981, Charles invited Diana to Windsor Castle and asked her to marry him.
On February 24th, they announced their engagement to the world. When an interviewer asked if they were in love, Diana answered, “Of course.” Then, Charles added, “Whatever ‘in love’ means.” Diana later said, “What a strange answer. It traumatized me.”
Eve of the Wedding
A grand Royal Wedding was planned for the height of the summer of 1981, and Britain rejoiced. Yet, even after he was engaged to the young, beautiful, shy Lady Diana Spencer, Charles became closer to his ex-girlfriend, Camilla Parker Bowles.
On the eve of the Royal Wedding, Charles allegedly spoke to Camilla on the phone and told Diana he “didn’t love her.” Diana was so upset at Charles’ coldheartedness toward her that she almost canceled the wedding.
The Royal Wedding
Nevertheless, Prince Charles and Lady Diana were married in a fairy-tale wedding at St. Paul’s Cathedral on July 29th, 1981. Six hundred thousand adoring, flag-waving spectators lined London’s streets while 750 million watched on TV.
Britain celebrated the auspicious day with street parties, eating cake off trellis tables under red, white, and blue bunting, and the Red Arrows RAF fighter jet plane display team buzzed overhead fire beacons were lit. The nation had their future king and queen, Hurrah for Charles and Diana, Prince and Princess of Wales!
Unwelcome Guest
One person not watching on TV was Camilla. Diana knew Charles’s close relationship with Camilla and that she was at the wedding. Diana later explained, “I knew she was in there, of course. I looked for her. So, walking down the aisle, I spotted Camilla, pale gray, veiled pillbox hat… To this day, you know — vivid memory.”
A decade later, Diana described her wedding day as the worst day of her life — “I felt I was a lamb to the slaughter. And I knew it.”
Rocky Honeymoon
The newlyweds honeymooned in Scotland and aboard the royal yacht Britannia, and it was anything but smooth sailing. Charles telephoned Camilla daily, and Diana felt the woman’s invisible presence behind every cabin door.
Diana explained, “On our honeymoon, cufflinks arrive on his wrists — two C’s entwined like the Chanel ‘C.’ Got it. One knew exactly. So I said, ‘Camilla gave you those, didn’t she?’ He said, ‘Yes, so what’s wrong? They’re a present from a friend.’ And boy, did we have a row! Jealousy, total jealousy.”
Prince William is Born
On June 21st, 1982, less than a year after tying the knot, the Prince and Princess of Wales welcomed their first child, Prince William Arthur Philip Louis. In March 1983, Charles, Diana, and Prince William visited the British colonies of Australia and New Zealand.
The Aussie and Kiwi crowds went wild for Diana while a somewhat miffed Prince Charles faded into obscurity in the background. One security guard described the reaction to Diana as being like Beatlemania. Charles was jealous of his wife.
Behind the Scenes
Princess Diana attracted crowds of thousands of jubilant, flag-waving fans from Canada to Africa to Australia. Her compassion showed everywhere she went. In a Harlem hospital, the princess broke royal protocol to hug a seven-year-old with AIDS.
She later campaigned for AIDS, cancer, and anti-landmine charities, winning the hearts of everyone she met and making Charles green with envy. However, Diana was also overwhelmed by her fame. Behind the scenes, she developed an eating disorder, danced by herself, cried all the time, and self-harmed.
The Glums
What Diana had seen as a fairytale marriage to her Prince Charming had been in deep trouble for years. Charles was almost 13 years older than her, and they seemed to be completely incompatible.
While she was a free-spirited, empathic guardian angel, he was a spoiled mommy’s boy who’d been brought up with all the pomp and stuffiness of his royal family. Rumors abounded that Charles and Diana’s marriage was in freefall, and the press nicknamed the couple “The Glums.”
Prince Harry is Born
On September 15th, 1984, Diana gave birth to their second son, Prince Henry Charles Albert David. According to royal biographer Andrew Morton, Charles had desperately wanted a girl, but when another boy arrived, Charles allegedly exclaimed, “Oh God, it’s a boy. And he’s even got red hair!”
Diana said that Charles’ reaction was the beginning of the end of their marriage. She later said, “Something inside me closed off,” and, “Our marriage, the whole thing went down the drain.”
Diana Confronts Camilla
Two years after Harry’s birth, Charles and Camilla reignited their relationship. Diana confronted Camilla, saying, “I know what’s going on between you and Charles.” Camilla replied, “You’ve got everything you ever wanted. You’ve got all the men in the world to fall in love with you and two beautiful children — what more do you want?”
Diana replied, “I want my husband. I’m sorry I’m in the way… and it must be hell for both of you. But I do know what’s going on. Don’t treat me like an idiot.”
Two Can Play at That Game
Diana grew increasingly unhappy in Kensington Palace and their country estate in Gloucestershire, Highgrove House. But Charles wasn’t the only one having an affair. Diana had several suitors who secretly crept into Kensington Palace under cover of night.
Diana had an affair with her bodyguard Barry Mannakee, whom she described as the “greatest love” of her life. Barry was transferred to another role in 1987 before passing away in a motorcycle accident months later. In a prophetic harbinger, Diana believed the security services took Mannakee’s life.
Major James Hewitt
Another man Diana had an affair with was red-headed Army Officer Major James Hewitt. They first met when the military man gave the Princess of Wales private horse-riding lessons. They claim they didn’t begin their five-year affair until 1986, but that didn’t stop the rumors…
For decades, people have speculated that Princess Diana’s former red-haired lover, James Hewitt, is Prince Harry’s biological father. That would certainly explain the red hair and why Prince Charles was so aghast!
Secret Recordings
Diana’s friend, Dr. James Colthurst, said — “She was becoming increasingly incensed by what was going on and the fact that the whole organization, as she saw it, was helping to support the relationship between Camilla and Prince Charles. She would have moments of extreme anger and wanting to bash the mattress with the tennis racquet.”
Colthurst and Diana devised a cunning plan to record tapes detailing Prince Charles’s and the monarchy’s mistreatment. Those tapes ended up in the hands of royal biographer Andrew Morton.
Diana: Her True Story
In 1992, Andrew Morton released Diana: Her True Story, shocking the world with revelations about Charles’ affair, Diana’s jealousy, her eating disorder, self-harming, and attempts to take her own life.
The Queen and Prince Philip wrote letters and called meetings between Charles and Diana to try to reconcile their relationship. However, it was clear their marriage was doomed — another royal divorce was looming on the horizon.
Squidgygate
In August 1992, leaked telephone recordings of Diana and her friend James Gilbey were published. The scandal became known as “Squidgygate,” as Gibley had referred to Diana as Squidge and Squidgy. Then, in October 1993, she wrote to her loyal butler, Paul Burrell, saying she believed Charles was in love with Wills’ and Harry’s former nanny, Tiggy Legge-Bourke.
Diana’s letters alleged the royals were “planning ‘an accident’ in my car, brake failure and serious head injury to make the path clear for Charles to marry.”
Camillagate
The same November, intimate details of Charles’ affair were leaked to The Daily Mail. In the recorded “Camillagate” phone call, Charles joked he’d like to be a pair of his mistress’ underwear! In December 1992, Prime Minister John Major announced Charles and Diana had separated.
Now, Charles finally believed he and Camilla could finally be together. But two things stood in their way. Charles and Camilla were still married, and no one knew if British law would permit a divorced and remarried Prince to become King.
Two Divorces
Across town, Camilla filed for divorce in January 1995. After exhausting every avenue, Queen Elizabeth II urged Charles and Diana to divorce. The Prince and Princess of Wales finally divorced in August 1996. The New York Times wrote, “Buckingham Palace wrote the unhappy ending today to a storybook marriage gone badly wrong.”
“The Prince has formally declared that he will no longer foot his ex-wife’s bills, leaving her to pay all her expenses out of a lump-sum divorce settlement said to be at least $22.5 million.”
What’s in a Name?
The Queen wanted to let Diana continue to use Her Royal Highness title after her divorce. However, Prince Charles cruelly insisted on taking it away from her. He had always been jealous that she earned the lion’s share of the attention. He got his way, and the Princess of Wales was stripped of her HRH title.
Prince Philip warned Diana: “If you don’t behave, my girl, we’ll take your title away.” The Princess of Wales replied, “My title is a lot older than yours, Philip.”
Charles: The Private Man, the Public Role
Charles launched a ruthless PR exercise to repair his damaged reputation. But ‘Charles: The Private Man, the Public Role’ had the opposite effect. When Jonathan Dimbleby asked if he was faithful during his marriage, Charles replied, “Yes, yes… until it became irretrievably broken down, us both having tried.”
Then, Charles admitted Camilla had “been a friend for a very long time — and will continue to be a friend for a very long time.” His plan to get the Queen and the public to accept Camilla wasn’t going well.
The Panorama Interview
Meanwhile, Martin Bashir interviewed Princess Diana on an infamous episode of the BBC’s flagship weekly documentary, Panorama. 23 million Brits — 40% of the UK’s population — tuned in to watch live.
When Bashir asked a sullen Diana if Camilla had been a factor in the breakdown of her marriage, she lamented, “Well, there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.” If you need it spelled out, Camilla Parker Bowles was the third person in the marriage.
The Queen of Hearts
When Martin Bashir asked Diana if she thought she’d ever become queen, the tearful victim replied, “I’d like to be a queen of people’s hearts… but I don’t see myself being queen of this country. I don’t think many people will want me to be queen. Actually, when I say many people, I mean the establishment that I married into because they have decided that I’m a non-starter.”
Diana’s compassion for philanthropic projects, including AIDS charities and anti-landmine projects, had made her the queen of people’s hearts.
Dodi Fayed
As Charles hosted Camilla’s lavish 50th birthday party at Highgrove, Diana jetted around the world with her new boyfriend of two years, Dodi Fayed. He was an Egyptian billionaire film producer and the heir to his father’s Harrods fortune.
Rumors swirled that Diana and Dodi were engaged and even that she was pregnant with his child. The couple was photographed on a yacht in Saint Tropez, in the south of France, and every paparazzo wanted to take a photo of them, no matter what it took to get the shot.
