How Did Prince Charles Propose to Princess Diana?
Though the world saw their romance as one for the storybooks —Prince Charles and Princess Diana tied the knot in 1981 without knowing each other very well and having very little in common. After their separation in 1992 and subsequent divorce in 1996 –both the prince and princess spoke openly saying that their wedding day was one of the worst days in their lives.
Still –it all appeared picturesque from the outside looking in. The princess was young and virginal, and her beauty and massive 12-carat oval blue Ceylon sapphire ring captured the world’s attention. However, we now know that the Prince and Princess of Wales’ marriage crumbled before it even got started. This is how Prince Charles proposed to Princess Diana.
How did Prince Charles propose to Princess Diana?
When Prince Charles asked Princess Diana to be his wife, it was not a romantic occasion. The pair barely knew each other, and the prince was still pining over his former girlfriend (and now wife), Camilla Parker Bowles. Though their alleged fairytale blinded the world –Princess Diana remembered being shocked by the proposal. Before her death –the People’s Princess spoke to author Andrew Morton, who wrote Diana: Her True Story — In Her Own Words. She remembered,
He said: “Will you marry me?” and I laughed. I remember thinking, “This is a joke,” and I said: “Yeah, OK,” and laughed. He was deadly serious. He said: “You do realize that one day you will be queen.” And a voice said to me inside: “You won’t be queen, but you’ll have a tough role.” So I thought “OK,” so I said: “Yes.” I said: “I love you so much, I love you so much.” He said: “Whatever love means.”
Princess Diana’s engagement ring
When Prince Charles reluctantly asked his former wife for her hand in marriage, he didn’t even have an engagement ring. Instead –the princess chose her own ring from a Garrard catalog. She immediately fell in love with the12-carat sapphire ring which is surrounded by 14 solitaire diamonds and set in 18-karat white gold. The future King of England plunked down $37,000 for the stunning piece of jewelry even though many people were horrified that the princess had chosen her ring from a catalog.
The ring was not a diamond, and it certainly wasn’t one-of-a-kind. Luckily, it has become a beloved symbol over the years and has wound up on the ring finger of the late princess’ daughter-in-law, Kate Middleton. The ring is now worth, $500,000.
Why was Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s marriage so unhappy?
We now know how much Princess Diana and Prince Charles had to endure in order to remain amicable in the public eye. However, as Royal biographer Penny Junor describes it,
[Princess Diana] was just bitterly unhappy, she was disappointed in her marriage as was Charles it was a car crash from the very beginning. When Charles and Diana got together it seemed on paper that this was the most perfect match, but Diana’s childhood had been very difficult and the happy jolly-go-lucky venire that she presented to the world was nothing more than a venire. Charles was a very complex character and the two of them was about the worst match you could possibly have made.
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