Princess Diana and Prince Charles in Forgotten Photos From Their Marriage
Princess Diana and Prince Charles remain one of the most talked-about couples of the British royal family. Even though their marriage ended in divorce not long before Diana’s death in 1997, people still can’t get enough of them. Ahead, check out forgotten photos of Diana and Charles during their marriage.
Princess Diana and Prince Charles married in ‘the wedding of the century’
After announcing their engagement in early 1981, Charles and Diana married in what would quickly become referred to as “the wedding of the century.” One of the most expensive royal weddings ever, the couple spared no expense for their nuptials, which took place on July 29, 1981, at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London.
They hid marriage trouble in public, ‘unbeatable’ as ‘professional royal performers’
Even though Diana and Charles were both miserable in their marriage, they didn’t let on in public. Patrick Jephson, Diana’s former press secretary, once called them “unbeatable” at presenting themselves as a happily married couple. He said as much during an interview for ITV’s Inside the Crown: Secrets of the Royals.
“As professional royal performers they were unbeatable, but behind the scenes, it was quite different,” he said. “They didn’t talk to each other, there was minimal eye contact, they were short-tempered with each other.”
On their royal tour of Australia in 1983, things changed for Charles and Diana. They occasionally took part in public displays of affection with some hand-holding (see below), but one moment changed how Diana acted in public.
When she burst out in tears outside the Sydney Opera House and Charles, for whatever reason, didn’t acknowledge her, Diana decided to laugh and smile a lot more at engagements to supposedly annoy her husband.
Princess Diana and Prince Charles were (mostly) all smiles
Sure, as their marriage crumbled and they approached their separation, Diana and Charles let the happy veneer slip but up to that point, they’d appeared, for the most part, in love.
During a 1991 visit to Ontario, Canada, Diana and Charles looked in good spirits.
But that may not have been hard to do considering they were petting a beaver.
At a polo match in 1982, Diana, then pregnant with Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, sat on the hood of a car with her arm resting on Charles’ shoulder.
It seems like the body language of two people who at the least like each other but as the public learned later, they’d already had lots of trouble in their marriage.
Princess Diana and Prince Charles separated in 1992, divorced in 1996
We all know the photos of Diana and Charles looking miserable sitting next to each other toward the end of their marriage. They served as the precursor to their separation announcement in December 1992.
Even though the public knew of their unhappiness, it still came as a surprise to learn they decided to separate. Charles and Diana continued their duties as senior royals before making their split official in 1996.
