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Princess Diana and Prince Charles‘ marriage did not end well. They were very different individuals with different perspectives. By the time they separated in 1992, the prince had been carrying on a long-term affair with his now-wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.

Yet, despite how things ended, Charles and Diana were optimistic about their union at first. They weren’t even overly concerned with their massive age difference.

Charles and Diana, Prince and Princess of Wales,
Charles and Diana, Prince and Princess of Wales, | Georges De Keerle/Getty Images

Prince Charles and Princess Diana may have been happy at one point

Though the prince felt pushed into his marriage to the young princess, he was hopeful that they would build a loving and respectful marriage. Princess Diana naively thought the same.

Their hope for what they may have had was seen during their honeymoon and the loving photos that captured that time. In the 2013 documentary, Royalty Close Up: The Photography of Kent Gavin, the royal photographer recalled via Express,

One has to remember and recall that there were happy times with Charles and Diana, they were very much in love. The honeymoon pictures – there was a look of love about both of them. That picture [Charles kissing Diana’s hand] just captured everything that that fairytale wedding was about. And there were occasions, again, after that when you just thought that the marriage and this family had everything – and these pictures show that. There really were great days. Of course, people tend to think of the bad days because of the divorce and it all going wrong, but if you look back at all those pictures that we did in the early days, it tells a different story.

This is why Princess Diana and Prince Charles’ marriage fell apart

Unfortunately, the good times did not last between the pair. Princess Diana was not prepared for royal life. She was pushed away from her family, and she often felt isolated and ill-at-ease with the royal family. For his part, Prince Charles was still in love with Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.  Royal biographer Penny Junor explained to Express,

[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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Prince Charles and Princess Diana were not concerned about their age difference at first

Though they’d only met in person 13 times before getting engaged and they had little in common. Princess Diana and Prince Charles’s massive age gap was of little concern to them when they first tied the knot.

Charles was born on November 14, 1948, and was 32 years old when they wed. Diana was born  July 1, 1961, and was just 19. “I think that Diana will keep me young, apart from anything else,” the prince said during an interview with The Guardian after the engagement. “I think I shall be exhausted. I haven’t somehow thought about it. I mean, it’s only 12 years, and lots of people have got married with that sort of age difference. I just feel you are as old as you think you are.”

For her part, the princess said she’d never given the large age gap a thought.

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