Princess Diana’s Heartbreaking Response to Her Divorce From Prince Charles
Princess Diana and Prince Charles are among a handful of infamous couples in the British royal family. They stand among controversial duos like Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, and Princess Anne and her former equerry, Captain Timothy Laurence.
Given their popularity; however, their divorce made headlines and became the point of interest of many royal fans around the globe. After their divorce, Princess Diana reportedly had some words for her former husband.
Why did Princess Diana and Prince Charles get divorced?
When it comes to this royal split, things started rocky — real rocky. Why? In Prince Charles: The Passions and Paradoxes of an Improbable Life, Sally Bedell Smith dissects Prince Charles life. She mentions that Prince Charles felt his father bullied him into marrying Princess Diana.
Prince Philip wrote Prince Charles a letter. To summarize, he told his son that he was tarnishing Princess Di’s rep by not taking her as a wife. His advice — propose or break up. Since Prince Charles didn’t marry her out of love and was in love with another woman, it’s no surprise their marriage didn’t last.
I don’t see him as a cynical person; he thought he could learn to love Diana as his grandmother and grandfather learned to love each other and had a great marriage. But because of their fundamental incompatibility and the age gap and her emotional turmoil, it was doomed before they walked down the aisle of St Paul’s Cathedral. – Sally Bedell Smith
Prince Charles did think he could learn to love Princess Diana, but he simply couldn’t get over his ex: Camilla Parker Bowles. The two also ended up not being on the same wavelength. Eventually, Princess Diana admitted in an interview that both parties cheated. The queen immediately ordered the couple to divorce even though the former Princess of Wales was willing to try to work things out.
Did Princess Diana date anyone after Prince Charles?
As mentioned earlier, Princess Diana started dipping her toes in the dating pool long before the divorce. Her most well-known side-beau was James Hewitt. He came on the scene as the Princess’ horse riding instructor. Sparks began flying and given her tumultuous marriage back home, a romantic relationship bloomed. It lasted an impressive five years. Fun fact, many people used to think Hewitt was Prince Harry’s “real” dad due to their striking resemblance.
James Gilbey is another man Princess Diana tangoed with during her marriage, but what about after the divorce? Her first post-marriage boyfriend was a Pakistani heart surgeon, Hasnat Khan. Sadly, things didn’t work out due to scheduling conflicts and Khan’s doubts about their future. Thankfully, Princess Diana was able to find her prince charming — Egyptian millionaire Dodi Fayed. They clicked almost immediately, and things were moving along perfectly. Sadly, Princess Di’s death in 1997 cut her life short and made Fayed’s plans for marriage impossible.
What did Princess Diana say to Prince Charles after they split?
There was a lot of drama leading up to the divorce. Neither party was doing a great job at taking the high road. But, by the time the separation rolled around, it seemed like both Princess Diana and Prince Charles got the negativity out of their system.
In Ingrid Seward’s book, The Queen and Di: The Untold Story, the royal expert wrote about the fateful day the Prince and Princess of Wales’ marriage officially ended. Instead of being up in arms, the two “met in the first-floor drawing room Diana called the salon of her apartment at Kensington Palace. They sat together on the yellow brocade-covered sofa”. It’s there where the Princess said these heartbreaking words: “Why did this have to happen?”
It’s clear that even after all of the mudslinging, Diana was still broken up over the divorce. In fact, it looks like they both were.
