Princess Diana was given stark warnings over and over again about her royal life and, in the end, they turned out to be true.
Not all people are compatible even though it may seem so in the beginning. The attraction can fizzle out and then people are often left in marriages they jumped into too quickly.
Some people decide to make do with what they have and work on their relationship while others move on to different pastures. Princess Diana and Prince Charles' marriage was a relationship that lost its fizzle quite fast.
Their public display of acrimony towards each other is well known. They eventually divorced in 1996, a year before Princess Diana's death in France, after being chased by rumors of infidelity on both sides. But, before this resentment began on both their parts, Diana was reportedly looking forward to marrying the future king of England.
In February 1981, before the couple got married they first announced their engagement. A heartbreaking incident from the night before their engagement showed Princess Diana what her future life with the royal family was going to be like.
Andrew Morton, the author of the 1992 book Diana - Her True Story, wrote about the encounter and how it left the 19-year-old Lady Diana feeling. "The night before the engagement announcement, which took place on February 24, 1981, she packed a bag, hugged her loyal friends, and left Coleherne Court forever. She had an armed Scotland Yard bodyguard for company, Chief Inspector Paul Officer, a philosophical policeman who is fascinated by runes, mysticism, and the after-world. As she prepared to say goodbye to her private life, he told her: 'I just want you to know that this is the last night of freedom in your life so make the most of it.' Those words stopped her in her tracks," writes the author.
"They felt like a sword through my heart," Diana had said, the author claimed, as per Express UK.
Princess Diana was reportedly warned by Princess Grace, who gave up her Hollywood career to marry Prince Rainier III of Monaco in 1956. Diana had revealed how Grace Kelly had helped her out during her first outing as Prince Charles' fiancee. They had visited a musical recital at Goldsmiths’ Hall on March 3, 1981, only a week after their engagement was announced.
"I remember meeting Princess Grace and how wonderful and serene she was -‒ but there was troubled water under her, I saw that," said Diana, as quoted by Morton in his book. The 19-year-old had opened up to Kelly about her fears for the future since she too had been an outsider who joined the royal family. Kelly gave her a stark warning instead of words of support. "Don’t worry, it’ll only get worse," said Kelly, as per Express UK.
Prince Charles had reportedly been forced to marry Princess Diana due to parental pressure. Prince Philip, the alpha male, had dominated his eldest child and given him an ultimatum to either marry her or leave her. Charles wanted to do the right thing for "this country and for my family," so he proposed to Princess Diana, as per History Extra. However, he had been so unhappy with the idea of marrying her that he cried on the night before his wedding to her.
He stood at a window and asked his then valet, "Stephen. Is it possible to love two women at the same time?" The conversation has been documented by Sally Bedell Smith, a royal biographer in her 2017 book, Charles: The Misunderstood Prince.
The documentary, Diana: In Her Own Words, which referenced secret tapes of Princess Diana also revealed that she didn't want to marry him. Only moments after her engagement with him, she told her sisters that she wants to call it off.
"I went upstairs, had lunch with my sisters who were there, and I said, 'I can’t marry him. I can’t do this. This is absolutely unbelievable.' And they were wonderful and said, 'Well, bad luck, Duch. Your face is on the tea towel, so you’re too late to chicken out,'" Princess Diana remembered, as per CheatSheet.
They went ahead with the wedding and had an uncomfortable and loveless marriage until they separated in 1992.
References:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Charles-Misunderstood-Sally-Bedell-Smith/dp/0718187806
