Princess Diana Asked Queen Elizabeth a 'Brutal Question' That Stunned the Royal Family

Princess Diana and Queen Elizabeth II shared a cordial relationship. Since Diana was raised within royal circles, she had met the Queen long before she began dating Prince Charles. As per Tatler, in 2001, royal biographer Ingrid Seward stated that although the monarch "never directly addressed the question of Charles' marriage, she made it clear she approved of Diana by nod and nuance." However, the two powerful women had different views on the monarchy; the Princess of Wales approached her royal responsibilities in a more contemporary manner, while the Queen maintained the crown's historic foundations. Hence when Diana openly broached a controversial question regarding the monarch, she earned the wrath of the Queen. 

Diana posed the question of whether the royals would be 'relevant in the future'. Her harsh reality left members of the royal family gathered for Christmas lunch at Sandringham including Prince Charles 'looking at her as if she were mad'. Andrew Morton, a royal biographer, alleged that Diana then questioned the monarch about how long she would continue to rule federal Europe. “The Queen, Prince Charles, and the rest of the royal family looked at her as if she were mad and continued with their debate on who shot the last pheasant of the day, a discussion which occupied the rest of the evening," Morton described in his book - Diana: Her True Story. 

According to the UK Mirror, Morton went on to write that the Princess of Wales believed that the royals were 'outdated': “As a friend says: ‘She finds the monarchy claustrophobic and completely outdated with no relevance to today’s life and problems. She feels that it is a crumbling institution and believes that the family won’t know what has hit them in a few years unless it changes too’.”

Diana: Her True Story, which was published in 1992 detailed her troubled marriage with Charles and also highlighted her relationship with the Queen. It was reported that Her Majesty was "stunned" by the contents and in disbelief that the memoir had exposed "dirty linen in such a way." However, the Princess of Wales acknowledged feeling "desperate" and "at the end of her tether" while working on the book with Morton. 

Although the Queen and Diana disagreed, she referred to Diana as "an exceptional and gifted human being." Days after Diana's passing, Her Majesty paid tribute to her in public by saying: "First, I want to pay tribute to Diana myself. She was an exceptional and gifted human being. In good times and bad, she never lost her capacity to smile and laugh, nor to inspire others with her warmth and kindness. I admired and respected her - for her energy and commitment to others, and especially for her devotion to her two boys." After giving examples from her remarkable life, the Queen said she should treasure her memory forever.