Queen Elizabeth Allegedly 'Dreaded' Diana’s Tearful Rants About Prince Charles ‘Hating Her’

Princess Diana and Queen Elizabeth II shared a complicated relationship, they remained cordial when it came to royal responsibilities. However, they were unable to agree on anything whenever Diana bought up her failed marriage to Prince Charles. Royal author Ingrid Seward gave startling insights about their relationship in the best-seller My Mother and I which was published in September 2023. The book chronicled that the late Queen felt "drained, despondent and confused" with the Princess of Wales' continuous rants about her disastrous marriage. 

Diana on the other hand felt "victimized" and thought that "no one understood her". The book shared that she would frequently "push her way in without waiting to be announced" after guests left the Queen's sitting chamber. She would then grumble about Charles, claiming he detested her and was "often in tears" during these spontaneous meetings. "Often in tears, she'd rant about Charles, saying he hated her, and rail against her mother, her stepmother, her sister Jane and her husband Robert Fellowes, and anyone else who had upset her. Everyone else was to blame: Diana insisted that she was being victimized and no one understood her," Seward wrote. 

However, soon Her Majesty dreaded their impromptu meetings the book claimed. "The Queen came to dread these meetings. She'd never had to deal with such outbursts in her life, and they left her feeling unfazed about her daughter-in-law's troubles. One member of the royal household, according to Seward, claimed that the Queen "just procrastinated" and that "no solution was ever put forward" to the problems Diana faced. The Queen grew furious after the Princess of Wales aired her marriage woes publically during a bombshell BBC interview in 1995.

Diana up till that point did not want to reveal her separation from Charles, however, the late Queen sent a letter that immediately spelled doom for their union. The handwritten letter, with the House of Windsor's insignia, came within weeks of the interview. Diana was infuriated since the Queen had caused the marriage to be formally dissolved. 

The Queen instructed strictly: "I have consulted with the Archbishop of Canterbury and with the prime minister and, of course, with Charles, and we have decided that the best course for you is divorce." Diana reportedly became enraged because she believed she was being pressured into getting a divorce even though she didn't want one. 

In a statement a few days later, Buckingham Palace formally declared the divorce, stating that "after considering the present situation the Queen gave them their view, supported by the Duke of Edinburgh [the late Prince Philip], that an early divorce is desirable."

Everything unfolded swiftly for Diana after she dubbed her estranged husband's camp the "enemy" and stated that the monarchy was in dire need of modernization. The interview, which was seen by 22.8 million people, caused serious humiliation for the royal family and broke the marriage forever.