Resurfaced Clip Shows Princess Diana's Clever Response To King Charles Calling William 'A Bit Dumb'

Prince Charles and Princess Diana got married on 29 July 1981 at St Paul's Cathedral. The royal couple welcomed their firstborn son Prince William on 21 June 1982. When William was six months old on December 22, 1982, Charles and Diana held a photo shoot session with the Associated Press. The Princess of Wales responded cheekily to a nasty remark that was possibly made in jest about Charles during the exclusive sit-down. In a viral clip from the decades-old shoot Charles is seen leaning over baby William, followed by a voiceover that captions the image, "he's a bit dumb." "Like all men," Princess Diana is seen instantly responding, turning to face the camera, before Charles glances up, grins, and turns his face away.

As per Newsweek, the embarrassingly snarky moment was shared multiple times on TikTok and garnered over a million views. Since it is unclear whether Prince Charles actually made the offensive comment about his son, many internet users believed the footage was edited or artificial intelligence (AI) generated. However, examining the entire video revealed that the offensive remark was made by a crew member conducting the interview rather than the Prince of Wales. It's hard to tell what exactly was transcribed at the moment and whether the royal baby was truly called "dumb", but the future king didn't utter them, so Diana wasn't answering her husband. 

But when she said, "Like all men," the crew member in question did burst out laughing. Instead of recoiling from a retort directed at him, Charles seemed to be enjoying her quick wit and grinning while looking away from the camera. The viral clip was removed after the publication pointed out that Prince Charles was incorrectly attributed for the remark. Despite her disagreements with her husband throughout her life, Diana has never implied that Charles dubbed their firstborn son "dumb".  

According to Newsweek, Diana proudly referred to Prince William as her soulmate. "Diana proudly told friends that William was her "soulmate, & closest confidant," royal author Robert Jobson wrote in his book titled - William's Princess. Former editor of Vanity Fair, Tina Brown, described in her book that the late princess called William her "little wise old man" since he helped her make more mature decisions. Royal authors commented that she was very vulnerable and dependent on her oldest son during some of the most trying times in her marriage. 

The tumultuous marriage of his parents in the 1990s and what the media called the "war of the Waleses" had a significant effect on William as a child. During her 1995 BBC Panorama interview Diana disclosed that she had broken the news of her marriage going down gently with her son. "Well, he's a child that's a deep thinker, and we don't know for a few years how it's gone in. But I put it in gently, without resentment or any anger." She continued. "He said, was that the reason why our marriage had broken up? And I said, well, there were three of us in this marriage, and the pressure of the media was another factor, so the two together were very difficult." Charles and Diana divorced on August 28, 1996, after four years of separation.