What Princess Diana Wanted People to Know about King Charles Before Her Death: Biographer

King Charles and Princess Diana's love triangle with Camilla is still a tabloid hot topic but the late royal wished people could know Charles was once smitten with her. And so was she. The Times reported on July 23, 2024, that a royal biographer claimed that before Diana died in 1997, she had recalled her early romance with the monarch and hoped that people could see their love letters. 

Royal author Ingrid Seward revealed at an Oldie magazine lunch, "Diana told me very shortly before she died that she wished people could see the love letters that she had from Charles. She really wanted people to know that she loved Charles and he loved her. And I always remembered that. And she wanted the boys [Prince William and Prince Harry] to know that. There was a period of great love between them." 

Although, unfortunately, their marriage couldn't survive the test of time, the couple was first introduced by Diana's sister Lady Sarah McCorquodale in 1977 and she recounted the moment they instantly clicked, "He met Miss Right and she met Mr. Right. They just clicked. They have the same giggly sense of humor, and they both love ballet and opera and sport in all forms. It's perfect, and they are both over the moon about it," per The New York Times.

They used to meet on and off until three years later when Diana and Charles officially began dating. After a whirlwind of courtship, they publicly announced their engagement in February 1981. A few months later, in July, they wed in a highly publicized ceremony at St. Paul's Cathedral in London. However, the couple wasn't as happy as they seemed while walking down the aisle. 

Much later, Diana told her astrologer Penny Thornton that she almost called off the wedding. In an ITV documentary, Thornton recalled, "One of the most shocking things that Diana told me was that the night before the wedding, Charles told her that he didn't love her. I think Charles didn't want to go into the wedding on a false premise. He wanted to square it with her and it was devastating for Diana," and consequently, she "thought about not attending the wedding." 

Despite that, she said her vows. But the pain persisted as she later told her friend and voice coach, Peter Settelen that her wedding was the "worst day of [her] life," adding, "If I could write my own script I would have my husband go away with [Camilla Parker Bowles] and never come back," she said in a recording released as part of a Channel 4 documentary. 

Their marriage which lasted for 15 years succumbed to heartbreaks, feelings of angst, jealousy, and infidelity. However, they welcomed two sons- Prince William in 1982 and Prince Harry in 1984. By 1986, their relationship was beyond repair as according to AP News, Charles wrote in a letter that he felt "in a kind of cage ... longing to be free." Eventually, they separated in 1992 and their divorce was finalized only a year before she tragically died in a car crash, per PEOPLE.