When Prince Charles Likened His Failing Marriage to Diana as a ‘Greek Tragedy’ in Letters to Nancy Reagan

Lady Diana, the late Princess of Wales, always described her marriage to Prince Charles as “crowded,” indicating that it was doomed from the beginning. On the other hand, King Charles III had written former First Lady Nancy Reagan letters in which he had confided all of his feelings. They remained pen friends for decades. Then, the private notes were added to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute’s public archive in California. The then Prince of Wales likened his failing marriage to a “Greek tragedy” in one of these letters. “One day I will tell you the whole story,” he wrote in the letter, dated June 21, 1992. “It is a kind of Greek tragedy and would certainly make a very good play!” “It is so awful,” he continued. “Very few people would believe it.”

As per People , Reagan and the royal first met in May 1981 at the White House, which was two months before his wedding to Lady Diana. The young married couple then visited the United States in 1985. Following the trip, the famous pen pals continued to correspond, and that continued until Reagan’s passing in 2016.

When he sent the anguish-filled letter , his marriage to Diana was about to fall apart; they split up six months later, in December 1992. According to him, things were only becoming “worse and worse,” and he felt alone in his misery. He wrote, “No one can really understand what it all means until it happens to you, which is why it all keeps getting worse and worse.” To escape the news about his marriage, Charles shared with Reagan that he had started reading classic literature. He expressed his hope that it would make him “more knowledgeable and wise.” Charles wrote a follow-up letter in 1985 expressing how much Diana had loved her visit to the White House.

He said: “Diana still hasn’t got over dancing with John Travolta, Neil Diamond, and Clint Eastwood in one evening not to mention the President of the United States as well!” In 2017 Joanne Drake of the Reagan Presidential Foundation told The Daily Mail . “President and Mrs. Reagan really valued their friendship with the royal family, especially the Prince of Wales. They shared the ups and downs of their lives and always wrote the other with strong words of personal support, especially if the situation had become public. Mrs Reagan was extremely touched that he attended President Reagan’s funeral in 2004. She felt a special closeness to him.”

Written in the Prince’s signature black ink on crested notepaper, the letters are written from a variety of residences, including Highgrove, Sandringham, Birkhall, his hunting lodge in the grounds of Balmoral, and the British Embassy in Washington. They differ in tone and substance.