There’s a lot of interest around Princess Diana at the moment, with the scandal surrounding the BBC and that infamous interview with Martin Bashir. There’s also a little streaming show on Netflix called The Crown. You may have heard of it?
But while everyone is seemingly obsessed once again with everything Princess Diana, it’s worth remembering the heartache and sad memories that the renewed interest in the People’s Princess will undoubtedly have brought upon Prince William, Prince Harry, and of course, Prince Charles.
As sad as it is, the doomed marriage between Prince Charles and Princess Diana is a terrific example of exactly why the long courtship between our future king, Prince William, and Duchess Kate Middleton was precisely the correct thing to do.
Prince Charles and Princess Diana married for all the wrong reasons. Diana’s astrologer, Penny Thornton, claimed that Charles even told the future Princess that he didn’t love her the night before their wedding.
Speaking during the ITV documentary The Diana Interview, and reported by the Daily Mail, Penny claims:
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.
The astrologer continues:
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. She didn’t want to go through with the wedding at that point, she thought about not attending the wedding.
I know what I’m about to say is considered almost sacrilege by Princess Diana fans, but Prince Charles, who is so often painted as the villain of the piece, is an easy target.
A male heir to the British throne is always going to come off second best to a young, beautiful princess, isn’t he?
But while Princess Diana was young, let’s not pretend she was stupid. As we saw in later years, Diana knew how to get what she wanted and wasn’t afraid to speak up when required.
The men she was linked with after her relationship with Prince Charles broke down tells us that she was no shrinking violet.
Again, it’ll prove an unpopular decision, but I certainly consider Princess Diana to be far savvier than the somewhat spoiled and naive Prince Charles.
If the future king is guilty of one thing, it’s carrying a flame for Camilla Shand, who would later become Camilla Parker-Bowles.
The reasons for Prince Charles and Camilla not furthering their relationship, in the beginning, seem rather amusing when viewed through modern eyes, with Patricia Mountbatten commenting that:
The conventions of the time called for the heir to the British throne to marry a woman who at least appeared to be virginal.
Poor old Camilla didn’t quite measure up it would seem.
I do wonder how this particular scenario would be viewed if instead of a male Prince Charles, it was a female princess who was in his shoes?
Imagine a young, impressionable princess being deprived of her one true love at an early age. Instead, she’s then coerced and pushed into a marriage with someone who “fit the bill” but they didn’t love?
Yes, Prince Charles suffers a bit in this tale because he’s a man.
While it’s all terribly exciting to look forward to Elizabeth Debicki’s portrayal of Princess Diana in The Crown, it’s common knowledge that Josh O’Connor’s Prince Charles will come off as the villain of the piece.
Speaking to the PA News Agency, O’Connor commented:
If series three was to make people feel empathy and sorry for him [Charles], I guess we’re going to pull the rug from under him in the next series.
How this all plays out over the coming few months will prove interesting, especially if you factor in the deal that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have with Netflix.
You’d have to be a fool to think that the streaming giant won’t at least attempt to parlay their success with The Crown into another royal series where they can exploit their relationship with the hapless Harry.
How this affects his relationship with his brother and father remains to be seen. It’s also worth asking if Prince Harry even cares anymore?