Princess Diana, known as "The People's Princess," died on Aug. 31, 1997, from a car crash in Paris. She was 36. The former Prince Charles went on to marry Camilla.
King Charles and Princess Diana’s marriage didn’t last, but their admiration for each other endured.
While the couple’s relationship ended in divorce, the late Princess of Wales wanted the public to know that the affection they had for each other was genuine, The UK Times recently reported.
Christopher Andersen, author of "The Day Diana Died," told Fox News Digital the couple became closer after parting ways, once they were finally allowed to find love elsewhere.
"Charles and Diana spent their entire married life locked in mortal combat over Camilla, the woman Charles truly loved," said Andersen. "Charles and Diana's screaming matches were truly legendary, and out of desperation Diana not only became bulimic but tried to take her own life on several occasions… It was a lopsided romance from the get-go.
"The marriage of Charles and Diana was a spectacular train wreck," Andersen added.
Charles’ extramarital affair with his mistress torpedoed his marriage to Diana, known as "the People’s Princess." Following a messy, public split, Diana and Charles grew to respect each other. The couple shared two sons, Prince William and Prince Harry.
Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine, says Diana wanted people to know that there once was genuine love between the two.
"Diana told me very shortly before she died that she wished people could see the love letters that she had from Charles," said Seward, as reported by The Times.
"She really wanted people to know that she loved Charles, and he loved her," Seward continued. "And I always remembered that. And she wanted the boys to know that. There was a period of great love between them."
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According to the outlet, Seward said Diana spoke about the letters just a few weeks before her death. Seward claimed Diana wanted "the early days of her romance with the heir to the throne to be properly reflected."
It’s unclear which years Diana received the letters in question. It’s also unknown where those letters are today. Some of Diana’s intimate letters to friends during her divorce were sold at auction last year for just under $170,000, People magazine reported.
Diana and Charles married in 1981 following a short courtship. The princess said they only met 13 times before he proposed, People magazine reported. They welcomed their son William in 1982, followed by Harry in 1984.
Andersen noted that the mood softened between Charles and Diana after they called it quits in 1992. Their divorce was finalized in 1996.
"After they split – when there was no longer the pressure of maintaining the charade as husband and wife – Charles and Diana were finally free to be themselves," Andersen explained. "Diana was ‘deliriously happy’ with her new love Dodi Fayed, although she had no intention of marrying him. And, of course, Charles would ultimately be free to marry Camilla."
"There was absolutely zero desire on the part of either Charles or Diana to get back together," Andersen stressed. "In fact, as exes, they were finally able to develop a warm and caring relationship. There was finally true, lasting affection between them, largely due to their shared concern for William and Harry."
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Diana even began to finally accept Charles’ relationship with Camilla, Andersen claimed.
"It was only after their divorce that Diana began to have a grudging respect for the love Charles had for Camilla," said Andersen. "’When you find a true, deep love like that, it's a precious thing,’ she told William. ‘You've got to hold on tight to it.’ In the final months of Diana's life, the bond between her and her ex-husband grew even stronger – even as Diana and her new boyfriend, Dodi Fayed, were making global headlines as they cavorted aboard a yacht in the Mediterranean."
"When Gianni Versace was gunned down outside his Miami Beach estate in July 1997, Charles knew how close Diana had been to the celebrated Italian designer and called her immediately to say how sorry he was," Andersen shared. "‘It means a great deal to me,’ Diana told her close friend Lucia Flecha de Lima, ‘to know that all the bitterness that was between us is gone now.’"
"Around the same time, Charles called Diana from Balmoral and invited her and their sons William and Harry to join him aboard the royal yacht Britannia later in the year for a segment of its final voyage before being decommissioned. Diana was ‘thrilled and touched’ by the gesture, which marked the last time Charles and Diana spoke."
According to Andersen, Charles wrote a letter to Diana. She never received it.
"On August 30, 1997, Charles sat down in his study at Balmoral and dashed off a letter to ‘My Dearest Diana,’ in which he asked if Harry, who was struggling with his studies at boarding school, should be held back an additional year before being sent to join William at Eton," said Andersen.
"Ending the note with ‘Lots of Love, Charles,’ the future King sealed it and handed it to his secretary with strict instructions to have it messengered to Kensington Palace – so that Princess Diana could ‘have it on her desk when she returns from her holiday.’"
The next day, Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris. She was 36. Her sudden death stunned the world – including her ex-husband.
"[It] hit Charles particularly hard," said Andersen. "She was the mother of his children, after all. When he flew to Paris to retrieve Diana's body, he nearly collapsed at the sight of her. A nurse I spoke with who was in the room said he reeled back ‘as if struck by an unseen hand’ and began to faint."
"After Diana's death, it was Charles who stood up to his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, and palace officials, demanding that she be given a royal funeral," said Andersen. "It was something the late queen resisted because Diana had been stripped of her royal status following the divorce."
Diana received a ceremonial funeral that was attended by 2,000 people. It was watched by over 2 billion people worldwide.
Andersen said it’s likely that Charles has had regrets about his marriage to Diana over the years.
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"To understand just how heartbreaking Diana's marriage to Charles was, you have to go back to the beginning," Andersen explained. "Just as Kate Middleton and millions of other girls put pinups of William and their bedroom walls and dreamt of marrying the handsome prince, Diana and her generation fantasized about marrying [the former] Prince Charles. Diana was only 19 when she got engaged to Charles, and even then it was pretty clear that she was in love with him, but that he was still in love with Camilla.
"During the TV interview right after the engagement, Charles uttered his famous ‘whatever 'in love' means’ when asked if he loved Diana. Diana, on the other hand, didn't hesitate to say she loved him. There may have been moments when Charles wrote tender words to his Diana, but their marriage was pretty much a nightmare for both from day one."
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"There was one brief time during Diana's second pregnancy when they became truly close," Andersen continued. "Diana would say it was the closest they had ever been or ever would be – but that all blew up as soon as Harry was born. Charles, who had hoped for a girl, blurted out ‘Oh, God, it's a boy. And he even has red hair.’ Diana said that ‘at that moment something inside me closed off.’
"Charles undoubtedly regrets that he ever allowed himself to be bullied by his father Prince Philip into marrying Diana – although that would, of course, have meant that William and Harry never would have existed. The sad truth is Camilla was the love of Charles' life all along, and Diana knew it."
Charles married Camilla in 2005. The former Prince of Wales ascended to the throne upon the death of his mother in 2022. Camilla was crowned queen in 2023.
