Unearthed tapes reveal Princess Diana’s marriage heartbreak
Their marriage has been – and continues to be – a source of great curiosity for many, but as an updated edition of Andrew Morton’s explosive biography (Diana: Her True Story) reveals, Princess Diana and Prince Charles’ relationship was darker and more fractured than anyone could have imagined.
Unearthed transcripts of tapes recorded by the heartbroken Princess have highlighted how quickly her hopes for a happy marriage were dashed by her new husband and his lingering feelings for Camilla Parker Bowles.
“We got married on Wednesday,” she recalled. “On the Monday (July 27, 1981), we had gone to St Paul's for our last rehearsal, and that's when the camera lights were on full and I got a sense of what the day was going to be.
“And I sobbed my eyes out. I absolutely collapsed and it was because of all sorts of things. The Camilla thing rearing its head the whole way through our engagement.”
Despite attempting to keep a cool head throughout the engagement, Diana confessed she felt lonely, and that she had no one to talk to about the difficulties she was going through in her relationship – let alone while struggling with bulimia the night before her big day.
“I had a very bad fit of bulimia the night before,” she revealed. “Nobody understood what was going on there. It was very hush-hush. I was sick as a parrot that night. It was such an indication of what was going on.”
When their wedding day finally arrived, Diana perked up and began to look forward to her future with Charles. “I remember being so in love with my husband that I couldn't take my eyes off him. I just absolutely thought I was the luckiest girl in the world. He was going to look after me. Well, was I wrong on that assumption!”
Throughout their wedding night and well into their honeymoon, Diana admitted the “Camilla thing” was constantly on her mind. “I was obsessed by Camilla totally,” she confessed. “I didn't trust [Charles] – though every five minutes he was ringing her up, asking how to handle his marriage.”
Sadly, for Diana, the constant worrying about her marriage only made her bulimia worse. Just months into their marriage, people began commenting on her gaunt appearance, and she took drastic measures to try and dull the emotional pain.
“I was so depressed, and I was trying to cut my wrists with razor blades,” she heartbreakingly recalled of the couple’s time at Balmoral.
She returned to London early to seek treatment and shortly learned she was pregnant with William – something which became a great source of comfort and excitement for the Princess.
To read more, click here to pre-order Diana: Her True Story by Andrew Morton.