Even though Prince Charles and Princess Diana's marriage was very far from the fairytale people were hoping it would turn out to be, one royal expert thinks the late Princess of Wales didn't actually want to end it.
"I think that even after the separation in 1992, they still carried on doing engagements. I don’t think Diana ever really wanted to truly give up," Emma Cooper, who executive-produced CNN docuseries Diana told Us Weekly. "Actually, it was the queen in the end [that] said, 'You’re separated. You need to get divorced.' And I think she never, ever—did she really want to do that? Look, I don’t know. It feels to me from the evidence of all the testimony that we had in her own words, that it was hard for her."
Driving the point home that Diana didn't take divorce lightly, Cooper added, "On the day Diana’s divorce papers came through, she sat there on her own in Kensington Palace, and she told [royal correspondent Jennie Bond] that the one thing she wanted to do was just pick up the phone and speak to Charles and I just thought, 'Wow.'
"Then she said, 'Oh, but I couldn’t because I know he’d just think I was silly again.' And I thought, 'That’s somebody who is not walking out of a marriage without feeling emotion.' And actually, on that day, she was also wearing her wedding ring. She was photographed with her wedding ring on. So, I don’t think she ran out of that marriage."
And all of this despite how she was treated throughout her union to Charles, who was seeing Camilla Parker-Bowles while he was married—something Diana knew about, but was told wasn't true.
"[Diana] knew all of this detail about Charles and Camilla, and she was constantly told by the people around [her] that she was crazy, that she was obsessed," Cooper added. "It’s sort of language that has been used around women for centuries, which is, 'You’re hysterical, you’re seeing things, you’re obsessed. There’s nothing in this, let it go.' Well, she was right. … She was aware of everything, and yet she was constantly told that what she was seeing, she was not really seeing."
What a horrible situation all around.
-
Meghan Markle Shared a Rare Video Filmed by Prince Harry on InstagramAnd she used her nickname for him in the shoutout she wrote in the video's caption.
-
'Adolescence's Owen Cooper is Netflix's Latest Breakout StarCooper is garnering Emmy buzz for his role as a 13-year-old accused of murder in the U.K. miniseries.
-
Jennifer Lopez's Latest Flirty Hairstyle Proves the Power of a Good Hair AccessoryThe actor reimagined a traditional hairstyle with a trendy spin while on the set of her latest movie, ;Office Romance.'
-
Princess Diana's Wedding Gown Was Inspired by a Supermodel's "Fairytale" Dress—And the Original Is Now on eBayYou'll never believe the price.
-
Prince Charles Found One Aspect of Marriage With "Mercurial" Princess Diana "Difficult to Cope With"A former royal journalist opened up about her encounters with the late royal.
-
Princess Diana Saw Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson's Divorce as a "Roadmap of How to Mess It Up"The late princess used her brother-in-law and sister-in-law's split as a learning opportunity for her own breakup.
-
Queen Camilla Once Joked "Don't Tell The King" After Proposing Hilarious Reality Show IdeaShe'd certainly bring in a big audience.
-
Why Queen Camilla Is a "Stranger to Self-Pity" After Difficult Health Battles and Public CriticismA source said Camilla draws her strength from a strong "sense of duty" despite her recent challenges.
-
Why Queen Camilla Reportedly "Wasn't Very Keen" on Kate Middleton as a Future Royal BrideApparently, Camilla had three specific concerns about Prince William's commoner girlfriend.
-
Why King Charles and Queen Camilla Are Spending a "Lot of Time Apart" Ahead of Their 20th Wedding Anniversary"Before she married Charles, she made a pact."
-
The Surprising Detail About Princess Diana's Earrings You Probably Missed at Kate Middleton's Latest AppearanceThe Princess of Wales wore her late-mother-in-law's pearl drops for Commonwealth Day 2025.
