King Charles and Princess Diana's 'blazing rows' decades before split

Nichola Murphy
·3 min read
Prince Charles looking away from Princess Diana in a tartan dress
(Photonews Scotland/Shutterstock)

There have been several reports about the downfall of King Charles' marriage with his first wife Princess Diana, but it has now been suggested that the monarch's relationship with Camilla wasn't the sole cause.

When they weren't carrying out royal duties, the then-Prince of Wales and the People's Princess reportedlydid not have many things in common, leading to "blazing rows" behind closed doors.

Diana and Charles waving on their wedding day
The couple reportedly started having rows shortly after they got married on 29 July 1981 (Ron Bull)

A keen artist, reader and hunter, Charles relished the quiet time to embrace his hobbies while Diana had hoped to make the most of their rare private break to bond with the man who would become the father of her two future kids Prince William and Prince Harry.

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According to The Duchess author Penny Junor, the couple's three-month-long honeymoon, which began in July 1981 following their royal wedding, caused rising tensions.

diana in peach suit shaking hand of man getting into car
Princess Diana changed into a pink dress as she headed on her honeymoon (Getty)

"He'd taken along his watercolours, some canvases and a pile of books by the Afrikaner mystic and writer Laurens van der Post, which he'd hoped he and Diana might share and then discuss in the evenings," Penny wrote.

"Diana, however, was no great reader. She hated his wretched books and was offended that he might prefer to bury his head in one of them rather than sit and talk to her. She resented him sitting for hours at his easel, too, and they had many blazing rows.

princess diana honeymoon balmoral
The couple's different hobbies and interest proved to be a point of contention in their marriage

"One day, when Charles was painting on the veranda deck of Britannia, he went off to look at something for half an hour. He came back to find she'd destroyed his painting and all his materials," she added.

Charles and Diana's multiple honeymoons

William and Harry's parents started married life by catching the train to Prince Philip's family home, the Broadlands estate.

Following a stint in the country home, the newlyweds boarded the royal yacht Britannia for an 11-day cruise from Gibraltar to Algeria, Tunisia, Sicily, the Greek islands and Egypt.

princess diana suit honeymoon
King Charles and Princess Diana's three-month honeymoon included stays at Broadlands and Balmoral

Finally, Charles and Diana flew to his late mother Queen Elizabeth II's Scottish home, Balmoral, which was known for hunting and fishing – some of Charles' favourite pastimes.

To mark their tenth wedding anniversary in 1991, the royals took their two kids, Charles' cousin Norton Knatchbull, his wife Penelope and their children on a boat trip in Italy.

8 Prince Charles Princess Diana Royal Yacht Britannia
Charles and Diana also honeymooned on the Royal Yacht Britannia (Photo: Getty Images)

In August 1991, Diana was pictured boarding the Alexander Yacht in Naples for what was believed to be their "second honeymoon." The group enjoyed soaking up the sun and swimming in the sea, but Charles and Diana's quality time wasn't enough to repair their marriage and they announced their separation the following year.

They got divorced in 1996, shortly before Diana's death. King Charles went on to find love with Queen Camilla, whom Diana referenced in her famous Panorama interview: "There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded."

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