Royal Failure: Princess Diana Partly To Blame For Failed Marriage With Prince Charles?
Princess Diana may have led Prince Charles to think that the two of them shared more interests than he thought. This convinced the heir to the throne that they were suited to be husband and wife until they were not.
Woman For The Job
When Prince Charles and Princess Diana's marriage collapsed and resulted to a divorce in 1996, royal experts considered them a poor match. In the 2007 biography "Charles: The Man Who Will Be King," Howard Hodgson revealed what drew Charles to Diana when they started dating in 1980.
He explained that it was physical attraction that first led Charles to date Diana. However, she did something more that drew Charles closer to wanting to be with her.
"She claimed she understood what was expected of her in the arduous task of monarchy and the harsh demands of duty to the people; she expressed her love of Balmoral, the country life and sports and all of his friends," Hodgson revealed.
Diana knew that Charles had a unique enthusiasm for the countryside and his family estate in Balmoral. His sense of duty is just one of the most prominent details of his character.
However, Hodgson pointed out that none of what Princess Diana said was true. In the biography of Prince Charles, Hodgson wrote: "The Princess lacked the discipline needed for continual duty, only had the stomach for the media when it suited her, hated Balmoral, thought country life was boring, was frightened of riding and was exceedingly jealous of Charles' friends."
He added that Prince Charles has always followed the ways of the British monarchy when it came to choosing the woman to marry. He knew that she didn't only have to be good for him, but she has to be good for the whole country in general.
"He knew his marriage had to last, and he believed that great friendship, common interest and an understanding of what was involved were essential if there was to be any chance of success," Hodgson furthered.
He added that what made the marriage fail was because Diana wasn't always true. "Diana convinced him that she was the girl for the job," Hodgson explained.
Diana fulfilled the criteria of the kind of woman the Prince of Wales was supposed to marry. She had to be aristocratic and a virgin.
According to Hodgson, Lady Diana Spencer has always wanted to marry into the royal family.
A Case Of Incompatibility
When Princess Diana and Prince Charles got married in 1981, everyone thought their "fairytale wedding" was a dream come true. But it was not long before the Queen and Prince Philip realized that the differences in the personalities of Charles and Diana were going to cause a clash.
Royal critics noted that the two were very much in love at the beginning of their marriage. However, later on, Prince Charles admitted that he had an affair with another woman, Camilla Parker Bowles. He said that this only happened only after his relationship with his wife Diana has broken down.
Diana had already suspected that the two were secretly in a relationship. She even tried to convince Camilla to stop seeing her husband. And yet, Camilla resisted.
All of these became public during Diana's interview with "Panorama" in 1995.
"There were always three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded," Diana said.
Many royal critics suggested that Camilla was the better fit for Prince Charles, primarily because they share the love for the countryside.
Indeed, the Prince of Wales married Camilla in 2005. The royal couple recently celebrated their 15th anniversary together.
