Picture this: they’d only met 13 times before 750 million people around the globe tuned in to watch their fairy-tale royal wedding on TV in 1981. Princess Diana later shared how Prince Charles, who was nearly 13 years older, popped the question when she was just 19. "I laughed," she confessed. "I remember thinking, 'This is a joke,' and I said, 'Yeah, OK.'" But Charles was dead serious. "He said, 'You do realize that one day you will be queen?' And a voice inside me whispered, 'You won’t be queen, but you’ll have a tough role.'" That eerie premonition couldn’t have prepared her for the challenges her life would bring.
Sixteen years after tying the knot with the Prince of Wales, now King Charles III, and just a year after their divorce was finalized, Diana tragically passed away at the age of 36 in a Paris car crash. Fast forward, and it’s his longtime love, Camilla Parker Bowles, now 76, who sits on the throne. But Diana left behind a legacy of charity work and two beloved sons, Prince William, 42, and Prince Harry, 39. As the world prepares to honor what would have been her 63rd birthday on July 1, a new collection of deeply personal letters from the early days of her marriage is set to hit the auction block. Here, Closer brings you an exclusive look into the People’s Princess’ secrets and the heartbreak she endured.
Unveiling Princess Diana's Personal Thoughts
Following the sale of 32 letters written by the former Lady Diana Spencer earlier this year, which fetched a staggering $175,000 at auction, another batch of intimate handwritten notes is expected to reach six figures when it goes under the hammer on June 27, 2024. These letters, penned to Maud Pendrey, a former housekeeper at Althorp, the Spencer family estate, offer a rare glimpse into Diana's mind during that pivotal time in her life. In one letter, she describes her honeymoon with Charles, now 75, as "a tremendous success." In another, she beams with pride about being a "lucky and proud mother," eagerly anticipating having "many more" children.
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It’s no surprise that Diana formed a close bond with the housekeeper. Haunted by her parents’ divorce when she was just 6, she craved affection. "She was incredibly shy and lonely as a child but found solace with the staff who cared for her and adored her," a source exclusively reveals to Closer. "They were her family." Yet, she felt the pressure to keep up appearances, even when she was struggling. "She felt she had to maintain the facade," notes the source. The warning signs were there from the start. During their official engagement interview, when asked if they were in love, Diana said, "Of course," while Charles responded cryptically, "Whatever 'in love' means." Though she laughed it off at the time, she later admitted his response left her "absolutely traumatized."
Things took a turn for the worse within a week of their engagement when Diana succumbed to bulimia. Charles, she recalled, "put his hand on my waistline and said, 'Oh, a bit chubby here, aren’t we?' and that triggered something in me." Her struggles only deepened as she realized Charles still harbored feelings for Camilla. Diana later admitted to making five suicide attempts, one of which occurred when she "desperately threw herself down the stairs" while pregnant with William. She described her self-harm as "a desperate cry for help." Charles, however, was ill-equipped to handle her emotional turmoil. "His frustration and impatience over her unhappiness got the better of him," explains the source. "He couldn’t grasp why she wouldn’t simply endure it and act as royals were expected to." The ultimate betrayal came when Diana discovered Charles had rekindled his relationship with Camilla.
The Royal Family's Evolution Post-Diana
Almost 27 years after her passing, it’s hard to imagine what Diana would think of the rift between her two sons. Harry sees parallels between how his mother was treated by the royal family and what his wife, Meghan Markle, 42, faced after their 2018 wedding. In 2022, Harry remarked that the family turned on Meghan for "doing the job better than the person who is born to do this." Diana echoed similar sentiments in 1995, revealing that "with the media attention came a lot of jealousy" from blood royals, which led to "complicated situations." Perhaps she would have supported Harry’s decision to relocate his young family from the U.K. to California in 2020 amid relentless media scrutiny. "Harry was deeply affected by what his mother went through, and when he saw the same thing happening to Meghan, he knew he had to act," explains the source. "He’s convinced his mother would have approved of him leaving the royal family. Diana had tried to do the same, and he believes she would be proud of him and his new life."
