DIANA revealed the real reason her marriage with Charles ended shortly before death, says a royal expert.

Royal author Ingrid Seward spoke on The Sun’s Royal Exclusives Show about a conversation she had with the late princess before she died in 1997 aged just 36.

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A royal expert claimed Diana revealed the real reason her marriage broke down before she diedCredit: Getty

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The couple tied the knot on Wednesday July 29, 1981 at St Paul’s CathedralCredit: Getty

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Queen Camilla has stood by the King’s side since his cancer diagnosisCredit: Getty
The royal expert told The Sun’s Royal Editor, Matt Wilkinson, Camilla was not the reason their marriage broke down, despite the stories.

“She had this spectre of Camilla in her head the whole time, she was obsessed, yet when I last spoke to her I brought Camilla up, and she said ‘Oh it wasn’t Camilla that ruined our marriage’,” said Ingrid.

“She said, ‘It was the people around my husband’.

“I thought to myself ‘It wasn’t Camilla? You’ve been complaining and complaining about her all these years’.”

The author continued: “But she changed tack, and said it was the environment in which keeping a royal marriage together, you’ve got to be very strong, and probably far more mature than she was.”

When asked about Queen Camilla stepping up for King Charles since his cancer diagnosis, Ingrid hailed the royal for taking on extra duties.

“She led them into King Constantine’s memorial service, but it was different on Easter Sunday and people really respect her,” said the expert.

“She was 50 when she got into this family and now she’s 76. Unless you’re born into it, it’s quite hard, the Windsors have massive energy.

“Charles as a young man used to run everywhere, Prince Philip would run everywhere.

“Camilla doesn’t have that kind of energy, and it really takes it out of her and I think a lot of people have a lot of respect for her.”
Harry should be William’s key adviser. That’s out of the window. It would break Diana’s heart says royal expert

Diana and Charles’ marriage

Before she was a member of the royal family, Princess Diana was known as Lady Diana Spencer.
The King first met his future bride when she was just 16, in November 1977.
He had been dating her older sister Lady Sarah, but it wasn’t until the summer of 1980, when Diana watched him play polo during a country weekend, that he took a serious interest in her as a bride.
Charles and Diana are known to have had a very tumultuous relationship.
The future king proposed to Diana on February 6, 1981, but the news was kept secret for a few weeks.
The couple officially announced their engagement on February 24, 1981.
The wedding took place on Wednesday July 29, 1981 at St Paul’s Cathedral.
It was estimated to have been watched by a global TV audience of 750 million, and the UK had a national holiday on the day too.
Yet the couple barely knew each other. Diana later admitted: “We met only 13 times before our wedding day.”
On the very first day of their honeymoon onboard the yacht Britannia things began to unravel.
Diana noticed Charles was wearing a pair of cufflinks with two entwined letter Cs.
She would later recall: “So I said, ‘Camilla gave you those, didn’t she?’.
He said, ‘Yes, so what’s wrong? They’re a present from a friend’. And boy, did we have a row. Jealousy, total jealousy.”
Weeks before their marriage, Diana had come across a bracelet inscribed with the letters GF among their wedding gifts.
They stood for Gladys and Fred, their pet names for each other.
The widening rift was put aside and on November 5, 1981, when the Princess’s first pregnancy was officially announced.
In 1984, pregnant with Prince Harry, Diana suspected that her husband was seeing Camilla at other times, too.
But as the birth approached, Diana recalled: “Charles and I were very, very close to each other the six weeks before Harry was born — the closest we’ve ever, ever been and ever will be.
“Then, suddenly, as Harry was born, it just went bang, our marriage. The whole thing went down the drain.”
The couple famously split in 1992 and finalised their divorce in 1996.
Charles is alleged to have told his friends “how awful incompatibility is”, and by mid-1986, he is said to have rekindled his affair with Camilla.
In June 1994, Charles confessed to Jonathan Dimbleby in a TV interview that he had been unfaithful to Diana, saying he rekindled his relationship with Camilla in 1986 only after his marriage had “irretrievably broken down”.
Then in November 1995, Diana chose BBC’s Panorama to give her side of the sorry story, telling presenter Martin Bashir: “There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.”

It comes as Queen Camilla continues to fill in at royal events while her husband undergoes cancer treatment.

His Majesty bravely opened up about his diagnosis after doctors found the disease while he was in for prostate corrective surgery in January.

Princess Kate has also been receiving preventative chemotherapy after her shock diagnosis following abdominal surgery earlier this year.

While the pair have been leaning on each other throughout their recovery, Queen Camilla and Prince William have taken on more responsibilities.

The future heir has also been a pillar of strength for his wife, as the couple continue to keep things normal for their three children.

INGRID SEWARD: Prince William is a pillar of strength for Kate

STEADFAST when his family needed him, William has proved himself as a man and future monarch of strength and compassion.

While he might not have been present during Kate’s courageous video address on Friday — make no mistake, he has been by her side every step of the way.

William has stepped up with school run duties and provided a “great source of comfort and reassurance” to his wife.

But he has also been a comforting and reassuring presence for the public.

From leading members of the Royal Family at the Commonwealth Day Service to enjoying cheerful banter with youngsters on a youth centre visit, he hasn’t put a foot wrong.

Just this week he visited Sheffield to highlight his Homewards project to end homelessness in the UK.

Even then there were few chinks in his facade — but Kate was clearly on his mind.

“She needs to be sat here to hear this,” he smiled, when the discussion turned to the challenges of young families.

But ultimately he is only human.

To have your father and your wife diagnosed with cancer within such quick succession is heart-shattering.

It’s a remarkable insight into the character of this young man that he has been so incredibly brave.

Theirs is a very private turmoil which has been brought into the public arena by nature of their roles as future King and Queen.

William must feel the weight of enormous responsibility, both personally and for the monarchy, of which he is now the public face.

But he knows his most important role is that of dad and husband.

He will make that his priority.

This is a distinct difference from the ways of the past, where your royal role came before the role of spouse and parent.

Think back to when the Queen was young.

WILLS’ PRIORITY

It was a man’s world then — and she was forced to abandon her children in a way that William is determined not to.

William and Kate waited until the school term was over and their children were home before making their public announcement.

They needed to be prepared.

In this, they will have had the wholehearted support of Charles — who knows what it feels like to be brought up by nannies.

William was also acutely aware of the lack of his own father’s presence in his life, especially when things went wrong.

In 1991, he was accidentally hit over the head with a golf club when he was at school and Diana was having lunch in her favourite restaurant San Lorenzo.

The call came through that William had been bashed on the head and they thought he might die so it was very serious.

Both Charles and Diana rushed down to Ludgrove.

William was taken to the Royal Berkshire Hospital and then to Great Ormond Street Hospital and Diana went with him.

But ever a man of duty, Charles prioritised his engagements.

William is determined to do things differently.

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Princess Diana arriving at the Serpentine Gallery, London, in a gown by Christina Stambolian, known as the ‘Revenge Dress’ in June 1994Credit: 2006 Getty Images

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Charles and Diana at Balmoral in May 1981 during their engagementCredit: Alamy

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King Charles and Queen Camilla waving from the Buckingham Palace balcony at the coronation on May 6 2023Credit: AP

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The marriage broke down after the birth of Prince HarryCredit: Getty