The Princess of Wales was deeply unhappy in her marriage to Prince Charles, but was given an ultimatum. In the end, she decided to stay with her husband so as not to lose her children. The Duke of Edinburgh allegedly told his daughter-in-law to “fit in or get out”, leaving her beloved Prince William and Prince Harry behind.
According to an updated version of Andrew Morton’s biography of the princess ‘Diana: Her True Story’, there was a bitter exchange of letters between the two royals in the lead-up to this.
Philip believed Diana had approved the book which exposed her sham marriage by allowing her friends to be interviewed.
He wrote her a letter, ordering her to “help maintain the dignity of the Crown”, which left her devastated.
She reportedly told a friend: “That’s it, I’m out.”
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Even then-Prime Minister John Major tried to intervene, warning Diana that he could not organise a respectable departure from public life if she kept “milking the media”.
However, Diana ignored him and wrote a strong letter back to Philip, reminding him that she is the mother of the future King.
Her tone made it clear she was on the brink of leaving Charles.
For a time, Philip backed down and she was treated with more respect, according to Mr Morton.
She even went on the infamous four-day Korean tour on which she and Charles were nicknamed ‘The Glums’.
The pictures from that visit made it blindingly obvious that the marriage was crumbling.
They avoided each other’s eye the entire time and did not even seem to make physical contact.
The pair were meant to lay a wreath together at Korea’s national cemetery, but instead Charles performed the duty alone with Diana looking mournfully on.
They were also supposed to open the new British Embassy together, but Diana was again left out.
Awkwardly, the plaque read: “This building was opened by Their Royal Highnesses.”
Just weeks after they returned from the tour it was announced that the couple would separate.
Princess Diana set up her own court at Kensington Palace, while Charles moved to Highgrove.
The couple later divorced in 1996 and Diana tragically died just a year later.
‘Diana: Her True Story’ was written by Andrew Morton and published by Michael O’Mara Books Ltd in 1992. An updated version is available here.
