Princess Diana Felt Uneasy During Her Royal Wedding Day

published 17 April 2020

On the day of her royal wedding to Prince Charles in 1981, Princess Diana felt "uneasy."
Royal expert Jennie Bond says the late royal described feeling like a "a lamb to the slaughter" as she walked down the aisle on her wedding day.
Just days before the wedding, Diana reportedly discovered a bracelet Charles had purchased as a gift for his ex-girlfriend (and future second wife) Camilla Parker Bowles.

Princess Diana and Prince Charles' marriage troubles started right away—like, on their literal wedding day.

In an interview for the Channel 5 documentary Charles and Camilla: King and Queen in Waiting, royal expert Jennie Bond shared the moment during her royal wedding that gave Diana bad vibes.

First, let's set the scene: A few days before Diana and Charles' big day, the future-People's Princess found a box with a bracelet inside in the office of Charles' private secretary, Michael Colborne. She insisted on seeing the bracelet inside the box and discovered that it was engraved with the letters G and F—which, according to The Mirror, stood for "Gladys" and "Fred," the nicknames Charles and his ex-girlfriend (and, not inconsequentially, future-wife) Camilla Parker Bowles used for each other.

Fast forward to July 29, 1981, when Diana is getting ready to walk down the aisle and marry actual an actual prince in a lavish ceremony at St. Paul's Cathedral in London. When she saw Camilla in one of the pews of the church, she had a strong gut reaction.

"Diana told me much later in one of our private conversations that she had felt like a lamb to the slaughter as she walked up the aisle, which was very sad," Bond explained of the feeling Diana had on her wedding day. "I think she knew that things weren't quite right, and when she saw Camilla in the congregation, was immediately uneasy about it."

Obviously (and, of course, unfortunately), Diana's instincts turned out to be spot-on.

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Kayleigh Roberts is a freelance writer and editor with more than 10 years of professional experience. Her byline has appeared in Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, The Atlantic, Allure, Entertainment Weekly, MTV, Bustle, Refinery29, Girls’ Life Magazine, Just Jared, and Tiger Beat, among other publications. She's a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.