Princess Diana Confessed That She Would Have Gone Back to Prince Charles "In a Heartbeat"
Just a month before she died, Princess Diana told her royal biographer that she would have gone back to Prince Charles "in a heartbeat" if he wanted her.
- In August 1996, after four years of separation, Prince Charles and Princess Diana divorced. Diana died a year later in a tragic car accident in Paris.
- According to royal biographer Tina Brown, author of The Diana Chronicles, the late royal confessed a month before her death that she would have gone back to Charles "in a heartbeat if he wanted her."
- "At the end of Diana's life, she and Charles were on the best terms they'd been for a very long time. Charles got into the habit of dropping in on her at Kensington Palace and they would have tea and a sort of rueful exchange. They even had some laughs together," Brown explained.
Princess Diana and Prince Charles had an infamously tumultuous relationship—complete with an even more infamous breakup and divorce. The couple married in July 1981 and had formally separated by 1992. Then, after four years of separation and increasingly rising tensions, the pair finally officially divorced in August of 1996.
Diana died almost exactly a year later in August 1997 in a tragic car accident in Paris. Just a month before she died, however, Diana had apparently had a change of heart about her ex.
According to royal biographer Tina Brown, author of The Diana Chronicles, the late royal confessed to her during a meeting that summer that she would have gone back to Charles "in a heartbeat," if he had been interested.
In a recent interview with The Telegraph, Brown explained:
"At the end of Diana's life, she and Charles were on the best terms they'd been for a very long time. Charles got into the habit of dropping in on her at Kensington Palace and they would have tea and a sort of rueful exchange. They even had some laughs together.
It was definitely calming down, the boys were older. They talked about their philanthropies. And she had accepted Camilla [Parker Bowles]. One thing she had finally done was really understand that Camilla was the love of his life, and there was just nothing she could do about it. But she said to me at that lunch that she would go back to Charles in a heartbeat if he wanted her."
Of course, even if Diana hadn't tragically passed away later that year, the odds of a reconciliation were slim to none. Charles was, as Brown noted, happily in a relationship with Camilla, who he would go on to wed in 2005.
Stay In The Know
Marie Claire email subscribers get intel on fashion and beauty trends, hot-off-the-press celebrity news, and more. Sign up here.
RELATED STORIES
Kayleigh Roberts is a freelance writer and editor with over 10 years of professional experience covering entertainment of all genres, from new movie and TV releases to nostalgia, and celebrity news. 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.
-
Bette Midler Swears the Secret to Her 40-Year Marriage Is "Separate Bedrooms"
She's been married to Martin von Haselberg since 1984.
By Iris Goldsztajn Published
-
Taylor Swift Trolls "Godkids' Sperm Donor" Ryan Reynolds Amid 'Deadpool' Release
Proof that they're besties.
By Iris Goldsztajn Published
-
Zendaya Delivers a Podium-Worthy Pre-Olympics Gown
She's shining brighter than the City of Lights.
By Halie LeSavage Published
-
After Meeting a Teenage Prince William for the First Time, Then Camilla Parker-Bowles Quipped “I Need a Gin and Tonic,” Royal Author Writes
Still largely known as “the other woman,” Camilla was “decidedly anxious” about meeting the future king.
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Lady Diana Spencer Made This Telling Change to Her Wedding Vows to Prince Charles After Discovering He Was Still Carrying On an Emotional Affair with Camilla Parker-Bowles
Diana wanted to cancel the wedding entirely, but her sisters talked her out of it.
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Could You Imagine Prince William and Prince Harry As Prince Arthur and Prince Albert? Had King Charles Had His Way, That’d Be the Reality
For better or worse, Princess Diana won out when it came to naming her sons.
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Royals, Paul McCartney, Nicola Coughlan, Salma Hayek... Was Taylor Swift's London Eras Tour Her Most Star-Studded Yet?
Imagine all the people........
By Iris Goldsztajn Published
-
Kate Middleton Confirms She Will Attend Trooping the Colour in a Heartfelt Update on Her Cancer Treatment
"I am making good progress."
By Halie LeSavage Last updated
-
Queen Elizabeth Apparently Gave Camilla Parker-Bowles Sage Advice on Her Wedding Day to Prince Charles, Which Camilla Ignored—and Later Regretted
Though the subject matter at hand may be surprising, according to lip readers, Camilla said not heeding her mother-in-law’s advice “really wasn’t a very good idea.”
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Lip Readers Decode the Advice Queen Elizabeth Gave Princess Diana on the Buckingham Palace Balcony the Day Diana Married Prince Charles
Lip readers have also deduced what Charles said to his bride while at the altar at St. Paul’s Cathedral 43 years ago this summer.
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Princess Diana Revealed to a Royal Author the Real Reason Why Her Marriage to Prince Charles Ended Not Long Before She Died in 1997
And no, it apparently wasn’t Camilla Parker-Bowles.
By Rachel Burchfield Published