Prince Charles Found One Aspect of Marriage With "Mercurial" Princess Diana "Difficult to Cope With"
A former royal journalist opened up about her encounters with the late royal.


When Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer married in 1981, the world saw what they thought was a Disney fairytale come to life. But behind palace walls, their relationship was anything but. From the start, their 12-year age gap caused tension, with Charles—an intellectual man in his thirties—struggling to connect with his 19-year-old bride. According to a former royal journalist, one aspect of Diana's personality took a huge toll on their marriage.
Jane Moore, who stars on Loose Women (think the U.K.'s answer to The View), formerly served as a royal correspondent, and she opened up about the late princess during a recent episode of "Loose Women: The Podcast."
Moore frequently came across Diana during her work and noted, "She could be quite mercurial. One minute she'd be quite chitty chitty chat chat with you, and then if there was something that happened that she didn't like, she would be very frosty."
"She was quite moody, I suppose, and I think that was what Charles found very difficult to cope with because she was a lot younger than him," Moore added. On the other hand, Charles—who is known to be particular about his daily rituals—"just likes things how he likes things."
Moore continued that Charles, used to doing life his own way, was "suddenly dealing with this young woman who has all these moods." Co-host Sunetra Sarker chimed in, proclaiming the couple was like "chalk and cheese."
The prince and princess are seen during a 1983 appearance.
Sarker also asked her colleague what she thought about how Diana would've reacted to the rift between Prince Harry and Prince William. "I think she would have been devastated," Moore said. "Had she been alive through it, I don't think it would have got to this point."
"I think she would have loved Meghan," she continued, adding Princess Diana likely would've been a fan of "her independence" and "the fact that she was American."
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Sarker wondered if Diana "would have brokered a situation where they would have sat around the table" to work everything out, but Moore said she thought Diana would have privately spoken with Meghan to help her fit into royal life.
The former royal journalist noted that even though Princess Diana came from an aristocratic British family, unlike the Duchess of Sussex, becoming a member of the Royal Family was "a shock for her and she had to adjust." Moore added that Diana "would have seen that look in Meghan's eye" and "taken her under wing and said, 'Look, I felt this way too.'"
"I don't think she had anybody like that," Moore said of the duchess.

Kristin Contino is Marie Claire's Senior Royal and Celebrity editor. She's been covering royalty since 2018—including major moments such as the Platinum Jubilee, Queen Elizabeth II’s death and King Charles III's coronation—and places a particular focus on the British Royal Family's style and what it means.
Prior to working at Marie Claire, she wrote about celebrity and royal fashion at Page Six Style and covered royalty from around the world as chief reporter at Royal Central. Kristin has provided expert commentary for outlets including the BBC, Sky News, US Weekly, the Today Show and many others.
Kristin is also the published author of two novels, “The Legacy of Us” and “A House Full of Windsor.” She's passionate about travel, history, horses, and learning everything she can about her favorite city in the world, London.
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