Following their lavish wedding at Westminster Abbey in 1981, Princess Diana and then-Prince Charles embarked on a 12-day cruise through the Mediterranean aboard the Royal Yacht Britannia. At the time, their honeymoon was described as “blissful.” However, that was far from the case as the princess was preoccupied over her husband’s parting gift to Camilla Parker Bowles.
In recordings obtained by People, Diana told biographer Andrew Morton she discovered a “goodbye” bracelet Charles meant to give to Camilla before the wedding. Although his gift did occupy her mind, it was the future queen’s present that caused more tension at sea.
After watching two photos of Camilla fall out of her husband’s diary, she noticed a pair of cufflinks on his sleeve, personalized to commemorate his past relationship with Camilla.
Princess Diana and King Charles embark on a 12-day honeymoon cruise in 1981.
“Cufflinks arrive on his wrists — two ‘C’s entwined like the Chanel ‘C’s. Got it in one; knew exactly. ‘Camilla gave you those, didn’t she?’” Diana recalled. “He said, ‘Yes, so what’s wrong? They’re a present from a friend.’ And, boy, did we have a row.”
For the rest of their vacation, the late Princess of Wales found herself thinking of Camilla at night.
“At night, I dreamt of Camilla the whole time,” Diana admitted. “I was obsessed by Camilla totally.”
Prince Charles wore a gift from Camilla Parker Bowles to his honeymoon to Princess Diana.
According to a letter Charles had written from the yacht, they remained separate for much of the vacation. The now-king said, “Diana dashes about chatting up all the sailors and the cooks in the galley etc. while I remain hermit-like on the veranda deck, sunk with pure joy into one of Laurens van der Post’s books.”
The then-Prince and Princess of Wales stayed together for 11 years before ultimately separating in 1992. It wasn’t until after Diana’s death in August 1997 that Charles and Camilla made their first official public appearance together at the Ritz Hotel in London.