How Princess Diana reshaped the Royal Family
Princes William and Harry unveil new memorial commemorating the People’s Princess
Thirty-eight years ago today, Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer were married at St Paul’s Cathedral in London.
The event marked a “high point in the popularity of the Royal Family” and was watched by a global audience of 750 million people in 74 countries, says the BBC. In the UK, 600,000 well-wishers lined the streets of London while 28.4 million watched on the BBC and ITV.
Diana was 20 when she married Charles, 32. Fifteen years later, the couple divorced - and one year after that, Diana died in a car crash in Paris, along with her lover Dodi Fayed.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The wedding was one of the most scrutinised in the world - but almost four decades later, newspapers and broadcasters are still unearthing fresh behind-the-scenes details. Here are a few facts you may not have known about the 1981 royal wedding.
Diana was only allowed 100 guests
A new documentary, Charles and Di: The Truth Behind their Wedding, aired on Channel 5 at the weekend. It revealed that Diana was only allowed to invite 100 guests to the wedding, despite the full guest list in the Cathedral totalling 2,000. The claim was made by Mary Robertson, an American businesswoman who employed Diana as a nanny (on just over £4 an hour) before her engagement to Prince Charles. Despite Diana’s limited allocation, Robertson and her husband were invited to the wedding.
A whispered comment hinted at trouble
The Daily Mirror recalls this week that it ran a story five days before Charles and Diana were married, which hinted at trouble to come in the relationship. At a garden party for people with disabilities at Buckingham Palace, a Mirror journalist overheard Diana saying she had had a row with Charles.
Features writer John Edwards recalled Diana telling a member of the public: “There was a terrible row last night between Charles and me. It had been his stag party.”
Diana was in tears seven days before
Diana was left in tears a week before the wedding, according to biographer Christopher Wilson. She apparently “spotted a package with the name of Camilla on it on the desk of Prince Charles’s private secretary, Michael Colborne”, reports the Daily Express. “After insisting to see what was inside of it, Diana found a gold bracelet with the letter G and F engraved, the initials for the nicknames Charles and Camilla used for each other - Gladys and Fred,” said the newspaper.
Wilson told the Channel 5 documentary: “She was absolutely in tears, in a terrible state about it. It was clear that this was Prince Charles' farewell present to Camilla.”
Dress altered several times
Elizabeth Emanuel, who designed Diana’s wedding dress with her ex-husband David, said the Princess of Wales lost so much weight in the run-up to the wedding that they had to alter the dress several times. “Her waist was a size 23 at the end. She was tiny like a model,” said Emanuel.
Charles told friends his bride was ‘a child’
Saturday’s Channel 5 documentary also revealed that Charles told his friends shortly before the wedding that he was concerned about Diana’s youth. According to the Daily Express, he said: “She is exquisitely pretty, a perfect poppy. But she is a child.”
The Prince is said to have added: “She does not look old enough to be out of school, much less married.”
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Julia O'Driscoll is the engagement editor. She covers UK and world news, as well as writing lifestyle and travel features. She regularly appears on “The Week Unwrapped” podcast, and hosted The Week's short-form documentary podcast, “The Overview”. Julia was previously the content and social media editor at sustainability consultancy Eco-Age, where she interviewed prominent voices in sustainable fashion and climate movements. She has a master's in liberal arts from Bristol University, and spent a year studying at Charles University in Prague.
-
Cicada-geddon: the fungus that controls insects like 'zombies'
Under The Radar Expert says bugs will develop 'hypersexualisation' despite their genitals falling off
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
'Voters know Biden and Trump all too well'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Is the Gaza war tearing US university campuses apart?
Today's Big Question Protests at Columbia University, other institutions, pit free speech against student safety
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Duchess of Gloucester: the hard-working royal you've never heard of
Under The Radar Outer royal 'never expected' to do duties but has stepped up to the plate
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
'Manipulated' photo of UK's Princess Kate spiked
speed read The first official image of Kate Middleton since January has been retracted
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Modern royal scandals from around the world
The Explainer From Spain to the UAE, royal families have often been besieged by negative events
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
The Regency Acts: what happens if King Charles can't perform his duties
The Explainer Monarch's responsibilities could be carried out by a regent or the counsellors of state
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
King Charles diagnosed with cancer
Speed Read Monarch 'remains wholly positive about his treatment', during which senior royals are expected to stand in for him
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Princess of Wales to remain in hospital for two weeks as King prepares for prostate treatment
Speed Read The timing of the two royal medical announcements was said to be an 'unavoidable coincidence'
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary: a guide to Denmark's next king and queen
Why everyone's talking about Queen Margrethe II is stepping down after 52 years on Denmark's throne
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
King laughs about his 'sausage fingers' in new documentary
Speed Read Charles's ample digits have long attracted 'attention and concern' but he is often the 'first to poke fun'
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published