King Charles divorce rumours with Camilla confirmed today in court by judge amid new evidence
The Netflix series *The Crown* had been moving along at a steady pace, telling the story of Queen Elizabeth II’s ups and downs as a wife, mother, daughter, sister, and most importantly, Monarch. The majority of the events were based on actual history, with the writers intuitively filling in the gaps.
However, all of it was really just leading up to Season 5, which covers the part of the royal family’s story where everything went horribly wrong. We’re talking, of course, about the dissolution of King Charles and Princess Diana’s marriage.
As fascinating as it was when Prime Minister John Major rebuffed the Queen’s request for a government-funded renovation of a yacht, the real drama was in the breakdown of Charles and Diana’s relationship, which—as revealed in the fourth season of *The Crown*—was on shaky ground even before they tied the knot on July 29, 1981.
Still, the couple settled in for the presumed long haul after getting married in front of 3,500 people at St. Paul’s Cathedral, with another 750 million watching on television. They performed the duties expected of the Prince and Princess of Wales, became parents to Prince William and Prince Harry, and traveled the world.
Yet, Diana described a vicious cycle in her new role. She felt unsupported by her husband from the beginning and didn’t trust him, believing he was still having an affair with his ex-girlfriend Camilla Parker Bowles, who was also married. Diana claimed that Charles was dismissive of her cries for help, including instances of self-harm, like throwing herself down the stairs while pregnant with William in 1982. She stated that Charles accused her of “crying wolf.”
Charles did make arrangements for Diana to see a psychiatrist in the fall of 1982, though he was at a loss for how to assist his wife. “The trouble is, one day I think some steps are being made uphill, only to find that we’ve slid back one and a half steps the following day,” he wrote to a friend, according to Jonathan Dimbleby’s 1994 biography *The Prince of Wales*.
Diana described the two years between William’s birth and Harry’s birth in 1984 as “total darkness,” despite her intense love for her children. “I’ve wiped it out because it was so painful. I don’t remember much of it,” she said. However, at the same time, she was unquestionably establishing herself as a public figure, and her remarkable capacity to connect with others made her far more beloved than her husband.
Diana reflected to Andrew Morton, “Because I had a smile on my face, everybody thought I was having a wonderful time. They chose that view because it made them feel better.”
When Diana discovered a bracelet that Charles had intended to present to Camilla before their wedding, she was furious. He reassured her that it was just a token of their past relationship and that he would be personally delivering it. Dimbleby claims that Charles gave Camilla the bracelet in July 1981, the first time he had seen her since announcing his engagement in February.
Diana told Morton, “I never dealt with that side of things. I recently stated to him, ‘You must always tell me the truth.'” She did, however, confront her alleged rival at a party for Camilla’s sister’s 40th birthday. Diana remembered saying to Camilla, “I would just like you to know that I know exactly what is going on,” to which Camilla responded, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
