Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer’s royal wedding in 1981 was dubbed a fairytale, and the Princess of Wales grew to be an immensely popular member of the Royal Family. But the fairytale was not to last, and on several occasions, the Wales’ crumbling marriage was clear for all to see.
In the second half of the 1980s, after only a few years of marriage, rumours of Charles and Diana’s unhappiness became commonplace.
In May 1992, biographer Andrew Morton published ‘Diana: Her True Story’, a book detailing the issues in the Wales’ partnership.
But perhaps one of the most obvious signs that Charles and Diana’s marriage would not last much longer was their final joint tour in 1992.
During a visit to South Korea, the pair were photographed on several occasions looking very unhappy, and the press commented the same.
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Not long afterwards, then prime minister John Major announced in the House of Commons that Charles and Diana intended to separate.
He added that the royal couple had “no plans to divorce” and that the decision had been reached “amicably”.
Each went about completing engagements, setting their own royal agendas and parenting their two children, Prince William and Prince Harry.
But in the years of their separation, issues between Diana and Charles continued to be revealed to the public.
But Camilla’s divorce from Andrew Parker Bowles would not be finalised until 1995, while Prince Charles and Princess Diana made their separation permanent in 1996.
In 1997, Princess Diana’s suddenly died in a car crash in Paris, shocking the world and prompting an outpouring of public mourning.
As the world prepares to mark the 25th anniversary of Diana’s death this month, Andrew Morton said the failed marriage “will always haunt” the future King.
He told People: “His tragedy is whatever he does, whatever he says, however he behaves, he will be remembered for one thing: the fact that his fairy-tale marriage ended.
“Just as Henry VIII is remembered for his six wives, Prince Charles is remembered for his first wife.
“It will always haunt him. His life has been defined by his marriage.”
