'The most hypocritical wedding in history': what was the marriage of Diana and Charles 39 years ago
'29.07.2020'
Source: apostrophe
The fabulous facade of the holiday hid the jealousy and pain of the young bride from the public, says apostrophe.
39 years ago, Prince Charles and Diana Spencer were married in a lavish ceremony at St Paul's Cathedral in London. Although the event, watched by 3500 guests and 750 million TV viewers, was broadcasted as “the wedding of the century”, 15 years later, divorced Diana called July 29, 1981 “the worst day of her life”. She admitted that on the wedding morning she felt like a “lamb to the slaughter,” and for this she had several good reasons.
By the time 20-year-old Diana said yes to 33-year-old Charles, the issue of marriage was extremely acute for the heir to the throne. He had to literally search the kingdom to find a woman suitable for his conservative family - chaste, noble, docile, possessing the qualities necessary for a future queen. Diana was just that.
The pretty daughter of the wealthy Earl Spencer saw in Charles what her sister Sarah, who had met him several years ago, could not see. And yet, walking to the altar in a fluffy dress with a 7-meter train, Diana was not looking at her fiance.
She was looking for Camilla Parker-Bowles - the ex-girlfriend of Charles, who in the early 70s did not become his wife, because he did not suit his parents.
“I knew she was there, of course. I was looking for her, ”the late Diana told biographer Andrew Morton in 1991. - Walking to the altar, I noticed Camilla - pale, covered with a veil. Her son Tom stood on a chair. These are such vivid memories to this day. ”
By the beginning of the relationship between Diana and Charles, his affair with Camilla was common knowledge, and the young bride was jealous of the groom for the ex-girlfriend. Moreover, they remained close friends even after parting, and on the eve of the wedding, Diana found an engraved bracelet that the heir to the throne was going to give to her friend.
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Because of this, Tom Parker-Bowles (Camilla's son and Charles's godson) was not accompanying the princess to the wedding - although his other godchildren led Diana down the altar.
Given Diana's distrust and dislike of Camilla, it's surprising that she made the guest list. But Camilla's husband, Andrew Parker Bowles, played a significant role in the wedding procession. As commander of the royal cavalry, he supervised the ceremonial escort of the pair of newlyweds through London.
However, this did not stop Diana from refusing Camilla and her husband an invitation to a more exclusive wedding breakfast at Buckingham Palace.
Diana's jealousy for Camilla did not fade during their marriage, which finally broke up in 1996. During her famous interview with Panorama, Lady Dee even claimed that "there were always three of us in this marriage, so it was a little crowded." And although the public is accustomed to considering Diana's only rival Camilla Parker Bowles, few know that the wedding in 1981 was attended by another prince's mistress, Lady Dale Tryon.
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“It was, perhaps, one of the most hypocritical moments in the history of the royal family: two mistresses and a woman who knew that she did not want to marry her fiancé, and that he did not want to marry her,” - quotes the Express edition of the words of the confidant Lady Tryon. “While the crowd was going crazy, Diana knew perfectly well that her wedding was far from a fairy tale.”
Under the gun of hundreds of cameras, Diana and Charles exchanged wedding vows, and although the crowd's jubilation caused them euphoria, it later became clear that the breakup of their marriage was a matter of time. Dozens of years later, the Prince of Wales admitted that his romance with Camilla flared up only after the first marriage “irrevocably disintegrated”. However, Charles' love for Camilla only grew stronger over the years. They married in 2005, and Camilla became Duchess of Cornwall, relinquishing the title of Princess of Wales out of deference to Diana.
