Royal Divorces (2023)

[Music] Royal weddings continue to dominate the media from the fashion to the star-studded attendees to the newborn Royal babies but the idea of the fairy tale marriage can often only last so long before the cracks begin to show in actuality the history of rural engagements is filled with Tales of heartbreak and anguish just like the rest of us they too endure tests in their marriage sometimes bringing them closer together and at other times pushing them further apart 1992 the year which the queen herself described as an anus horribilis goes down in history as a tragic period in time for the Royals indeed I suspect that there are very few people or institutions unaffected by these last months of worldwide turmoil and uncertainty Castle fires and dramatic divorces tainted her royal highnesses pristine Family Image thank you foreign Duke of York the third child and Second Son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip had a somewhat complicated romantic life that's not the slightest effect prior to meeting Sarah Ferguson the woman he would later go on to marry Andrew engaged in a short-lived relationship with american-born actress co-star Starks seemed to be the perfect match for the Duke of York after the pair was set up for a blind date and she Charmed the queen when they had tea together but when it was revealed that she had appeared topless in an art house film in the late 1970s the pressure on the couple became overwhelming forcing them to split four celebrity Watchers this was the Glorious tense even the royal family had sent a special team along to take part in this shootout in Aid of Charity Mark Phillips led the Royals into battle and with Princess Anne washing him he proved as skilled with a gun as he is with a horse among the Marx men his Royal Highness Prince Andrew who confessed that he was a novice at clay pigeon shooting and then went on to knock down everything that came into his sights oh yes and despite his obvious price the prince modestly turned aside all compliments I have virtually no experience with this Simon I have no tips at all really how are you helping to do today as well as I can about as well as I get half at least I should try anyway if at first you don't succeed try again but just like his elder sister Andrew was persistent when it came to finding love and it wasn't long before he was introduced to the woman he would fall in love with reportedly the late Princess Diana played an instrumental role in setting Andrew up with Sarah Ferguson the daughter of major Ronald Ferguson Prince Charles's Polo manager was one of Diana's childhood friends Diana and Sarah reconnected in 1980 and with similar interests and Social Circles they became quite close with the recommendation from Diana 26 year old Sarah was invited to an event at Windsor Castle during Royal Ascot in 1985. it was there Sarah and Andrew connected for the first time as adults but it wasn't the first time they had crossed paths reportedly the pair had met as children and even played tag together on a polo field Diana encouraged Sarah and Andrew's romance inviting the couple to her Country House Highgrove for a visit before their relationship became public the romance moved quickly and soon Sarah was welcomed into the Royal fold Sarah and the queen bonded early over a shared love of horses thanks to her father's career Sarah was raised around animals and was no stranger to a private ride with the queen she also won over Prince Philip with her sharp sense of humor and interest in Philip's favorite pastime open Carriage driving Sarah also had a career before her royal life she worked at an art gallery in public relations and then at a Publishing House prince Andrew proposed to Sarah on February the 19th 1986 his 26th birthday the prince popped the question at flor's castle in Scotland which was reportedly the spot where the couple shared their first kiss they announced their engagement publicly on March the 19th 1986 with a photo session held at Buckingham Palace said please keep off the grass so why would you walk and also my name for the dog races which are also around a little one then look this way sir okay okay let's go for it you got it then on July the 23 1986 prince Andrew and Sarah married in a Grand Royal Wedding held at Westminster Abbey in London in just somewhere inside you a certain sadness in a way that you've been taken over by the great ceremony and all the guests you have to have as we've heard that it's not quite your day as it might have been Sarah's got 600 and 720k very very much I do I'm marrying Andrew and that's all there is about it it is so much my day because I'm going to be with him and I'm doing it for him I'm not doing it for the rest as well and I'm very sad not to be getting married and I'm a village church but I'm equally so delighted to be getting married in the Abbey anywhere would do whether it's a Gretna Green anywhere I'm quite happy because I'm knowing Andrew that's all that matters on their wedding day the queen conferred the title of Duke and Duchess of York on Andrew and Sarah Andrew created a custom ring for his bride consisting of an oval-cut Burmese Ruby surrounded by 10 diamonds the color of the Center Stone was reportedly to complement Sarah's red hair [Music] the wedding presents have been arriving by the hundred the palace won't say exactly how many [Music] you can hear it now so much bad is that singing um birthday card I said to Mother Andrew what should we do with these oh it must be kept for the children eventually on August 8 1988 Sarah and Andrew welcomed their first daughter Princess Beatrice in London two years later they welcomed princess Eugenie on March the 23 1990. the girls were primarily raised at the Royal Lodge near Windsor Castle offering them a private childhood outside London [Music] she made a special effort to chat to an 82 year old lady who had waited outside the hospital for two weeks crashed soon I love the babies why do why do you follow them why do you like I love her I love the royal family I know they can say no wrong about them while the Duke was left holding the baby the palace announced she would be called Eugenie Victoria Helena but Sarah and Andrew's relationship started to unravel early on despite raising Beatrice and Eugenie together the couple were apart often Andrew allegedly wasn't very present during Sarah's pregnancy with Beatrice and only two weeks after The Royal Wedding the royal family sent Andrew back out to sea I spent my entire first pregnancy alone Sarah later told Harper's Bazaar of Andrew's absence when Beatrice was born Andrew got 10 days of shore leave Prince Andrew's demanding Naval career meant the couple only saw each other for roughly 40 days per year a reality that she said was difficult for her to process and accept she said I married my boy who happened to be a prince and a sailor because I love him and still do my only condition being I have to be with you in August of that year Sarah faced an explosive Scandal as intimate photos taken of The Duchess with American businessman John Bryan were made public The Duchess was on summer holiday at Balmoral Castle with the queen Prince Philip and prince Andrew when the Scandal broke the queen was reportedly mortified by the news and Sarah returned to London that same day Prince Philip's relationship with Sarah was also severely hurt by the Scandal Philip allegedly didn't even want to be in the same room as Sarah insisting that she brought shame to the entire family it's almost time it's time to go although their divorce did not become official until 1996 Sarah was estranged from the royal family after her photo scandal in 1992. The Duchess was sensitive to allegations that she was holding out for a larger settlement and later explained to Harper's Bazaar that she wasn't interested in money from the Royal Family she simply wanted to be on good terms with her husband's family when I met with her majesty about it she asked what do you require Sarah I said your friendship which I think amazed her because everyone said I would demand a big settlement but I wanted to be able to say her majesty is my friend not fight her nor have lawyers saying look she is greedy The Duchess of York took Princess Beatrice to school as usual this morning refusing to let the president trust in her marriage interrupt her daughter's routine followed by chasing newsmen she delivered three-year-old Beatrice to Upton House School in Windsor she refused to answer questions from journalists that she left [Music] prince Andrew had spent the night at home with his family and left as usual for Sandhurst where he's on a course with the Royal Military Academy Sarah would be allowed to use her Duchess of York title but would be stroped of all other Royal affiliations she later admitted that she felt forced into agreeing to the divorce stating that the dissolution of the marriage largely revolved around practical matters rather than irreconcilable differences between herself and Andrew she added that she was interested in pursuing employment something that you can't do as a member of the Royal Family I wanted to work it's not right for a princess of the royal house to be commercial so Andrew and I decided to make the divorce official so I could go off and get a job so this is where I live not here but down in Portland this is this is this is it this is the environment within which you have to live it's a very good fish and chip shop down the road that'll be useful where on Earth did you find that out from have you been hunting this morning yes sort of thing that you've been sort of skating around for various bits and pieces but you like it don't you didn't even cook then what thank you very much if you live on fish and chips I want to be good wife to you and so therefore I will love it anywhere I go as long as you like it and it's your career ah just squeeze my fingers they're filming quick go on dare you you're a monster thank you oh God didn't fall over the top of the wall again Scandal and cheating drove a wedge between a potential fairy tale couple but it doesn't always end in Doom and Gloom after their divorce Sarah and Andrew continued to make public appearances together both with their daughters and on their own in fact Sarah reportedly still lives with Andrew at the Royal Lodge and at a children's literature Festival in 2013 Sarah said he's still my handsome prince he'll always be my handsome prince I mean I find that you just managed to go from one thing to the next but I I think we're both quite good at speaking and when we do we do talk a lot don't we as the daughter of the Queen of England pressured to find a suitable partner was immense a decision not to be taken lightly there are many boxes a potential husband must take before even considering pursuing a romantic relationship with a princess [Music] after her first failed attempted romance with Richard Mead an Olympic equestrian who Anne had dated for a short period of time but was ended due to a 12-year age Gap and the disapproval of her father doubts about the perfect man even existing may have crossed the princess's mind until she met Captain Mark Phillips when exactly miles did you decide that you were serious and Mark met while attending a horse riding event in Mexico City the pair shed a love for horse riding which made it easy for them to get to know one another initially Mark Anthony Peter Phillips was born in 1948 and followed in the footsteps of his family members by joining the military he went to school at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and pursued his education with a stint serving in the armed forces as a second lieutenant If Anne was looking for a man who ticked boxes she had found him in Phillips spark between Ann and mark the young princess was still uncertain if she had found the perfect match in 1970 Anne began a romantic relationship with Andrew Parker Bowles Ann and Andrew began to grow closer as they spent more and more time with one another this was made easier by the fact that the Parker Bowles family and the royal family had crossed paths for many years in the past Andrew's father was said to have been a friend of the queen mother so it wasn't much of a surprise to anyone when the pair began dating but similarly to her first stabbed love outside factors wouldn't permit the couple from taking things any further as a member of the royal family following the rules and standards upheld by the church is vital Parker Bowles was a Catholic and so wasn't allowed to Marianne as the royal family is the head of the Church of England after a short and prematurely ended run of love the pair called it off and decided to remain friends Andrew then went on to marry Camilla in 1973. rather than continuing to look for new potential Partners Princess Anne decided to reignite the Old Flame with Captain Mark Phillips in May of 1973 the same year that Andrew and Camilla went and announced her engagement to mark when it comes to Royal weddings the bride's gown and ring can often steal the show Mark proposed to Anne with a sapphire ring in a gorgeous square cut shape which was framed with two diamonds on either side there was much funfair surrounding the wedding of Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips who wed at Westminster Abbey on the 14th of November 1973. the only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II was the first of the four royal children to marry and Anne happened to pick her brother Prince Charles's 25th birthday as her wedding date Princess Anne did not enjoy publicity the engaged couple was asked in an interview think the marriage can withstand the enormous pressures of public duty and publicity that you have to endure the captain replied I think we've withstood a great deal already this year and unquipped can it's got to hasn't hit the ceremony occurred at Westminster Abbey and about 500 million people tuned in to watch Anne and Mark tie the knot the event was so big that it turned into an eight-hour broadcast on the BBC and as a result November the 14th was declared a national holiday the couple went on to have two children together Peter and Zara born in 1977 and 1981 respectively with the temperature just above freezing Princess Anne came out but instead of stopping on the steps for a moment for the large crowd as she had promised she just had a few quick words with the hospital staff nurse Zora akroff held Paddington Bear a hospital mascot two-day old Master Phillips was carried out by Sister Delphine Stevens the Midwife who was present at the birth [Music] well wrapped up against the curl he was handed to the princess who ignoring normal advice sat with her son in the front seat of the car and off the couple went to Buckingham Palace for lunch foreign they'll be staying there until they moved their new home in gloucestershire sadly to come to an end slowly the strain of reality began to kick in and the weight of raising two children became undeniable for both of them resentment grew and by the early 1980s the couple had begun spending more and more time apart from one another began attending Royal engagements less frequently and they even began staying in different hotel rooms whenever they traveled outside of the UK and stated that she had accepted being second in everything when it came to both matters of the public and personal size of her life as reported by her people the breakdown of their marriage became more and more clear not only to them but to the public too it was reported that neither of them was happy during their 18-year marriage it was described as a Loveless Union just drifting along while still married to Anne Mark had a child with another woman he began an affair with Heather Tonkin an art teacher from New Zealand who gave birth to their daughter Felicity in 1985. whilst the last few weeks have proved that royalty and the courts are an explosive mix Mark took a DNA test in 1991 to confirm his relation to the child but that didn't prevent him from providing money for his child and her mother before the results were given he hid the payments from Anne and the rest of the Royal Family by officially hiring Tonkin as a consultant relating to equestrian matters he had reportedly been giving her 8 300 per year undetected but as they say all things done in the dark will eventually come to life in 1991 Tonkin exposed Mark to the press as Mark had stalled on payments she claimed that her goal was to have Mark publicly claim their daughter and she also designed a list mark on felicity's birth certificate Mark's agent Jonas skin reportedly threatened Tonkin before she went public saying I will make life a bloody misery for you Mark also had semi-public affairs with Pamela borders who was working as a call girl at the time Phillips and borders had a love child together and when details of their Affair were publicly revealed it was the last nail in the coffin of Anne's marriage rumors of alleged adultery weren't one-sided in this relationship however all blame can't be placed solely on Captain Mark Phillips Anne was known to have her fun too detective Sergeant Peter cross a police officer who worked for Scotland Yard was assigned to the Royal protection detail in 1979 eventually becoming princess Anne's personal bodyguard for almost a year which is when the rumors began to swirl of an illicit affair according to cross Ann even had a pseudonym of Mrs Wallace for when she contacted him and when Scotland Yard reportedly caught wind of the conflict of interest they removed him from his station with the Royals stating that he was becoming overly familiar with her but this did not stop the two from allegedly continuing to see each other according to Harry Arnold the reporter who initially broke the story in the sun They carried out the affair until it became a public scandal at which point Anne allegedly ended the relationship cross reportedly confirmed the story to Arnold a couple of years after the news broke he apparently told him when you wrote that story I was still married and I couldn't admit it but yet it was true and I can now tell you that it was true because I am now divorced while Anne's marriage survived the Scandal she went on to fall for naval officer Commander Timothy Lawrence her most public rumored Affair and the man who had later become her second husband Commander Timothy Lawrence was reportedly a favorite of the royal family as he had joined the ranks of the palace Entourage in 1986. he accompanied Queen Elizabeth during a number of notable engagements including her visit with Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev an appointed Lawrence as one of her personal advisors to her trust a grand statement of trust and respect a source close to Lawrence told the press the appointment just shows Anne's affection for him and the feelings were definitely reciprocate it another close source to him said he'd never stopped thinking about the princess after they met for the first time Anne has considered him as her closest confident for some considerable time obviously Tim and the princess were attracted to each other but their friendship goes deeper than that he cares for her in the way her husband does not clear exactly when their Affair started but it ended up becoming a public matter when some of his love letters to the princess were stolen from the castle and scandalously released to the tabloids many questions remain about the stolen letters how were they taken from Buckingham Palace who stole them and what did they contain the palace the police and the media are all anxious for answers Simon marks ITN at Buckingham Palace for intimate letters that were written for Anne by Timothy were given to the son they were reportedly stolen from the palace but were meant to be for anzis only to avoid facing legal retribution the sun handed the letters over to Scotland Yard but that didn't deter them from publishing that they had the correspondence the contents of the letter weren't leaked but that didn't stop public curiosity the palace eventually released a statement we have nothing to say about the contents of personal letters sent to her Royal Highness by a friend and which were stolen and which are the subject of a police investigation as time went on Ann and Mark Phillips lived Separate Lives even taking turns traveling to avoid each other the couple initially stated that they had no plans to get divorced and instead announced a simple separation in 1989. but that only lasted so long they called it quits officially in 1992. as reported by the United Press International the couple was granted a divorce after 18 years of marriage this was the third failed marriage for the royal family that year alone Anne was the one who officially requested the divorce but it was widely noted at the time that the intent to divorce was Mutual it took the judge presiding over the case just four minutes to approve the divorce and as such the ex-couple went their separate ways [Music] the story of Prince Charles and Princess Diana is possibly one of the most well-known Royal tragedies in British history foreign [Music] it consists of adultery within the palace walls lying and scheming and even murder this was a time when the crown was truly in crisis Charles and I can't go wrong he's there with me in February of 1981 Prince Charles proposed to Diana at Windsor Castle and of course the Lovestruck princess said yes what about the proposal your Royal harness how did that come about um well I I asked Donna before she went to Australia two three days before it was I thought it'd be a good idea that apart from anything else if she went to Australia she could then think about it and if you didn't like the idea she could say she didn't know she did she could say that but in fact you you actually said yes before you went to Australia cameras captured Diana at Balmoral the Royal Family's private estate in the Scottish Highlands and just like that the secret of their relationship was officially out and her life was changed forever Prince Charles proposed to Diana at Windsor Castle in February 1981. however both Diana and Charles expressed doubts about their relationship ahead of the wedding despite the encouragement from friends and family [Music] time it said the couple had only gone out a dozen or so times to make matters worse Charles only proposed to Diana after receiving a memo from his father Prince Philip in the missive Philip instructed his wayward son to either marry Diana or move on to have withdrawn as you can no doubt imagine would have been cataclysmic Charles reportedly said to a friend hence I was permanently between the devil and the deep blue sea the couple formally announced their engagement to the World on February 24 1981 and was met with nothing but joy and embrace from the British public [Music] when a reporter asked Charles if they are in love he famously replies this was the first glance we got of the troubles Brewing between these two and they hadn't even wed yet in March Charles flew to Australia and New Zealand for five weeks leaving his newly betrothed behind she spotted crying at Heathrow Airport upon his departure however her tears were not because she was sad about her fiance leaving as you'd expect but instead because before he left he had taken a phone call with Camilla Parker Bowles even then things were starting to unravel a bit because I don't think it it matched what Diana had expected she had this vision of being like a fairy princess and being carried away into the sunset Camilla Parker Bowles is a name that would plague the marriage of Charles and Diana for years and this was only the beginning hello good morning well the big day has arrived in four hours time Charles Philip Arthur George montbatten Windsor marries Diana Francis Spencer and Britain and the world will celebrate the wedding of The Prince and Princess of Wales [Applause] [Applause] on the 29th of July 1981 Prince Charles and Diana married in Saint Paul's Cathedral it was seen by a global television audience of 750 million in 74 countries marking a high point in the popularity of the Royal Family prior to walking down the aisle Diana expressed doubts about the wedding especially after it said she found a bracelet Charles made for Camilla also the day before their wedding Diana overheard Charles on the phone with his former girlfriend Camilla Parker Bowles revealing that he would always love her this broke Diana but her sister advised her that it was too late to call it off and she should go through with it so she did in June 1982 the couple welcomed their first child Prince William this was followed by a bout of postpartum depression for Diana in 1995 she told the BBC you'd wake up in the morning feeling you didn't want to get out of bed you felt misunderstood and just very very low in yourself only a couple of years later in September 1984 the couple's second child Prince Harry was born I think after Harry was born the relationship seriously broke down it was um it just hadn't worked out like both of both of them expected and and even before the wedding Diana had serious doubts and so did Charles but it was too late and her sister's famously said but Dutch which was her nickname your face is on the details and it's a great line I know it's been used a lot but it does sum it all up it's too late and Charles's friends his close close friends warned him this is not going to work Charles this is she's too young she's too naive and you know you're an imaginary Prince she doesn't know you at all so it had very little chance and then if you add that mix to the huge and unprecedented interest in the cup of especially in Diana you know you can see it reach boiling point [Music] people were adored by the public people's princess and he was the prince of Wales they had two newborn children for the nation to love and all the riches one could ask for yet still they were both deeply unhappy in their marriage I think by and large the the national press were very good to Diana in their reporting well Charles was so used to having all the attention on him which it had been since he was born um he he didn't like the idea that they walked down the street say when they were doing a a Royal Engagement and the crowd were calling Diana Diana so he felt Surplus I didn't really know what to do with himself and made lots of sort of rather pathetic remarks like there should be two of me and if I cut myself enough I mean he didn't know what to do or say and yes he he it was a form of jealousy yes it was when neither of them could find love within their own households they began looking elsewhere for affection [Music] it was now 1985 and Princess Diana needed a new bodyguard as her Chief Inspector Graeme Smith was leaving his post but what kind of man do you cast a guard a beautiful and unhappy young princess someone very strong very sane and very married someone who could steer her out of trouble enter Sergeant Barry maniki former police dog handler who had been working at the royalty and diplomatic protection group since 1983. [Music] in April 1985 37 year old manicki was assigned to watch over Diana maniki came into Diana's life at a time when she was feeling vulnerable the mother of two was still trying to live within the chafing confines of her marriage but increasingly unwilling to give up on her need for love [Music] thank you Diana detailed her feelings from Anarchy in private recordings with her voice coach Peter Sutherland in the tapes which were released following Diana's death the princess described The Bodyguard as the greatest love she'd ever had according to Diana she'd have been quite happy to give all this up and just go off and live with him and he kept saying he thought it was a good idea too sadly this fleeting romance came to an abrupt end on May the 22nd 1987 manaki then 39 was struck by a 17 year old inexperienced driver while he was riding a motorcycle Diana heard the news while she was arriving at the Cannes Film Festival and was devastated Diana stated that it was the biggest blow of her life I just sat there all day going through this huge high-profile visit to can thousands of press just devastated because you know I wasn't supposed to mind as much as I did if you know what I mean but Diana's Quest For Love didn't stop there both Charles and Diana engaged in extramarital affairs Charles told his official biographer Jonathan dimbleby that he picked things back up with Camilla Parker Bowles in 1986. well Charles was in love with Camilla from a very early age you know when he was still in the Navy he fell in love with Camilla she was funny she was a great Rider and she made him laugh and I think that Camilla has this she's very very attractive to both men and women because of her personality she's got a wonderful personality meanwhile it's alleged that Diana's affair with army Captain James Hewitt started around a similar time the moment that would ultimately launch Hewitt into the public Consciousness came in 1986 when the officer met Princess Diana at a party thrown by her lady in waiting Hazel West Princess Diana's Royal Protection Officer Ken Wolfe wrote in his book Diana closely guarded Secret he told her he was a riding instructor and when she confessed she was afraid of horses offered to help her overcome her fear not long after he became Diana's riding instructor the two became romantically involved an arrangement that would last for several years it was difficult for me to tread the path between Prince Charles and Princess Diana arrived every weekend with the boys on Friday afternoon and left every Sunday but someone else occupied that space in between and I learned to serve two Royal mistresses one Princess of Wales and the other Mrs Parker walls this was still a secret I was keeping this secret from both The Prince and the princess until of course he became intolerable while Camilla lived near Charles at Highgrove and Charles used to see her on Sundays I said when when Diana drove back to London to Kensington Palace Charles would be out out at the other end of the drive driving off to Camilla's house or she would be coming to Highgrove and Diana knew perfectly well this was happening um so that they sort of had Sundays are for Camilla the princess's marriage to Prince Charles was known to be Rocky by the time she met Hewitt and Charles was reportedly too busy carrying on his own liaison with his former girlfriend Camilla to care [Music] terrified she says she was and she looked for Charles she was looking so they went to Annabelle Goldsmith's house um beautiful house in Richmond and there was it was a big party on probably on three or four floors and she looked around where's Charles where's Charles and then she uh realized that he must be downstairs on the on the lower level in the sort of basement area a basement like we know but a very glamorous downstairs rooms and she went down there and there they were and she then she decided and then you know she she obviously got this real anger because you'd have to be very angry to do that and brave and she just confronted Camilla and said you know don't I'm not stupid I know what's going on so Camilla must have been completely taken aback I mean you don't expect that to happen Hewitt revealed in the 1999 book Love and War that only one thing went wrong we fell in love Diana was shaking with fear and rage and um on the way back in the car she was just in hysterical tears and her Protection Officer Ken wolf was with her and so and he he confirms all this that she just solved all the way home and I don't think Charles said a word the people's princess reportedly had her fair share of fleeting Affairs but there was only one man she fell head over heels for [Music] Khan a 36 year old Pakistani heart surgeon it was love at first sight for Diana when she met Dr Khan for the first time in 1995 at the Royal Brompton Hospital he was treating her healer una Shanley tofolo's husband who had suffered a massive Hemorrhage during his triple bypass operation after Khan left the room she squealed like a schoolgirl to una over the doctor's gorgeous looks and caring eyes found my piece Diana later confessed to one of her confidence after they started dating he has given me all the things I need she even had a nickname for him nutty towards the end of her life of course she found her soul mate our soul mate was hasnat Khan [Music] Diana and Khan would often have sleepovers in his small overnight room at the hospital after one of his late night shifts but she'd always make sure she returned to the Palace at dawn before any of the staff noticed her absence [Music] was one of the first Publications to ignite the rumor mill on their relationship in an effort to do damage control and keep their romance out of the spotlight a panicked Diana called up a reporter at the Daily Mail to tell him that the mirror's story was completely fabricated she even said that she and her friends were in laughing fits over the Preposterous lies the counter story may have saved them in the public eye but it created a major Rift between the couple behind closed doors he was equally hurt by both her silly convoluted denial and the story itself as if the humiliation wasn't bad enough he also began receiving racist threats in the mail there could be several people here tonight who will reach a state of mental imbalance in the next year or so the endless drama forced Khan to give her the cold shoulder for three weeks [Music] the next few years see Charles and Diana plagued with rumors of marital trouble in 1987 Diana didn't join Charles on the Family's annual summer trip to Balmoral leading press headlines to spew a royal break during several public appearances they seemed distant and unhappy in a 1988 Vanity Fair story reporter Georgina Howell found this she was the love objector for everyone in the world except her husband she was faced in her mid-20s with something she found chilling to contemplate a fairy tale marriage that had called into an arrangement all she was ever looking for was loved she used to say to me all I ever want for is to someone a man to put their arms around me and say I love you that's not too much to ask is it and that's what she was searching for in December 1992 prime minister John Major announced to the House of Commons that the prince and princess of Wales were separating that the Wales is were a very unhappy couple in contrast to the hopes expressed when they became engaged the Charles said at that time he was surprised she was willing to put up with him so were they in love [Music] the palace tells reporters that no third party was involved in the decision all despite tabloid reports and mortensburg I think they were both very sad Diana in particular never wanted to get divorced in in her heart although she was with another man you know Charles was the one that got away and she always had a place in her heart for Charles and it wasn't what she wanted and she felt a failure she felt she they both felt they'd failed and they both felt they'd failed their children so it was very very sad for both of them Rama through the through the separation comes at a time when the credibility of the monarchy is at a modern low Point as a result of persistent reports alluding to the marital scandals and Wealthy lifestyle of some members of the royal family the New York Times commented on the announcement in a 1995 interview with the BBC Diana said that she felt deep deep profound sadness about their decision we had struggled to keep it going but obviously we'd both run out of steam finally on August 28 1996 after coming to an agreement in July Prince Charles and Princess Diana's divorce was finalized today's Sunday times it's claimed that he's had three separate affairs with Camilla Parker Bowles I think Charles did become very visualized I'm only in a way Charles is still being villainized by the ghost of Diana because there's so many programs and musicals and stories and we still have Harry's book to come out so everything always the finger of blame is always pointed at Prince Charles and I think that is very unfair because Diana would hate that she would really hate that because towards the very end of her life because I I talked to her very shortly before she was killed she she said you know that she wanted her boys to know that she had loved Prince Charles and in a way they still loved each other she was getting on with him so much better and she'd even stop blaming Camilla the Revelation to me that's about the different Diana's and she said it wasn't so much Camilla it was the people around us so I thought that's really interesting you know for you know 20 years you blame Camilla and now you're blaming the Royal household interesting but of course you know we never really delved into that enough Diana received a significant financial settlement but was stripped of her her Royal Highness status from that moment on Diana was a titles were stripped she was no longer prayed for in church she was on her own tragically her new liberated post-royal life was cut short after a fatal car crash in Paris a year later [Music]

Channel: Royalty TV

Views: 28,030

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Id: ia-J1dV_FKw

Length: 48min 35sec (2915 seconds)

Published: Wed Aug 02 2023