The Real Reason Prince Charles And Princess Diana Divorced

The marriage of Prince Charles and the late Diana of Wales was no fairy tale. Among allegations of abuse, mutual infidelity, and pressure from the royals, this is why these two found it impossible to live happily ever after.

They weren’t necessarily in love

Charles and Diana’s lack of chemistry seemed especially evident when discussing their engagement in a 1981 interview. They look physically uncomfortable together, but it doesn’t end there.

When asked why she elected to marry Charles, Diana says “I had a long time to think about it, because I knew the pressure was on both of us. And, um…it wasn’t a difficult decision in the end. It’s what I wanted.” She quickly corrects herself, saying, “It’s what I want.”

When asked if they’re in love, Diana immediately replies, “Of course!”

Charles’ reply, however, would go down in infamy: “Whatever love means,” he says. Ouch!

She suffered from postpartum depression

Diana revealed in a Panorama interview in 1995 that she suffered from postpartum depression during her marriage to Prince Charles.

“I was unwell with post-natal depression, which no one ever discusses…you have to read about it afterwards, and that in itself was a bit of a difficult time,” she said. “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.” She added, “It gave everybody a wonderful new label—’Diana’s unstable and Diana’s mentally unbalanced.’ And unfortunately that seems to have stuck on and off over the years.”

Diana revealed that her depression led her to self-mutilate, cutting her arms and legs. “You have so much pain inside yourself that you try and hurt yourself on the outside because you want help, but it’s the wrong help you’re asking for,” she said. “People see it as crying wolf or attention-seeking, and they think because you’re in the media all the time you’ve got enough attention…But I was actually crying out because I wanted to get better in order to go forward and continue my duty and my role as wife, mother, Princess of Wales.”