King Charles reportedly broke down in tears the night before his wedding to Princess Diana, fully aware that his heart still belonged to Camilla. And according to royal experts, he wasn’t alone in his sorrow.
“They both [cried],” royal commentator Ian Pelham Turner told Fox News Digital. “Diana was hesitant about marrying Charles, but her sister told her it was too late to back out—the tea towels with their faces were already being sold. Charles wore cufflinks adorned with Camilla’s initials on the big day so she’d be included in some way, which, reportedly, made him emotional.”
Turner’s comments came shortly after People revisited the events surrounding Charles and Diana’s July 29, 1981, royal wedding.
According to the biography Prince Charles: The Passions and Paradoxes of an Improbable Life, Charles felt pressured into marrying Diana and struggled with his lingering feelings for the already-married Camilla. As the outlet noted, “He even cried over it the night before his nuptials.”
British royal expert Hilary Fordwich echoed that sentiment, telling Fox News Digital that the book’s author, Sally Bedell Smith, had confirmed Charles’ emotional breakdown.
“During the king’s coronation coverage [in 2023], I was on set with Sally Bedell Smith,” Fordwich said. “I asked her directly if he cried the night before the wedding, and she said yes.”
While the unraveling of Charles and Diana’s marriage has been widely documented, Fordwich believes today’s younger royals are fortunate not to face the same emotional entanglements.
“The Charles-Diana-Camilla triangle is a tragically iconic example of royal duty clashing with personal happiness,” she said.
Charles, then a prince, reportedly felt compelled by his father, Prince Philip, to marry Diana—not out of love, but to satisfy royal expectations.
“He needed a virginal, publicly acceptable bride who could one day be queen,” Fordwich explained. “Camilla was considered completely ‘unsuitable’ because of her previous relationships and the fact she was married. The Church of England wouldn’t allow the heir to marry a divorcee.”
His godmother, Patricia Mountbatten, told Fordwich that Charles knew he was in too deep to cancel the wedding—even though he loved someone else. “She recognized he was making a mistake,” Fordwich added, “but Camilla remained his soulmate, even though she was married to another man.”
Charles first met Camilla in 1970 through mutual friend Lucia Santa Cruz and was reportedly smitten. But duty called, and he joined the Navy in 1971. While he was away, Camilla married Andrew Parker Bowles in 1973—a man who had previously dated Charles’ sister, Princess Anne. According to reports, Charles was heartbroken and even tried to prevent the marriage. Still, he and Camilla stayed close.
By 1980, Charles had begun dating Lady Diana Spencer.
“At the time of Charles and Diana’s wedding, it was said that Charles’ physical relationship with Camilla had ended,” said Fordwich. “But the emotional connection remained—and both of them were criticized for it. The media branded her ‘the other woman.’”
Diana, too, realized that Camilla wasn’t going anywhere.
“Initially, Diana appeared deeply in love with Charles,” said Fordwich. “But over time, she began telling people she felt foolish and insecure as she understood the depth of Charles’ emotional bond with Camilla.”
Despite her doubts, Diana felt she had no choice but to go through with the ceremony.
“Her family, the press, and even her own sisters made it clear—once her face was ‘on the tea towels,’ it was too late,” said Fordwich. “The entire nation was captivated by the wedding.”
On the wedding day, Diana appeared anxious, and many attributed it to nerves. But few knew she was emotionally distraught over Camilla’s continued presence in Charles’ life.
Diana later admitted she felt like “the luckiest girl in the world,” but privately, she knew Charles’ heart was with someone else. According to Fordwich, that realization left emotional scars that would shape the future—not just of their marriage, but of their children.
“It left a mark on Prince Harry in particular,” she said, “fueling his long-standing resentment toward Camilla and mistrust of the press.”
People magazine reported that Camilla was invited to the wedding, likely because her husband held the position of Commanding Officer of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment.
Although rumors swirled that she wore white, royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams clarified to Fox News Digital that she actually donned a “pale gray dress with a veiled pillbox hat.”
The honeymoon offered no respite for the newlyweds. According to Fitzwilliams, Diana was plagued by anxiety and bulimia, even as the public continued to embrace her.
“It seemed the wedding had gained too much momentum to be stopped,” he said. “Diana’s discovery of a bracelet Charles had gifted Camilla before the wedding only deepened her suspicions that Camilla remained a real threat.”
Fordwich said the cracks in their relationship widened due to major differences—age, interests, and outlook.
“Even during their honeymoon, personality clashes were evident,” she said. “Then came the 1989 scandal that revealed Charles and Camilla’s ongoing affair. It shocked the public and did lasting damage to Charles’ reputation.”
“The British people haven’t forgotten,” she added.
Charles and Diana officially separated in 1992. In a groundbreaking 1995 interview with BBC’s Panorama, Diana said bluntly, “Well, there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.”
Their divorce was finalized in 1996.
After Diana’s tragic death in 1997, Charles and Camilla rekindled their relationship. The couple married in 2005 and were crowned king and queen in 2023.
