Princess Diana Called Her Wedding Day “The Worst Day of my Life”
LONDON – While globally celebrated as a fairytale, Princess Diana privately considered her wedding day to be a moment marking the beginning of profound unhappiness. Years later, she revealed the marriage to Prince Charles felt irrevocably fractured from the start, shadowed by his callous remark and the presence of another woman. The revelation casts a starkly different light on the globally televised spectacle of July 29, 1981, and underscores the enduring pain experienced behind the royal facade.
The wedding, watched by an estimated 750 million people worldwide, initially appeared to be a joyous affirmation of the British monarchy. Crowds thronged the streets of London, waving flags as the newly married couple appeared on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. Yet, beneath the public celebration, Diana harbored a growing sense of dread. The event, intended to symbolize hope and unity, instead signaled the start of a deeply troubled marriage and a life of isolation.
Diana later confided that the marriage was already burdened by an insurmountable obstacle: Charles’s existing relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles. She famously stated, “We were three in that marriage, so it was a little crowded.” This poignant observation revealed the emotional turmoil she experienced even before exchanging vows.
The princess recalled with bitterness that the day itself was “the worst day of my life.” This sentiment stemmed not just from the awareness of Charles’s affections for another, but also from a pre-wedding conversation that deeply wounded her. The exact nature of the remark remains a subject of speculation, but its impact was devastating, foreshadowing years of unhappiness and ultimately contributing to the couple’s eventual divorce in 1996. The wedding, intended as a beginning, became for Diana a point of no return.
