The love story between Prince Charles and Princess Diana seemed like a fairy tale romance (until it didn’t). The couple’s famous and glamorous wedding impressed people all over the world, but the rest of their courtship didn’t match the romance of the ceremony.
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Why Charles’ Proposal Made Diana Laugh
Even though Charles and Diana appeared to be inseparable, the couple actually only met up 13 times before Charles popped the question. In addition to that, when they were together, the couple was usually accompanied by friends or family members.
While the wedding was romantic, the proposal was reportedly anything but. Apparently, Diana “burst into laughter” after Charles proposed. The prince, who was 32 at the time, proposed to his then-19-year-old girlfriend in the nursery of Windsor Castle.
When Diana arrived at the castle that day, Charles told her he had “missed her so much” before leading her into the nursery. According to Ingrid Seward, the editor of Majesty Magazine, Charles chose that location “because the nursery is like a home.”
The occasion might’ve been serious, but according to Seward, Diana “burst out laughing.” She continued, “I think that was probably just her nerves. She didn’t think it was the most romantic of proposals, but she had the proposal.”
Family Pressure Was Behind The Engagement
Diana also told the story of Charles’ proposal over the years, but she never included the alleged laughter. In one interview, she said, “[Charles] said ‘Do you realize that one day you’ll be queen?’ And I said, ‘I love you so much, I love you so much.’ He said, ‘Whatever love means.’ He said it then. So, I thought that was great. I thought he meant it.”
Christopher Wilson, a royal biographer, said that Diana didn’t expect a proposal from the prince at all. According to him, the proposal was not romantic and came from a place of duty rather than love.
At the time, the entire world was waiting for Charles to get married, giving the United Kingdom their future queen. He was also facing pressure from his family to get engaged, which showed in his actions immediately after he popped the question.
“Prince Charles didn’t pick her up in his arms and embrace or do any of the things we might do when we propose marriage to the one that we love,” Wilson said. “He rang his mum, simply to say, ‘There, I’ve done it now. You’ve asked me to get married to somebody, and I’ve fixed it.’ What he’d done was, he’d finally found a wife.”
The love story of Charles and Diana seemed so perfect at the time, but over the years, the world has learned that their relationship was anything but. As we can see from this story, the couple’s problems started almost from the moment the prince proposed.
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