How Princess Diana Used ‘Tragic’ Event To Win Prince Charles’ Heart

Although Princess Diana is remembered for her charitable work and iconic fashion choices, she reportedly captured Prince Charles’ attention with a few kind words following a heartbreaking death.

When Charles first met Diana, he was courting her sister, Lady Sarah Spencer. However, he quickly fell for Diana after she expressed her desire to comfort him during a “tragic” time in his life.

In the book, “The Duchess: The Untold Story,” royal biographer Penny Junor revealed the 1979 assassination of Prince Charles’ uncle, Lord Louis Mountbatten caused the distraught royal to change his mind about pursuing a romance with Sarah.

According to Junor, Charles met Diana the following year at a group gathering. The two allegedly had an emotional conversation about Mountbatten’s death that “made him look again at her.”

“They were both weekend guests of Robert and Philippa de Pass at Petworth in Sussex. Charles was playing polo at Cowdray Park and after the game, everyone went back to the house for a barbecue,” Junor wrote.

“Sitting next to him on a hay bale, Diana said, ‘You looked so sad when you walked up the aisle at Lord Mountbatten’s funeral. It was the most tragic thing I’ve ever seen. My heart bled for you when I watched. I thought it’s wrong, you’re lonely – you should be with somebody to look after you.’”

Diana’s kind words resonated with Prince Charles, and by 1981 the two were married. Unfortunately, their love story was far from perfect due to Charles’ affair with Camilla Parker Bowles.

Following Mountbatten’s death, Camilla became a source of support for the Prince of Wales. “Laurens van der Post and the Queen Mother proved great towers of strength but so too did Camilla, who easily slipped into the nurturing role of comforter and confidante. She was so much more than a lover, and he leaned heavily on her,” Junor wrote.

Prince Charles and Princess Diana divorced in 1996. The following year, the Princess of Wales died from her injuries in a car crash.