How Princess Diana’s Marriage To Prince Charles Changed ‘Stuffy’ Royal Family

When Princess Diana married Prince Charles in 1981, she used her instincts to change the royal family unexpectedly. While previous women who married into the royal family did little to draw attention to themselves, the Princess of Wales commanded the royal spotlight.

According to a royal biographer, Diana gave the royal family a fresh image that changed the public’s opinion of the “stuffy establishment.”

In the Amazon Prime documentary “Royalty Close Up: The Photography of Kent Gavin,” Anthony Holden claimed Princess Diana had a dramatic impact on the royal family’s image. “She was the first Englishwoman, I think, for 300 years to marry an heir to the throne,” he said.

“And she just brought a naturalness to it that it lacked, and a showbiz dimension that has been as damaging as it has been helpful to the royal ratings.”

The former editor of the Daily Mirror, Mike Malloy, appeared to echo Holden’s statements by describing how others quickly fell in love with the late princess.

“Princess Diana was like one of the old-fashioned movie stars – she knew where the camera was. She also knew instinctively – God knows, no one taught her this – she knew how to flirt with the camera.”

Meanwhile, Princess Diana’s former bodyguard, Ken Wharfe, praised the way she changed the public’s perception of the royal family.

“There wasn’t anybody before that that was exciting enough and suddenly, you had this 19-year-old that had this interaction, not only with the public but with the media. We had never had this before,” he said.

Following her death in 1997, Princess Diana continues to be remembered for her iconic fashion statements and charitable contributions.