Prince Charles, Princess Diana Hoped This Would ‘Repair’ Their Marriage 

Their marriage ended in 1996 after a four-year separation that involved several accusations about infidelity. However, prior to their dissolving their marriage, Prince Charles and Princess Diana reportedly made one last attempt to try and repair things.

According to royal author Katie Nichol’s book “Harry: Life, Loss and Love,” (via Express UK), the happy faces Prince Harry’s parents kept on their faces when introducing him to the world after his birth in 1984 were all for show, as they already had problems in the marriage and had hoped his conception would fix things. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.

“The Waleses’ marriage had been in trouble for some time, the fairy tale slowly and painfully descending into a story of dysfunction and heartbreak,” she wrote. “By the time of Harry’s birth, Charles was becoming increasingly vexed by their incompatibility.”

“Diana later admitted that Harry’s conception ‘was if by a miracle,’ but there had been a brief respite in their attrition just before his birth,” she added.

Though it didn’t last, Princess Diana reportedly did admit at one point that the time leading up to Harry’s birth was actually good for them, and they were closer during that period.

“As with many couples who believe the birth of a child may repair damage to their relationship, both were looking forward to their new arrival,” Nichol wrote. “In fact, despite the fact she knew Harry was going to be a boy and kept it from her husband, Diana said that she felt she and Charles were ‘very very close to each other the six weeks before Harry was born, the closest we’ve ever, ever been and ever will be.”

However, the good feelings didn’t last very long, as Prince Charles allegedly quickly felt he had fulfilled his obligations as the future king and was free to pursue his affair with Camilla Parker-Bowles as a result.