Princess Diana’s Realization After Joining Royal Family: ‘Either Sink Or Swim’

Princess Diana felt the pressure of being part of the royal family after marrying Prince Charles.

The Prince and Princess of Wales’ marriage didn’t work out and many believe that aside from Prince Charles’ infidelity, Princess Diana had personal issues with the monarchy. Princess Diana had broken a number of royal protocol due to her affinity with the public and inclination to give her children, Prince William and Prince Harry, a normal life.

Princess Diana admitted that she felt the pressure on her big day. She realized on their wedding day that marrying the future king would mean changing herself.

“The day I walked down the aisle at St. Paul's Cathedral, I felt that my personality was taken away from me, and I was taken over by the royal machine,” Princess Diana told Martin Bashir in her 1995 “Panorama” interview.

Prince Charles tried to be there for his first wife, but Princess Diana was reportedly not satisfied with the attention she received from her husband and the royal household. She had been taught how to carry herself in public. But the royals were not a babysitter and Princess Diana was a grown-up woman, so she was expected to sort herself out accordingly.

“It was isolating, but it was also a situation where you couldn't indulge in feeling sorry for yourself: you had to either sink or swim, and you had to learn that very fast,” Princess Diana said about being part of the royal family.

Princess Diana added that nobody praised her when she did something good. However, when she tripped up, which she invariably did as she was new in the game, she felt that “a ton of bricks came down on me.”

Princess Diana and Prince Charles’ marriage didn’t turn out well like their fairytale wedding. Robert Lacey believed that it was because the Prince of Wales was already emotionally committed to another woman, Camilla Parker Bowles.

According to Ken Wharfe, Princess Diana was desperate to make her marriage with Prince Charles work. Unfortunately, Camilla never went away. She never left the couple to mend their marital issues and resolved their problems.

Years after Princess Diana’s death, Prince Charles married Camilla. The public wasn’t warm to the Duchess of Cornwall at first, but they eventually embraced her. In fact, many believe that Camilla will be queen consort when Prince Charles becomes king.