Whether you followed the tabloid coverage of Princess Diana’s marriage to Prince Charles during the 1980s and 1990s, or have been binging the reenactment of their relationship on Netflix’s The Crown, surely it’s crossed your mind: How did these two really feel about each other? On one hand, together, the former royal couple raised two handsome boys, Prince William and Prince Harry. On the other hand … Prince Charles infamously had some side action going on with Camilla Parker Bowles, and Queen Elizabeth II ended up granting them a royal divorce two years before the People’s Princess’ tragic death in 1997 (per Town & Country). So, was their marriage always doomed to fail, or did it start out like the storybook it seemed to be, and then slowly splinter?
To get the answers to these burning questions, The List reached out to body language expert Nicole Moore, who is also a life coach and relationship expert. After studying numerous video clips of Princess Diana and Prince Charles, Moore pointed to signs that they may have always been at odds, even before they said “I do” in 1981.
Princess Diana and Prince Charles' first appearance together was super 'awkward'
Ah, new love. When you’re first falling for someone, you just can’t keep your hands off each other. Except, this didn’t appear to be the case for Princess Diana and Prince Charles, Moore explained.
“Diana and Charles appeared awkward together from their very first public appearance,” Moore told The List. “Charles was friendly with Diana from the start, not romantic at the beginning like you’d expect a man to be with his fiancée.” She pointed to the couple’s very first interview after they got engaged. “At the very beginning of the clip, Charles puts his hands on Diana’s shoulders, but it’s a light touch and he pats her on the shoulder like you’d pat a friend,” Moore observed. “Diana appears uncomfortable, and shrugs her shoulders up when he touches her, a subtle body language sign indicating that she’s not in love with his touch and wanting more, she doesn’t want him touching her at that moment at all.”
When Prince Charles touches Princess Diana again, she downright cringes! “Right after he touches her on the shoulder, she puts her head down for a second in a shameful, embarrassed way,” Moore continued. “Her body language here seems to indicate that she’s not happy and perhaps playing along with Charles’ mock show of affection for the cameras.”
Did Prince Charles' proposal story fall flat?
After a couple gets engaged, it’s always fun to hear them tell the story about popping the question. However, Moore did not see any of this enthusiasm from the royal groom and his bride-to-be.
“When Charles is asked to describe how he proposed to Diana, he shows no change in facial expression or emotion. This is a huge red flag,” Moore said. “Anyone that is truly excited about their engagement would immediately smile, open their eyes wider, and change their tone of voice when detailing how they proposed to their fiancé. Instead, Charles maintains the same flat tone in which he started the interview.”
The princess, meanwhile, was not behaving like she’d just been swept off her feet. “Diana, for her part, appeared awkward and embarrassed when Charles brought up the fact that even after Diana had said yes, he ‘let her sit on it’ for three weeks,” Moore noted. “When he said that, Diana’s face and eyes cast downward in a shameful, embarrassed way.”
Princess Diana and Prince Charles did not seem to be in love when they got engaged
Why would Princess Diana feel shame when listening to her royal fiancé describe their engagement? It could have been a hunch that the two weren’t destined to live happily ever after, according to Moore. “Perhaps the writing was on the wall from the very beginning, and Diana knew there was something off with the partnership based on how Charles conducted the proposal,” she speculated.
Either way, it seems as though Prince Charles and his future bride just did not have that lovin’ feeling! “Perhaps the most telling part of the interview was when the reporter asked the couple if they’re in love,” Moore continued. “Diana says with her words ‘of course,’ but then visibly reacts to this question by stepping back a bit and sucking air in while looking off to the side.” Moore added, “This body language shows that she did not believe what she was saying. She knew the couple was not in love and was almost sucking the lie back in after she said it.”
Perhaps sealing the deal was the hue of Princess Diana’s face as she awkwardly discussed their engagement. “Her cheeks got red with embarrassment, indicating again that she was extremely uncomfortable having to say that she and Prince Charles were in love,” Moore observed.
Was Prince Charles in love with the attention or Princess Diana after their wedding?
Two years after the epic wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, you could see their happiness during their first filmed dance together, Moore observed. The supposed problem, though, was that it wasn’t thrilling to them because they were in love with each other. Although “Diana was happy to be with Charles,” according to Moore, “Charles was happy with positive attention.”
Speaking about the apparent contrast between their attitudes as they dance, Moore continued, “Diana is beaming with happiness as soon as the dance starts. Charles, on the other hand, has a more focused look on his face and doesn’t break a smile until the audience starts cheering for them. This body language suggests Charles may have been more in love with the camera and the attention than Diana.” If this sounds a bit harsh, Moore noted that the Prince of Wales “made no efforts during the dance to pull Diana closer, or really take in her enjoyment of the dance.” She added, “His body language appears to indicate that for him, the dance was just business and any fun he was having was simply a result of dancing being fun, not because it was Diana there with him.”
Moore went on to claim that there was absolutely no personal connection between the two: “If you watched the clip without knowing it was a couple, you could easily mistake the two for a pair of dance partners who just love dance, not lovers.”
Becoming parents did not appear to bring Princess Diana and Prince Charles closer together
In fairness to the former royal couple, having your relationship in the spotlight has to be stressful! Perhaps that awkwardness gave way for love after Prince Charles and Princess Diana had a child together? It appears to be quite the contrary.
“By the time William was a toddler, any friendship, connection or love between Charles and Diana appeared to be gone,” Moore said. “Even a new baby couldn’t bring this couple closer.” Pointing to a video clip of the young family as evidence, she continued, “It’s evident that the relationship between Charles and Diana had turned cold by then. The couple barely looks each other in the eyes the entire time they are parading William in front of the press and only interact with the baby.” The princess, at this point, had seemingly resigned herself to a loveless marriage. “When sitting next to each other on a bench, while William stands in front of photographers, you can clearly see that Princess Diana’s shoulders are slumped, and her body is pulled in toward itself,” Moore explained. “Her body language indicates that she feels defeated.”
While spotting the literal distance between these two, Moore said, “The couple is sitting apart from each other and making no effort to connect or interact.” While their adorable little prince hams it up before the cameras, Moore added, “Prince Charles and Princess Diana appear to be in their own worlds, smiling at William, but not sharing the experience with each other.”
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