Princess Diana and Prince Charles romance: What was the age gap between Charles and Diana?
Sign up for FREE now and never miss the top Royal stories again. Invalid emailWe will use your email address only for sending you newsletters. Please see our Privacy Notice for details of your data protection rights.Prince Charles and Princess Diana produced a new generation of royals together, as they raised Princes William and Harry. Their 1981 wedding was the first between an immediate heir to the throne and a spouse in 34 years, following Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip in 1947. But their relationship was a tumultuous one, likely due in part to a sizeable age difference between the couple. What was the age gap between Prince Charles and Princess Diana?Prince Charles and Princess Diana, then Diana Spencer, met in 1977 the heir to the throne was dating her sister.The Prince had arrived at the Spencer family home as a hunting party member and partner of Sarah Spencer.Although Sarah and Charles’ relationship was short-lived, the 29-year-old Prince made an impression on 16-year-old Diana.READ MORE: The Crown: Prince Charles star’s brutal royal family comparisonPrincess Diana and Prince Charles romance: What was the age gap between Charles and Diana? (Image: GETTY)Princess Diana and Prince Charles romance: Prince Charles and Princess Diana married in 1981 (Image: GETTY)Speaking in an interview after the couple announced their engagement, Charles described teen Diana as a “fun and bouncy” girl.He said: “I remember thinking what a very jolly and amusing and attractive 16-year-old she was.”I mean, great fun, and bouncy and full of life and everything.”Speaking alongside him, the Princess said her first impression of the heir to the throne was “pretty amazing.”Princess Diana and Prince Charles romance: Charles and Diana’s relationship through the years (Image: EXPRESS)Despite an age gap of more than 12 years, the couple got together two years later, when Diana was 18.Princess Diana was 20 and Prince Charles 32 when they tied the knot in 1981.Lady Di later recalled the whirlwind progression of their relationship in her private tapes, saying: “We met 13 times and we got married.”The couple welcomed Princes William and Harry in 1982 and 1984, and they stayed together for 15 years until 1996.DON’T MISSDoes Kate or Meghan owns the most valuable pieces from Princess Diana? – ANALYSISPrince Harry and Meghan Markle: Touching way Sussexes honour Diana – EXPLAINERRoyal wedding: What all the royal brides did the night before – INSIGHTPrincess Diana and Prince Charles romance: Diana seemed a “prisoner” in the Royal Family (Image: GETTY)Princess Diana allegedly had trouble fitting in with the Royal Family, as she was just 18 when she married in.Royals compared her to “jolly” Sarah Ferguson, who married Prince Andrew five years later, and she allegedly had trouble “wooing” the Firm.Andrew Morton, royal biographer and author of Diana: Her True Story, said the Princess was “like a prisoner” to the royals.Listening to her private tapes, which came exclusively to him, he described her unhappiness.He said: “She was absolutely miserable and she felt she was like a prisoner of the palace.“She felt she needed to speak out. I put my headphones on, switched on the tape recorder, and out came this cascade of emotion.”She was speaking like a prisoner in a cell who just had a few minutes to get the story out.“There was talk of her misery, of her unhappiness. It was totally, utterly shocking. I felt like I’d entered a parallel universe.”,
Express
