Princess Diana Called Her Wedding the “Worst Day of My Life”: The Shocking Reason Why Camilla Parker Bowles Was Invited

On July 31, 1981, Princess Diana married King Charles in a highly publicized ceremony at St. Paul’s Cathedral, but behind the scenes, it was a day marked by doubt and turmoil for the young princess. While the wedding was a lavish affair with an estimated $48 million cost, Diana later revealed that the event would forever be etched in her memory as “the worst day of my life.”

In a 2017 documentary Diana: In Her Own Words, Diana opened up about the inner conflict she faced in the days leading up to her wedding. “I went upstairs, had lunch with my sisters who were there, and I said, ‘I can’t marry him. I can’t do this. This is absolutely unbelievable,’” she recalled. Her sisters, however, reassured her, stating, “Well, bad luck, Duch. Your face is on the tea towel, so you’re too late to chicken out.”

One of the key reasons for Diana’s hesitation was Charles’s ongoing relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles. Despite being engaged to Diana, Charles remained emotionally attached to Camilla, even crying the night before his wedding. This complicated dynamic came to a head after the wedding when Diana learned of a gift from Camilla to Charles — a pair of cufflinks. Diana, filled with jealousy, confronted her husband. “So I said, ‘Camilla gave you those, didn’t she?’ He said, ‘Yes, so what’s wrong? They’re a present from a friend.’ And, boy, did we have a row. Jealousy, total jealousy,” Diana admitted.

To make matters even more uncomfortable, Camilla was present at the wedding despite the tension. It was revealed that Camilla’s attendance was a result of her husband’s position in the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, which had ceremonial duties during the event. Despite being married, Charles continued to have a complex and secretive relationship with Camilla, which only added to Diana’s heartache.

The following years saw Diana and Charles’s marriage grow increasingly strained. In 1986, Charles resumed his affair with Camilla, which only worsened the couple’s relationship. After 15 years of marriage, Charles and Diana officially divorced in 1996. Charles and Camilla made their relationship public in 1999, further cementing the role she played in the couple’s troubled marriage.

The story of Princess Diana’s wedding is one of tension, jealousy, and betrayal, and her candid reflections continue to highlight the personal struggles that were hidden behind the public spectacle.