Princess Diana ‘was left traumatised’ by three-word engagement remark by Charles

Charles and Diana tied the knot in July 1981, five months after their engagement

rincess Diana was reportedly left “traumatised” by a three-word remark from then-Prince Charles during their engagement interview in 1981.

The infamous engagement interview featuring Diana, then 19 years old, and Charles, then 32, has gone down in history for perhaps the wrong reasons…
Charles and Diana’s engagement interview took place in February 1981 (Credit: ITN / YouTube)

Princess Diana and Prince Charles’ awkward engagement interview

On February 24, 1981, Diana and Charles spoke to the media following their engagement.

The interview has become a bit infamous due to how awkward it is.

The awkwardness reaches its peak when a reporter asks the royal couple whether they were “in love”.

“Of course,” Diana replied. However, it was Charles’ response that has gone down in history.

“Whatever in love means,” the then-Prince of Wales replied, drawing an awkward laugh from his bride-to-be.

Charles continued, saying that being “in love” was down to personal interpretation. The interviewer then remarked that they looked happy together. The royal couple agreed, with Diana adding: “As you can see”.
Charles and Diana split in 1992 (Credit: SplashNews.com)

Diana ‘admits Charles’ remark traumatised her’

However, though Diana appeared to laugh off Charles’ comment at the time, years later, she reportedly admitted that it left her “traumatised”.

In Andrew Morton’s authorised biography, Diana: In Her Own Words, she reportedly told the author: “We had this ghastly interview the day we announced our engagement. And this ridiculous [reporter] said, ‘Are you in love?’ I thought, what a thick question.

“So, I said, ‘Yes, of course, we are,’ and Charles turned round and said, ‘Whatever love means.’ And that threw me completely.”

“I thought, what a strange answer. It traumatised me,” she allegedly admitted.
Diana was reportedly left “traumatised” by Charles’ answer (Credit: ITN / YouTube)

Charles’ thinking explained

However, in her book, Prince Charles: The Passions and Paradoxes of an Improbably Life, royal author Sally Bedell Smith suggested that the then future king’s response was far more subtle than it first appeared.

“It was a totally inappropriate thing for him to say, but understandable given the way his mind worked and the kind of things he had said in prior years,” she said.

“You should look at those words in the context of the series of interviews he gave in the 1970s about what he wanted in a wife and what being in love was all about. He can overthink things and was thinking out loud. I don’t see it as a cynical, cruel statement.”

Smith also then argued that Charles’ remark came under scrutiny more in the 90s during the very public breakdown of their marriage, and prior to that, not much had been thought of it.

Princess Diana and Charles got married later that year, on July 29, 1981. The ceremony was held at St Paul’s Cathedral, and it’s estimated that around 750 million people watched it worldwide.

However, 11 years later, the couple then split, and in 1996 their divorce was finalised.