King Charles's 'severe warning' to friends after split with Princess Diana that he'd 'never mention' now
According to long-time royal photographer Arthur Edwards the monarch wrote to his close circle with an uncompromising statement
King Charles and Princess Diana's marriage was sadly very far from being a royal romance success story and when their separation was announced in 1992 everyone had opinions. Even now the former couple's relationship is still heavily scrutinised and the release of Earl Spencer's controversial memoir, Swan Song, in early autumn fanned the flames again.
The late Princess's brother made several shocking claims about the King, including the allegation that he'd once told Diana he wasn't "actually in love" with her. All of this paints a harsh picture but royal photographer Arthur Edwards has now detailed how Charles stepped in to protect her and their children after the split - and was uncompromising with his friends.
"It was awful for him and, although he would never mention it, I know that after the split, Charles wrote to all his friends and said, 'If you comment or write a bad thing about Princess Diana, you will lose my friendship'," Arthur claims in his new memoir, Cup of Tea, Arthur?
The consequences were laid out very clearly and the photographer reflects that she was still the mother of his children and "didn't want any of his friends to criticise her". The Royal Family traditionally stick to their trusted "never complain, never explain" approach so commenting on coverage isn't really an option for King Charles.
Friends have more freedom to speak out and can often turn the tide of public opinion. Criticism of Princess Diana could potentially have boosted the King's image, but from what Arthur says, he wasn't remotely interested in this and did his best to prevent it.
Sadly, Arthur adds that "some did" comment negatively about Diana, so presumably that cost them their place in the inner circle. According to the photographer, King Charles "recovered by letting his work do the talking" after the split.
William and Harry were clearly the monarch's priority and as someone who was raised in the public eye, he would've known how easy it would be for his sons to hear negative remarks about their mum. Princess Diana also understood the impact and was apparently "adamant" that royal author Ingrid Seward should know "how much she and Charles had once loved each other."
In Catherine & Diana, Ingrid recalls sitting down with her at Kensington Palace in the summer of 1997 and claims she was told, "It is so important the boys know that. It's very hurtful to our children when people say we didn't love each other."
She and King Charles were married for 11 years before they separated in 1992. Prince Harry has spoken about the toll the split had on them, saying in the Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy documentary that it felt like they "never saw [their] mother enough or [they] never saw [their] father enough".
Meanwhile, his older brother has said that a "feeling of warmth, security, love" was part of his childhood but things got more difficult after the divorce in 1996.
"My parents got divorced at 8, so that lasted a short period of time but you take that and you learn from it, and you try not to do the same mistakes as your parents," Prince William said on The Reluctant Traveler.
