The Bleak Truth Revealed Behind Collapse of Charles and Diana's Marriage — With Royal Flunky Also Revealing the Cheeky Joke 'Bored' Princess Made to Heir of Throne
Princess Diana and King Charles marriage deteriorated almost as soon as their wedding.
Feb. 18 2025, Published 4:45 p.m. ET
King Charles and Princess Diana's fairytale romance was not ended due to her infidelity, RadarOnline.com can reveal, but rather her disapproval of the royal family's affection for hunting.
An explosive new book alleges that Diana was "bored" with the royal life.
Diana was said to not like certain aspects of royal life.
The book, Yes, Ma'am: The Secret Life of Royal Servants, is a behind-the-scenes look at the British monarchy from the staff members themselves.
One staffer, a hunting and fishing expert, revealed the troubled marriage of Charles and Diana started to unravel just after their famous wedding in 1981.
Speaking anonymously, the attendant revealed that Diana particularly hated Balmoral Castle, the family's Scottish residence. She was said to have found the grounds boring, and was not a fan of the outdoor activities offered at the home, such as hunting.
Meanwhile, the prince-who-would-be-king Charles was an avid fox hunter, and according to the book, covered himself with the blood of the first fox and the first stag he shot and killed – as per royal tradition.
This disgusted Diana, and the unnamed source said: "That, I think, was the start of the deterioration of their relationship, whatever people say about it being entirely about the other woman."
The royals would often vacation at a Scottish castle.
Hunting wasn't the only habit Diana apparently hated. Penny Junor, author of The Duchess, wrote that the couple's differences creeped to the surface as soon as their honeymoon, when the two had differing ideas of a good time.
Junor recalled: "He'd taken along his watercolors, some canvases and a pile of books by the Afrikaner mystic and writer Laurens van der Post, which he'd hoped he and Diana might share and then discuss in the evenings.
"Diana, however, was no great reader. She hated his wretched books and was offended that he might prefer to bury his head in one of them rather than sit and talk to her. She resented him sitting for hours at his easel, too, and they had many blazing rows.
"One day, when Charles was painting on the veranda deck of Britannia, he went off to look at something for half an hour. He came back to find she'd destroyed his painting and all his materials."
Diana didn't like the outdoor activities like hunting.
It seemed all Diana could do to entertain herself was belittle her husband. The hunting and fishing expert shared a fishing tale of hers.
The insider said: "I remember once she was sitting quietly watching all the casting and discussions about which flies to use.
"She looked a little bored and when everything fell quiet for a moment she called across to Prince Charles, "Darling, wouldn’t it be easier to just use a net!"
Diana was no fan of spending holidays with the family either, it seems.
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, the princess used to "dread" spending the Christmas holiday with her royal in-laws.
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According to a royal insider, Diana – who died aged aged 36 in August 1997 – found it particularly tough to sit through royal Christmases and would often leave after lunch was served.
Royal photographer Arthur Edwards said: "For many years, our Queen Camilla, she would leave after (Christmas) lunch and go and spend time with her own family down in Wiltshire."
Apparently, Camilla and Diana shared the same brief schedule when it came to royal holiday events, as magazine editor Ingrid Seward added: "Well Diana used to leave after lunch."
She added: "When things were really not going at all well, she was to dread these royal family Christmases.
"And sometimes she escaped even before lunch and just did the church."
