The Truth About Prince Charles And Princess Diana’s Honeymoon

David Levenson/Getty Images By Paige McBride/May 10, 2021 12:19 pm EST

If you know how the story of Prince Charles’ marriage to Princess Diana started, you likely didn’t have high hopes of a storybook honeymoon. Plus, those of us who’ve watched The Crown know exactly what the Princess found during their cruise on the royal yacht.

According to The Express, royal tradition often had members of the royal family taking their honeymoon aboard the ship, enjoying the open sea. Princess Margaret and Princess Anne both took their vacations on the Britannia as well. Unfortunately, this particular excursion was less than romanic for the newly-wedded couple, who were 33 and 19. After saying “I do”, the royal yacht set sail around the Greek Islands, the outlet reports. It was during this cruise that the couple discovered the ocean of differences between the two of them. “We discovered that Diana found being cooped up on the royal yacht rather frustrating especially because Prince Charles wanted to spend his day reading books about philosophy and she wants to have a bit more fun,” said Richard Kay, the editor-at-large of The Daily Mail.

But, beyond just the differences in their personalities, Princess Diana discovered an unwelcome gift her husband had received.

The Truth About Prince Charles And Princess Diana’s Honeymoon

David Levenson/Getty Images

By Paige McBride/May 10, 2021 12:19 pm EST

If you know how the story of Prince Charles’ marriage to Princess Diana started, you likely didn’t have high hopes of a storybook honeymoon. Plus, those of us who’ve watched The Crown know exactly what the Princess found during their cruise on the royal yacht.

According to The Express, royal tradition often had members of the royal family taking their honeymoon aboard the ship, enjoying the open sea. Princess Margaret and Princess Anne both took their vacations on the Britannia as well. Unfortunately, this particular excursion was less than romanic for the newly-wedded couple, who were 33 and 19. After saying “I do”, the royal yacht set sail around the Greek Islands, the outlet reports. It was during this cruise that the couple discovered the ocean of differences between the two of them. “We discovered that Diana found being cooped up on the royal yacht rather frustrating especially because Prince Charles wanted to spend his day reading books about philosophy and she wants to have a bit more fun,” said Richard Kay, the editor-at-large of The Daily Mail.

But, beyond just the differences in their personalities, Princess Diana discovered an unwelcome gift her husband had received.

According to The Express, royal tradition often had members of the royal family taking their honeymoon aboard the ship, enjoying the open sea. Princess Margaret and Princess Anne both took their vacations on the Britannia as well. Unfortunately, this particular excursion was less than romanic for the newly-wedded couple, who were 33 and 19. After saying “I do”, the royal yacht set sail around the Greek Islands, the outlet reports.

It was during this cruise that the couple discovered the ocean of differences between the two of them. “We discovered that Diana found being cooped up on the royal yacht rather frustrating especially because Prince Charles wanted to spend his day reading books about philosophy and she wants to have a bit more fun,” said Richard Kay, the editor-at-large of The Daily Mail.

But, beyond just the differences in their personalities, Princess Diana discovered an unwelcome gift her husband had received.

Princess Diana found a gift given to Prince Charles by Camilla Parker-Bowles

Georges De Keerle/Getty Images

Furthermore, Reader’s Digest reports that the Prince had daily phone calls with his mistress throughout the entire trip. His valet later revealed, “The Prince simply had to be in constant contact with Camilla or he couldn’t function properly. If he went without his daily phone call, he would become tetchy and ill-tempered.”

Making matters worse, the outlet notes that Diana was still recovering from the public humiliation dealt during their engagement announcement. She later relived the moment used for her Channel 4 special, Diana: In Her Own Words, “And this ridiculous [news] man 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 traumatized me.”