What Charles And Diana's Relationship Was Really Like After Divorce

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King Charles III and Princess Diana arguably had one of the most famous relationships in history. The pair first met in 1977 when she was just 16. Interestingly, he was dating her sister at the time, so things didn't become romantic between the future Prince and Princess of Wales until 1980. In February of the following year, King Charles — then-Prince Charles — and Diana announced their engagement, and by July, they had tied the knot.

Unfortunately, Charles and Diana's fairytale wedding, which took place at St. Paul's Cathedral in London and saw her wear a 25-foot-long bridal train, did not have a happily ever after. Although blessed with two sons, their marriage was plagued by infidelity rumors, and in 1992, Charles and Diana announced their separation.

As time went on, the truth about Princess Diana and the then-Prince Charles' marriage unraveled in the press. Scandalous details came to light, including that he harbored romantic feelings for Camilla Parker Bowles, whom he has since married. This adoration for Camilla was not the only reason why the then-Prince Charles and Princess Diana divorced, but it's no wonder they were ultimately unable to reconcile. So, what was their relationship like once the divorce papers were signed?

Despite the infidelities and highly publicized difficulties in their marriage, King Charles III and Princess Diana were sad when their relationship ended. Perhaps that is unsurprising. The pair were married for 15 years and had a close connection from the moment they met. "He met Miss Right and she met Mr. Right," an article from The New York Times in 1981 claimed following their engagement. "They just clicked ... it's perfect, and they are both over the moon about it."

Things were anything but perfect by the time their marriage ended, although insiders reported that Charles and Diana's separation still hit hard. "It seems once Charles and Diana accepted that their marriage was over, they both did have a natural feeling of sadness," suggested royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams while speaking in the Channel 5 documentary "The Royal Family at War."

Elaborating on that, royal author and editor of Majesty Magazine, Ingrid Seward, who also spoke in the documentary, said: "Diana did tell me something quite interesting. She said that on the day of the divorce, she and Charles sat down together on the sofa, and they both cried." Sadness aside, there may have been something else at play to prompt such a response, according to Fitzwilliams. "There was also a lot of mutual exhaustion after fighting their relationship battle in public for so many years that might have just caused this emotional moment," he said.

Regardless of their messy and long-drawn-out split, which lasted four years from the time their separation was announced to when their divorce was finalized, Princess Diana was so in love with King Charles III (then Prince Charles) that she reportedly confessed she would go back to him "in a heartbeat" if he was interested.

Speaking to The Telegraph about how Diana coped in the aftermath of the divorce, royal author Tina Brown said that as things were easing between the exes, the People's Princess had come to accept Camilla Parker Bowles being in the picture. "One thing she had finally done was really understand that Camilla was the love of his life, and there was just nothing she could do about it," Brown said.

That acceptance didn't make it any easier for Diana to move on from her ex-husband, however. "She said to me at that lunch that she would go back to Charles in a heartbeat if he wanted her," the author recalled. Sadly, Diana died just one year after her divorce from Charles, so a romantic reconciliation never happened between them. Nonetheless, that was unlikely all along, given his devotion to Camilla.

Although Princess Diana reportedly came to accept Camilla Parker Bowles as King Charles III's lover, she took the opportunity to seek "revenge" on the pair in the most iconic way possible. Two years into her separation from Charles, Diana stole headlines in June 1994 when she attended a gala at the Serpentine Gallery in London on what should have been a momentous occasion for Charles.

On the night in question, a landmark TV interview — which Charles had given to commemorate the 25th anniversary of his investiture — was due to air. But Diana overshadowed that by turning up to an event in a headline-grabbing LBD. The fitted, off-the-shoulder dress, designed by Christina Stambolian, was instantly — and now, infamously — dubbed Diana's "revenge dress." In the decades since, it is consistently heralded as one of her most iconic looks.

Of the memorable moment and the dress itself, Stambolian wrote in the 2022 book "Diana: A Life in Dresses," "Three years went by and she hadn't worn it. I was very disappointed" (via People). The designer continued, "Then I realised she had been waiting for the right occasion." Echoing why Diana decided to wear the dress specifically on that night, royal fashion commentator Elizabeth Holmes told Town & Country: "The revenge dress was both thrilling for royal fans and all but guaranteed her place in the newspaper, where space was finite."

Beyond her "revenge dress," Princess Diana stole the spotlight in her separation from King Charles III on many occasions. Most notably, she sent shockwaves through the royal family in November 1995 when she gave a bombshell interview to journalist Martin Bashir for the BBC's "Panorama" documentary series.

Although Diana's "Panorama" interview later drew much criticism due to the means by which Bashir obtained it, which even prompted an investigation by London's Metropolitan Police, nearly 200 million people around the globe tuned in to watch it, per TODAY. Among revelations that she struggled with bulimia and had self-harmed, as well as claims that royal staff were waging a campaign against her, Diana uttered the now-infamous line: "There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded."

Unsurprisingly, Charles did not respond well to the interview. According to a friend of the royal, who spoke to The Sun, he was "furious" about the "narrative" that the interview created of him. "The interview and allegations caused long-term damage to the future king and his household," the insider went on.

It's safe to say there were many uncomfortable interactions between King Charles III and Princess Diana across the three years they were separated. However, once their divorce was finalized, the former couple was understood to have found some resolution. "It was this crazy separation, but by the time the divorce was finalized, they were on much better terms," said royal expert Ingrid Seward in "The Royal Family at War" (via InStyle).

As well as sharing an emotional moment when their divorce was made official, which saw them both cry, Charles and Diana continued to get on in the aftermath. This is something viewers of Netflix's "The Crown" got a sense of in season six based on a particular line Diana uttered to Charles, played by Elizabeth Debicki and Dominic West, when she accepted his proposal of friendship: "She didn't get to keep the man of her dreams but the friend of her dreams" (via Moving Pictures).

Commenting on the truth of that sentiment (given that some storylines in "The Crown" were created for dramatic purposes), Hugo Vickers, a royal expert who advised on the show, told TIME that "Charles and Diana's relationship had mellowed onto a more civilized plain." He went on. "I won't say they had suddenly become bosom friends but as is the case with many divorced parents, in time things settle down and it does not get more difficult."

Beyond getting on for the sake of it, King Charles III and Princess Diana had two specific reasons for their civility post-divorce. According to Cosmopolitan, the pair's joint custody agreement meant they shared "equal access" to their sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, and were harmonious co-parents.

As for how their co-parenting situation looked in reality, rather than on paper, Charles and Diana split time 50-50 with the boys and alternated holidays. However, with William and Harry away at boarding school, they only spent about 40 days each year with their parents. "Charles and Diana only saw their children 40 days a year each," historian and royal expert Marlene Koenig told the Daily Express. "That doesn't mean they didn't keep in touch with their parents, it's just how it worked out when you're separated."

Interestingly, Charles and Diana got along far better as co-parents than as partners. "They had their own lives and their children to look after," said royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams in "The Royal Family at War" documentary. "Their marriage was a disaster from early on, but despite the bitterness between them, they were both very good parents to Prince William and Prince Harry throughout."

Although the then-Prince Charles' life changed considerably after he divorced Princess Diana, many things for her remained the same. As part of their divorce settlement, Diana was allowed to retain her apartments at her main residence, Kensington Palace. While married and raising their sons, the Waleses had lived in two of the palace's apartments, and the home was so beloved to Diana that in July 2021 (on what would have been her 60th birthday), a statue was unveiled in the Kensington Palace garden.

With Diana staying at Kensington Palace following the divorce, Charles relocated to his country estate of Highgrove House in Gloucestershire. However, the royal made frequent use of his London base, Clarence House, which is just a short distance (a drive of less than 20 minutes) from Kensington Palace.

In the decades after Diana's untimely passing, Kensington Palace has had somewhat of a full-circle moment. Apartment 1A, which is actually a four-story, 20-room residence rather than a tiny flat, is the London base of Diana's son and daughter-in-law. While the now-Prince of Wales and his wife, the Princess of Wales, have chosen Forest Lodge in Windsor Great Park as the place to raise their three children, they still spend a lot of time at Kensington Palace. That's because the apartments William lived in as a child are now his and Kate Middleton's professional headquarters.

Given that King Charles III is now worth billions, according to The Sunday Times Rich List, you'd expect Princess Diana to have received a pretty decent settlement in their divorce. And, you'd expect correctly. Per reports at the time, such as those of The New York Times, Diana received a lump sum of £17 million (roughly $22 million), plus an additional £400,000 per year (about $535,000), to fund her offices.

Regardless of her settlement, Diana already had substantial wealth. Some of that was passed down to her by her father, the 8th Earl Spencer, but she also earned some income from stock investments. According to Reader's Digest, at the time of her tragic death in August 1997, Diana's net worth was estimated at around $31.5 million, comprising money she received from Charles, as well as other assets like jewelry and clothing.

Speaking to Reader's Digest about what happened to Diana's wealth after her death, royal historian Marlene Koenig said much of it was given to Prince William and Prince Harry. However, after taxes and other fees, "the two princes lost nearly half of their inheritance," she explained.

Besides the massive amount of money King Charles III paid Princess Diana in their divorce settlement, he gave her something far more symbolic. In his book "A Royal Duty," former royal butler Paul Burrell revealed that Charles continued to send Diana flowers on her birthday every year, a testament to how they maintained a friendship following their complicated split.

Recalling how Diana's birthday unfolded each year, Burrell said she received countless gifts. "I would be running up and down those stairs for hours on end. A delivery from Selfridges, from Harrods, from the royal grocers Fortnum & Mason, from Harvey Nichols," he said. "And then, without fail, a bunch of flowers from Prince Charles, who addressed every letter and card he sent, every year until her death, 'Dearest Diana'" (via InStyle).

"By the end of the day, [her apartment] resembled a florist's shop, and every conceivable flat surface was covered with cards," the former butler went on, pointing out that Charles was one of many to send Diana flowers on her birthday. "Red roses arrived from friends ... tulips from Elton John and more roses from Gianni Versace."

Handing back one of her beloved tiaras and parting ways with most of her staff were just some of the ways Princess Diana's life changed after divorcing the then-Prince Charles. But many things stayed the same for the People's Princess.

As the mother of the future monarch, Diana was permitted to keep her Princess of Wales title — which she'd become synonymous with — despite her split from the then-Prince of Wales. However, this was styled "Diana, Princess of Wales," following her divorce. While Diana won the right to keep that title, she was forced to give up the use of Her Royal Highness. As The New York Times explained at the time, losing her HRH styling meant that, by tradition, Diana had to curtsy to her former royal family members.

Thankfully, there were other perks to soften the blow. Upon divorcing Charles, Diana was allowed to continue using the royal family's private plane and the state apartments at St. James' Palace for "entertaining," per History Extra.

If the rumors of infidelity are anything to go by, dating other people wasn't completely off the cards during King Charles III and Princess Diana's marriage. But once they had formally separated, the estranged couple were completely open to engaging in other relationships. In 1995, this freedom led Diana to begin a romance with surgeon Hasnat Khan. The duo dated for two years, and during that time, Diana is said to have described him to her friends as the "love of her life," per Town & Country.

Things didn't last between Diana and Khan, and he later cited media intrusion as one of the reasons for their split. "Diana and I had a very good relationship with no personal problems. The only problem we did have was with the media," he said, per The Express, during the 2004 inquest into her death. Following her breakup with Khan, Diana went on to date Dodi Al Fayed, but the pair were sadly both killed in a car accident in Paris in August 1997.

As for Charles' love life after his split from Diana, he kept his romantic connections out of the public eye and did not confirm his and Camilla Parker Bowles' relationship until a year after his ex's passing. Queen Elizabeth was reportedly not a fan of their relationship, however, and the Los Angeles Times reported that Her Majesty skipped her son's 50th birthday due to her disapproval. Nonetheless, the former monarch eventually warmed to Camilla. Just months before Her Majesty passed away, she said in an Accession Day message in 2022 that it was her "sincere wish" for Camilla to one day be known as queen consort due to her "loyal service" to the royal family.