The marriage meltdown between Prince Charles and Princess Diana is the stuff of royal legend. But apart from their basic incompatibility as people, there was a reason why they fell out so hard later in their tortured relationship.
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According to royal biographer Lady Colin Campbell, the Prince was convinced that a ‘vindictive’ Diana was attempting to ‘deprive Charles of his rights to the throne’.
Speaking in the documentary film, Secrets of the Palace, the Diana in Private author claimed that there was a perception that the late Princess of Wales wanted Charles out of the way, so her eldest son could take the throne – with her as regent!
‘Her agenda was if the queen dies and Charles is out of the line of succession, Prince William becomes king and she can work herself into the position of being regent,’ claimed Campbell.

To back up her claims, she pointed to comment made by Diana in a 1995 interview about Charles’ perceived unsuitability to be king. The interview caused major drama in London and intrigue at Kensington Palace, with Queen Elizabeth II said to be particularly incensed by Diana’s lack of discretion.
‘Because I know his character, I would think the top job, as I call it, would bring enormous limitations to him,’ Di said in thew interview. ‘And I don’t know whether he could adapt to that.’
Campbell notes that the royal family ‘objected to how she had tried to deprive Charles of his rights to the throne,’ – an alleged move the author describes as ‘madness.’
The marriage of Charles and Diana was notoriously tortured. Although it produced Prince Harry and Prince William, the British royals struggled for years to overcome the scandal, and Charles’ resulting marriage to his former mistress Camilla Parker-Bowles only added salt to the wounds.