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Princess Diana Taunted And Hit Prince Charles During Marriage, New Book Claims

By Heather Tooley
Published on: 13:06 PST, Mar 20, 2017

Princess Diana is painted as a cold individual in a new book out by New York Times bestselling author, Sally Bedell Smith. She chronicles the life of Prince Charles in her new book, Prince Charles: The Passions and Paradoxes of an Improbable Life, which is set for release on April 4.

Some shocking revelations are in the pages of Smith’s book about the future king of England and his life. She touches on his romance with now-wife, Camilla Parker-Bowles, the icy relationship with his parents, and the doomed marriage he had to Princess Diana.

The Daily Mail published some of what Smith details in the book, but the claims made about the late Princess Diana are riveting. The author writes that Charles and Diana were a bad match from the beginning after they started seeing each other in July 1981. Charles had already known Camilla and was smitten with her, but a letter from his father, Prince Philip, is what prompted him to marry Diana.

Prince Philip pressured his son to marry Diana because her “reputation was on the line” due to all the speculations in the press. It was interpreted that Prince Philip was enlightening Charles to the perception that Diana’s “honor had been impugned” and that she was “besieged” by the press that was mercilessly hounding her.

Camilla wasn’t a virgin and Diana had all the outward requirements for a future queen of England — virgin, aristocratic background, and wholesome image.

Pamela Hicks, a longtime family friend, said Charles “wasn’t in love, he wasn’t ready …. psychologically he assumed his father bullied him, so he read it as a bullying letter.”

What’s more, Princess Diana is said in the book to have taunted Prince Charles whenever they got into heated arguments at Kensington Palace. Smith writes that Diana would say things to Charles like he’d “never be king,” well aware those words would stay with him.

Smith makes claims that “Diana used to hit Charles over the head when he knelt down to pray by their bed at night – and continue berating him during his prayers,” the article reports.

The bestselling author continues that Charles and his staff “dealt with Diana’s bewildering and often infuriating behavior by placating her, trying to distract her and, ultimately, out of frustration, abandoning her.” Smith writes that it’s evident Camilla, whom Charles met in 1972, was the true love of his life. He relished how she’d always “listen to him” and found a “warmth” in her he found comforting. Although she was married to Andrew Parker-Bowles and he was married to Diana, they would continue their affair throughout the years.

As for the letter that Prince Philip wrote to his son about marrying Diana, Smith writes that had the two discussed things instead of communicating via letter, there would’ve been a far better understanding.

“Perhaps Charles could have understood the nuances of his father’s message more clearly if he and Philip had talked it through,” Smith writes.

“But written communications were the regrettable norm for father and son. Charles chose to interpret the letter as coercive and accusatory.”

The book spills that Princess Diana “banished most of Charles’ friends from their lives because she was convinced they were conspiring against her.” The book also claims that the princess got rid of Charles’ Labrador by having one of his aides keep it.

Other highlights from the book written by Smith expose a side to Princess Diana the public never saw during her marriage to Prince Charles. There were reports later on after they divorced in 1992 that she had slashed her wrists and thrown herself down the stairs, but some of the nitty gritty details weren’t fully disclosed.

According to the report, Diana “ridiculed Charles for his military uniform, hit him over the head when he knelt to say his prayers and banished many of his friends.” The writer claims that Diana “resented anything to do with his previous life including his beloved yellow Lab, Harvey, who was banished to live with an advisor.” Diana also despised a Jack Russell terrier Charles had gotten attached to — calling him “a wretched dog.”

It was no secret that Princess Diana didn’t like her husband’s hobbies or interests. The book alleges that she ridiculed Charles, calling him “the Boy Wonder” and “the Great White Hope.”

When Diana learned she was pregnant with Harry in December 1983, she found out in an ultrasound that she was having a boy but never told Charles about it.

In the end, Charles said his marriage to Diana had “irretrievably broken down.”

Princess Diana has been the subject of countless reports for having psychological problems as well as struggling with bulimia and self-harm. The royal family and Charles didn’t know how to help her and the young princess didn’t have the support around her she needed in order to get help. The prince “lacked the knowledge” and temperament to provide the kind of support she required, Smith adds.

The author writes that Diana was “high functioning,” referencing her as being “capable of putting on a great show in public which made her dark upheavals more unfathomable to those around her.”

Prince Charles wept for Camilla the night before his wedding to Diana, Smith writes. Once they were married, he thought he could “grow to love” Diana, but it never happened. Smith claims that Prince Charles and Princess Diana stopped sleeping together in 1984 and had separate lives by 1986, at which time Diana was having an affair with Captain James Hewitt of the Life Guards in the Household Cavalry. To this day, there are speculations that he’s Prince Harry’s father, but Hewitt denies the rumors.

A lot of Smith’s claims in the book have been reported in some way through the media over the years, but it has uncovered more details.

Are you shocked to learn that Princess Diana hit Prince Charles during their marriage and taunted him about never being king?

[Featured Image by Hulton Archive/Getty Images]

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