Diana Felt Like a 'Lamb to the Slaughter' on Wedding Day With Charles After She Found Out About Camilla

On July 29, 1981, Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer were married in a conventional ceremony at London's St. Paul's Cathedral. Decades later Princess Diana told former royal correspondent Jennie Bond that she felt like a 'lamb to the slaughter' on her wedding day. Diana even discovered a bracelet that the then-Prince of Wales had gifted his mistress during their engagement, engraved with their initials, proving that she was aware of their affair, Bond recalled. "Diana told me much later in one of our private conversations that she had felt like a lamb to the slaughter as she walked up the aisle, which is very sad, but I think she knew that things weren't quite right. When she saw Camilla in the congregation she was immediately uneasy about it," the royal reporter said while appearing in a 2024 documentary titled Charles & Camilla: King and Queen in Waiting. 

According to the Daily Mail, the Princess of Wales was furious about Charles's gestures and demanded to know why he gave Parker-Bowles the sentimental present. The future king, however, disregarded Diana's pleas during their royal honeymoon and even flaunted his affection for the "other woman" by wearing a pair of customized cuff links. The letters C & C, which represented Charles and Camilla, were particularly carved on the piece of accessories. 

The stress of knowing about her new husband's affair took a toll on Diana and she made a major blunder during their wedding vows. Per the Express, she unintentionally used Prince Charles' middle name, "Philip." Shortly after the ceremony, in 1981, a rediscovered BBC study examined the verbal mistake. "Wedding day nerves were evident during the ceremony," it said. "Diana misidentified the Prince, referring to him as Philip Charles Arthur George instead of Charles Philip."

As per Brides, Diana's former protection officer, Ken Wharfe recalled her 'bravest' moment when she confronted Charles and Camilla. Wharfe recounted that the Princess of Wales ended up accepting Camilla’s sister, Annabel Elliot, party invitation. After languishing for a while she decided to look for her husband and called the bodyguard to accompany her. They discovered Camilla and Charles "cozying up together on a sofa in the basement of this property, just talking," Wharfe revealed.

The bodyguard went on to disclose that Diana got furious and called them out, “I didn't know quite what Diana was going to do at that point, but with a great deal of confidence, Diana just went up to both of them and said to Camilla, ‘Please don't treat me like an idiot. I know what's going on,’” he said. "That was a defining moment in their life because I think at that point...this was an indicator the end was nigh," Wharfe concluded. Having been married for 11 years and having two kids, Prince William and Prince Harry, the pair declared their separation in 1992. In 1996, Diana lost her title as "Her Royal Highness" after her divorce. Charles and Camilla were married at Windsor Guildhall on April 9, 2005, in a civil ceremony.