King Charles and Queen Camilla have now been married for more than two decades, but reports suggest the King still carries feelings of regret over the pain Princess Diana experienced during their troubled marriage.
Charles and Diana’s relationship remains one of the most discussed chapters in modern royal history. Their 1981 wedding was watched around the world, but their marriage eventually became deeply strained. Charles’s longstanding relationship with Camilla, who was then married to Andrew Parker Bowles, became a major source of tension.
According to comments reported by The Daily Mail in 2025, friends of Charles and Camilla said the King still deeply regrets the sadness and hurt caused to Diana during that period of their lives.
One source reportedly acknowledged that both Charles and Diana made choices during their marriage that were difficult to defend, while also suggesting that the circumstances surrounding their relationship were more complicated than they appeared from the outside.
Diana herself famously addressed the breakdown of her marriage during her 1995 Panorama interview. Her now-famous remark about there being “three people” in the marriage captured the depth of the conflict surrounding Charles, Diana and Camilla.
Charles had known Camilla long before his marriage to Diana. Their relationship developed years earlier, and Charles was reportedly devastated when Camilla married Andrew Parker Bowles in 1973. Despite their separate marriages, however, Charles and Camilla remained connected over the years.
Camilla was even present at Charles and Diana’s 1981 wedding, an indication of how complicated the relationships between the three had become.
Friends quoted in the report suggested that Camilla remained committed to Charles throughout the difficult years. One source also reflected on the expectations placed on members of the Royal Family, arguing that asking someone to give up personal happiness simply to protect a public image could ultimately be deeply painful.
The aftermath of Charles and Diana’s marriage was equally complicated. Their divorce was finalized in 1996, while Diana died in Paris the following year at the age of 36.
Charles and Camilla eventually married on April 9, 2005. By then, their relationship had become a subject of intense public attention, particularly because of Camilla’s connection to Diana’s story.
Camilla also chose not to use the Princess of Wales title after marrying Charles, despite technically being entitled to it when Charles was Prince of Wales. Instead, she was known as the Duchess of Cornwall, a decision widely viewed as sensitive to Diana’s enduring public legacy.
The couple’s wedding was reportedly an emotional occasion for Camilla as well. Friends later described her as extremely nervous, with reports suggesting that she was physically unwell and overwhelmed by the significance of the day.
During the ceremony, Camilla was reportedly so nervous that she lost her place in the service, prompting Charles to reassure her with a touch of his hand.
More than 20 years after their wedding, Charles and Camilla have remained together and eventually won greater acceptance from much of the British public.
For Charles, however, the memories of his first marriage appear to remain complicated. According to the friends cited in the 2025 report, his reported regret is not necessarily about the choices that ultimately led him to Camilla, but about the pain and sadness experienced by Diana during a deeply unhappy chapter of their lives.
The story of Charles, Diana and Camilla continues to attract attention because it combines personal relationships with the immense pressures of royal duty. While many details have been discussed publicly over the decades, claims about private feelings should ultimately be treated as attributed reports rather than established fact.
Key Takeaways
- King Charles has reportedly expressed deep regret over the pain Princess Diana experienced during their marriage.
- Charles and Diana married in 1981 but divorced in 1996 after years of marital difficulties.
- Charles’s relationship with Camilla was a major factor in the public story surrounding the breakdown of his marriage.
- Diana openly discussed the complicated nature of her marriage during her 1995 Panorama interview.
- Charles and Camilla married on April 9, 2005, after both had divorced their previous spouses.
- Camilla avoided using the Princess of Wales title, instead becoming known as the Duchess of Cornwall.
- Reports from friends suggest Charles continues to reflect on the sadness caused during his first marriage.
- Charles and Camilla have now been married for more than 20 years.
