When Princess Diana’s marriage was deteriorating behind palace doors, the heartbroken royal turned to her mother-in-law, but her pleas went unanswered.
The claim was made by Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine and author of “The book explores King Charles’ relationship with his mother, Queen Elizabeth II. England’s longest-reigning monarch died in 2022 at age 96.
“Diana used to go to her private room in between appointments that the queen had, which were every 20 minutes, and burst into tears,” Seward told Fox News Digital. “[She would[ say], ‘Everybody hates me mama, and I hate my husband. He’s a nightmare.’
Ingrid Seward claimed Princess Diana (center) attempted to reach out to her mother-in-law Queen Elizabeth II (left) as her marriage to the former Prince Charles (right) crumbled. (Tim Graham Photo Library/Getty Images)
“The queen would just stand there [horrified], and Diana would be getting more and more hysterical,” Seward claimed. “[The queen] didn’t know how to handle it, but she thought Charles should know how to handle it. That was a very low point in the relationship.”
Diana and Charles were first introduced in 1977 by her sister, Lady Sarah McCorquodale, who briefly dated the prince. The pair wouldn’t date until three years later, People magazine reported. After a whirlwind courtship, the couple married in 1981.
Despite what seend a fairy tale wedding, the union was plagued with problems. In 1986, Charles confirmed in an authorized biography that he began an affair with his longtime love, Camilla Parker Bowles, in 1986.
Ingrid Seward has written a new book, “My Mother and I.” (Simon & Schuster)
In 1992, Diana confirmed her marital woes in Andrew Morton’s book, “Diana Her True Story.” In it, she detailed her while attempting to navigate royal life. Diana said she suffered from bulimia and suicide attempts.
Charles and Diana separated in 1992. The divorce was finalized in 1996. Diana died in 1997 from injuries she sustained in a car crash. The Princess of Wales was 36. Charles and Camilla married in 2005.
According to Seward, the queen wondered why her son, the heir to the throne, struggled to save the marriage.
Ingrid Seward said Queen Elizabeth II (left) couldn’t understand why her eldest son couldn’t handle his marriage to Princess Diana (right). (Jayne Fincher/Princess Diana Archive/Getty Images)
“It had a huge impact,” Seward explained. “The queen couldn’t understand how her son, who was in his early 30s, couldn’t handle a woman who was only in her early 20s. And she didn’t understand because she didn’t have the experience to understand something like that.
“Remember the cloistered world of the royal family, especially in those days,” Seward continued. “They didn’t have to ever deal with moral conflict because there was always someone else to do it for them. If you didn’t want to talk to someone, the switchboard at Buckingham Palace would just not put them through. So, you never had to take on things. And the queen wasn’t used to doing this.”
For the 25th anniversary “ Morton published a transcript of Diana’s interviews in which she described her cries for help.
Princess Diana rocked the monarchy when she leaked shocking details of palace life to author Andrew Morton. (Chris J. Ratcliffe/AFP/Getty Images)
“I threw myself down the stairs [at Sandringham],” said Diana, as quoted by Newsweek. “Charles said I was crying wolf, and I said I felt so desperate, and I was crying my eyes out, and he said, ‘I’m not going to listen. You’re always doing this to me. I’m going riding now.’”
The incident took place when Diana was pregnant with her firstborn, Prince William.
“So I threw myself down the stairs,” said Diana, as quoted by the outlet. “The queen comes out, absolutely horrified, shaking – she was so frightened. I knew I wasn’t going to lose the baby; quite bruised around the stomach.”