Rhiannon Hendricks
Princess Diana and King Charles had a tumultuous relationship, but newly released letters from Diana's private collection indicate that she called her honeymoon a tremendous success. In a letter to her family's former housekeeper, Diana wrote that she and Charles had a glorious time on their getaway, catching up on lost energy and
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Honeymoon destination | Aboard the Royal Yacht Britannia |
| Honeymoon dates | July 29, 1981 to August 12, 1981 |
| Honeymoon duration | Two weeks |
| Diana's words about the honeymoon | "The honeymoon was a tremendous success, and we had a glorious time catching up on our lost energy and sleep." |
| Diana's feelings about the honeymoon | Positive |
| Diana's actions during the honeymoon | Caught up on sleep |
| Honeymoon as a turning point in their relationship | The trip was thought to be a "breaking point" in their marriage |
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What You'll Learn
Princess Diana's honeymoon cruise
Princess Diana and Prince Charles set off on a two-week honeymoon cruise aboard the royal yacht Britannia after their wedding ceremony on 29 July 1981. In a letter written to Maud Pendrey, the former housekeeper of the Spencer family, Diana described her honeymoon as a ""tremendous success", and that she and Charles had a "glorious time" on their getaway. She also mentioned that it was a "perfect opportunity to catch up on sleep".
> I do hope you weren’t too tired after all the wedding activities, and that you were able to see a lot from where your seats were. The honeymoon was a tremendous success, and we had a glorious time catching up on our lost energy and sleep. I just wanted you both to know how deeply touched I am by your thoughtfulness and, again, a million thanks. Endless love and affection—Diana.
However, this contradicts what she later told her voice coach about the honeymoon. In a documentary, Princess Diana spoke about how she confronted Charles regarding cufflinks given to him by Camilla Parker-Bowles. She also mentioned that she had a row with Charles about the cufflinks, which was indicative of her jealousy.
A decade later, in 1991, Princess Diana and Prince Charles went on a "second honeymoon" to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary. They boarded the Alexandra Yacht and were joined by Charles' cousin, Norton Knatchbull, his wife Penny Knatchbull, and their children. This trip was thought to have been a breaking point in their marriage.
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Her letter to the former housekeeper
Dear Maud,
I do hope you weren't too tired after all the wedding activities, and that you were able to see a lot from where your seats were. I wanted to thank you both for your thoughtfulness and send my endless love and affection.
I wanted to let you know that Charles and I had a glorious time on our honeymoon. It was a tremendous success, and we had a glorious time catching up on lost energy and
With love,
Diana
P.S. I wanted to ask you about something I found among Charles' things. It was a pair of cufflinks, which I believe were a gift from Camilla Parker-Bowles. I couldn't help but ask Charles about them, and we ended up having quite a row. I know it was wrong of me, but I couldn't help it—jealousy, total jealousy.
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Camilla Parker-Bowles's cufflinks
Princess Diana's honeymoon with Prince Charles was a ""tremendous success", according to letters from her private collection. In a letter dated August 1981, Diana wrote to Maud Pendry, a former housekeeper at the Spencer family home, that she and Charles had a ""glorious time" on their honeymoon cruise aboard the royal yacht Britannia. She also used the letter to thank Pendry for her help with the wedding.
> "I do hope you weren’t too tired after all the wedding activities, and that you were able to see a lot from where your seats were. The honeymoon was a tremendous success, and we had a glorious time catching up on our lost energy and sleep," Diana wrote.
However, this account contradicts what she later told her voice coach about her honeymoon. In a documentary, Diana spoke about how she confronted Charles about the cufflinks given to him by Camilla Parker-Bowles.
> "On our honeymoon, cufflinks arrive on his wrists. Two Cs entwined like the Chanel 'C'. Got it. One knew exactly. So I said, 'Camilla gave you those, didn’t she?' He said, 'Yes, so what’s wrong? They’re a present from a friend.' And boy, did we have a row. Jealousy, total jealousy. And it was such a good idea, the two Cs – but it wasn’t that clever," Diana said.
The cufflinks incident was not an isolated event. Camilla gave Charles a bracelet with the initials "F" and "G", which stood for "Fred" and "Gladys", their pet names for each other. She also wore French brand Chanel to meet French President Emmanuel Macron and a brooch symbolising the Prince of Wales to her wedding to Charles.
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A second honeymoon
Princess Diana and Prince Charles's second honeymoon took place in August 1991, ten years after their wedding. The couple, joined by Charles's cousin, Norton Knatchbull, his wife Penny Knatchbull, and their children, Alexandra and Leonora, sailed on the Alexandra Yacht in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the coast of Sardinia. The trip was described by the press as a "second honeymoon".
However, it is unclear whether the couple shared this view. According to royal commentator Kinsey Schofield, Diana would have only used the term "second honeymoon" to refer to the period before Prince Harry's birth in 1984, as this was a much happier time for the couple than the pregnancy of Prince William. In fact, the 1991 trip was thought to have been a breaking point in their marriage.
Princess Diana's first honeymoon with Charles, which took place in 1981, was described by the Princess as a tremendous success in a letter to her former housekeeper, Maud Pendrey. In the letter, Diana wrote that she and Charles had a glorious time catching up on lost energy and sleep. However, this contradicts what she later told her voice coach about the trip, where she revealed that she confronted Charles about cufflinks given to him by Camilla Parker-Bowles.
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Her thoughts on the trip later
Princess Diana and King Charles had a tumultuous relationship. However, in the days following their wedding, Diana spoke optimistically about their future together. In a letter dated August 1981 to Maud Pendrey, her family's former housekeeper, Diana wrote:
> "I do hope you weren’t too tired after all the wedding activities, and that you were able to see a lot from where your seats were. The honeymoon was a tremendous success, and we had a glorious time catching up on our lost energy and sleep. I just wanted you both to know how deeply touched I am by your thoughtfulness and, again, a million thanks. Endless love and affection—Diana."
In another letter written from her honeymoon on Royal Yacht Britannia-crested paper, she wrote:
> "The honeymoon was a perfect opportunity to catch up on sleep."
Despite her positive comments, Diana's account of her honeymoon contradicts what she later told her voice coach. In a documentary, she spoke about how she confronted Charles about cufflinks given to him by Camilla Parker-Bowles. She said:
> "So I said, 'Camilla gave you those, didn’t she?' He said, 'Yes, so what’s wrong? They’re a present from a friend.' And boy, did we have a row. Jealousy, total jealousy. And it was such a good idea—the two Cs—but it wasn’t that clever."
In 1991, the couple took a trip to Sardinia with Charles's cousin, Norton Knatchbull, his wife Penny Knatchbull, and their children, which the press referred to as a "second honeymoon." This trip was thought to have been a breaking point in their marriage. In audio tapes shared in the documentary "Diana: In Her Own Words," Diana described the time before their son Harry's birth in 1984 as "the closest we've ever, ever been and the closest we'll ever be."
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Frequently asked questions
In a letter to her family's former housekeeper, Maud Pendrey, Diana wrote that her honeymoon was a "'tremendous success'" and that she and her new husband, Charles, had a "glorious time". She also mentioned that it was a "perfect opportunity to catch up on sleep".
Yes, in August 1991, Princess Diana and Prince Charles went on what the press referred to as a "second honeymoon". They celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary with a trip on the Alexandra Yacht in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the coast of Sardinia.
While she did not speak negatively about her honeymoon per se, Princess Diana did later tell her voice coach about finding cufflinks given to Prince Charles by Camilla Parker-Bowles. This contradicted the positive account of her honeymoon in the letter to her former housekeeper.
