It would be easy to assume that Princess Diana and the future King Charles III's
marriage was entirely fake, but that wasn't the case. At times,
the couple seemed happy and would even indulge in a little PDA.
One of the first times that Charles and Diana showed some affection was on February 24, 1981,
when they invited the press to Buckingham Palace, where they officially announced
their engagement. That day, the pair displayed quite a bit of physical affection, with Charles
getting especially touchy with his future wife. The then-prince was photographed offering his
arm to the bride-to-be and leading her through the palace gardens. At one point, he even placed
both of his hands on Diana's shoulders, as if he was going to offer her a massage.
But at least one royal body language expert believes that these early displays of
affection were not as natural as they might have appeared to members of the public.
Nicole Moore, who specializes in nonverbal communication and romantic relationships,
told The List that there was something off about the scene, explaining,
"Charles puts his hands on Diana's shoulders, but it's a light touch
and he pats her on the shoulder like you'd pat a friend."
According to Moore, in this initial interaction,
Diana seemed no more romantically invested in the relationship than her fiancé, saying,
"Diana appears uncomfortable, and shrugs her shoulders up when he touches her,
a subtle body language sign indicating that she's not in love with his touch."
Prior to their wedding, Charles and Diana were photographed together countless times. Once,
they posed with Queen Elizabeth for a picture within the walls of Buckingham
Palace. From an outside perspective, the shot seemed to tell the story that a new branch of
the royal family was being formed. However, as one body language specialist has noted,
the photograph also reveals the disconnect that was already forming between Charles and Diana.
Nonverbal communication expert Traci Brown revealed that Charles and Diana were
experiencing totally different emotions when this picture was taken. According
to Brown, the then-prince felt totally comfortable in the moment. She explained,
"Charles? He is in his element here."
Apparently, though, the same could not be said for Diana.
In Brown's professional opinion, the princess seemed rather lost:
"This is not Diana's best moment. In this moment,
she's not engaged in the situation. We see her hand kind of drape here. There's
not reassurance or support or anything to show commitment behind that. There's no certainty."
Around the time the photo was taken, Diana was apparently considering backing out of
the royal wedding. As she told Andrew Morton in a series of private tapes,
"'I said, 'I can't marry him. I can't do this.'"
So it's possible that the body language displayed
by Diana in that fateful photo was, indeed, her expressing doubt.
Regardless of any misgivings Diana had about marrying Charles,
the couple tied the knot on July 29, 1981.
"Here is the stuff of which fairy tales are made."
The ceremony was watched by 750 million viewers across the world. Diana wore a couture wedding
dress designed by David and Elizabeth Emanuel, worth about $115,000. And the event cost a grand
total of $48 million dollars to pull off — or, $156 million in today's currency.
In the midst of all the glitz and glam, Charles and Diana delivered some iconic
PDA on the Buckingham Palace balcony, where they kissed each other with passion. The Daily Mail
reported that the massive smooch was voted the most famous embrace in British history.
But the kiss wasn't all that it seemed to be. In truth, it was planned, staged,
and executed by the British royal family after Charles forgot to plant one on Diana
during the actual ceremony. So Charles and Diana's famous kiss was memorable because it
had to be. The prince, after all, needed to make up for his public failure at the altar.
When Prince Charles and the new Princess Diana embarked on the royal yacht Britannia for
their honeymoon, things went south almost immediately. As Diana told Andrew Morton,
it was during this trip that she discovered just how deep
Charles' feelings for Camilla Parker-Bowles truly were, saying,
"We were opening our diaries to discuss various things. Out
[of Charles' personal calendar] comes two pictures of Camilla."
Still, Diana continued to engage in PDA with her new husband throughout
their honeymoon. The newlyweds were photographed holding hands on the
ship's deck. And, while many viewed this gesture as a sign of affection,
modern body language experts claim that things were more complicated than that.
"Well, there were three of us in this marriage. So it was a bit crowded."
Traci Brown told Today that the moment shows the couple's failure to connect, saying,
"He's reached for her, she has not reached for him and they are not even looking the same thing
at all. One of her arms is behind her back. Whenever you put your arm behind your back,
that's hiding or wanting to protect and not doing outreach."
Charles and Diana may have had a tense trip aboard the royal yacht,
but the couple's relationship seemed to improve in the weeks that followed,
when they headed to Balmoral to spend time with Charles' family. At one point,
Charles and Diana invited the press to Scotland to snap a few photos to document their honeymoon.
Body language expert, Patti Wood, told Today the pair seemed deeply in love, explaining,
"She's relaxing into him, in to merge with him, which is quite lovely. He has his arm and hand,
between her legs. It's very intimate. I love that her head rests a tiny bit on
his shoulder, and she has a look on her face like, 'I'm so, so happy.'"
But, as Diana spent more and more time in Balmoral,
she appeared increasingly forlorn. Royal expert Ingrid Seward relayed that,
"[Diana] hated the countryside, hated her family's passion for horses and dogs,
hated the rain that fell mercilessly. "
"Do you find that after the last six months you're beginning to get
used to it?" "Just."
On top of that, the princess apparently felt Charles was
keeping his distance from her. Seward added,
"She felt that her husband avoided intimate contact."
Perhaps no moment of Diana's marriage to Charles showcased the ups and downs of the couple's
relationship quite like their 1983 Australian tour. At Uluru-Katja Tjuta National Park,
the couple were photographed hiking with several meters between them, looking absolutely stormy.
That being said, Charles and Diana's trip to Australia arguably reflected more positive
moments than negative ones. One evening, in particular, the couple headed to the
Sheraton Wentworth Hotel, where they slayed on the dance floor. Dressed to the nines in
a tux for Charles and a turquoise gown for Di, the pair were spotted laughing and leaning in
towards each other. Patti Wood noted how in love the couple seemed as they danced, telling Today,
"She's so happy in this moment. He's not going away from her,
which is nice. The thing that you don't see often is that she's just so lifted up and happy."
Former royal press secretary, Dickie Arbiter, said this sort of PDA was once typical for
Charles and Diana. Chatting with The Royal Beat podcast, Arbiter recalled,
"Charles used to pat her bum regularly. There were times
when he would even squeeze it, even in Australia."
Charles and Diana's romantic dance wasn't the only time the couple showed PDA on
their 1983 tour of Australia. As they sat in front of excited crowds in Newcastle,
Charles leaned towards Diana and grabbed her hand. This small gesture showed solidarity
with the princess, indicating that Charles was available to support her.
In fact, several body language experts have commented on just how wonderful the
couple's nonverbal communication seemed on that particular outing. Traci Brown,
who wrote the book Persuasion Point, told Today that she thought
the princess looked especially joyful on that day in Newcastle, explaining,
"A smile isn't just with your lips, a smile actually happens with your eyes. True happiness
comes from your eyes. You smile with your eyes – the mouth is kind of an afterthought."
Speaking to Today, Patti Wood largely agreed with Brown's analysis. Wood,
who authored SNAP: Making the Most of First Impressions,
found that both Diana and Charles seemed quite content on that outing. And, apparently,
the couple's shared emotional state would have strengthened their relationship, saying,
"They are happy and they're sharing that happiness."
Ultimately, this sweet moment between Charles and Diana shows
that their marriage wasn't always as cold and distant as some sources portrayed it to be.
In 1984, when Diana found out she was pregnant with Prince Harry,
things started to go swimmingly for the royal couple. Charles was said to
be particularly affectionate during this time and was even spotted smooching his
wife following a polo match. Reflecting on this time, Diana would later recall,
"Harry appeared by miracle. Charles and I, we were very, very close to each other the
six weeks before Harry was born. The closest we've ever, ever been and ever will have been."
Unfortunately, Charles and Diana's closeness — and all the PDA that
went along with it — soon came to a halt. According to Diana,
"Suddenly, as Harry was born,
it just went bang. Our marriage. The whole thing went down the drain."
"Most husbands and wives find that they often have arguments.”
“But we don’t!” “No, no, no. But occasionally
we do because I mean –” “No, we don’t.”
At least one royal expert believes that Harry's birth was a decisive moment
in Charles and Diana's marriage. In his book, Diana: Her True Story, Morton wrote,
"Charles' reaction [to his second-born son] finally closed the door on any
love Diana may have felt for him. 'Oh it's a boy,' he said,
'and he's even got rusty hair'. With these dismissive remarks he left to play polo."
Throughout much of Charles and Diana's marriage, the couple kissed whenever the then-prince won a
polo match. However, just because Diana and Charles were engaging in PDA doesn't mean
they were getting along behind the scenes. In June 1985, the couple shared a kiss as Charles accepted
a trophy following a charity polo match. To many members of the public, this smooch would have
seemed fairly normal. However, royal body language expert, Judi James, expressed a different opinion.
"He has always carried on, ever since he got married, as if he were a bachelor."
Chatting with the Daily Mail, James observed that the princess was trying
to make it challenging for her husband to kiss her — a move that reflected the
strain that already existed in their relationship. Analyzing the moment,
James explained how Diana was purposely making distance between herself and Charles, saying,
"Her torso is partially turned towards the cameras and also held upright, rather than leaning in to
make it easier for her slightly shorter husband to make contact [...] Her chin is also tilted up
slightly and the effect can be seen in the muscle tension in Charles's neck as he cranes his head
out and upward to plant his kiss, which lands on Diana's lower lip rather than fully on her mouth."