Princess Diana Knew She Wouldn’t Be Queen Despite Her Marriage To Prince Charles

Royal family experts say that despite Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall’s, unpopularity with the masses, there is no doubt that she will one day become queen consort once Prince Charles replaces Queen Elizabeth II. However, Princess Diana’s situation is the exact opposite in that she was equally certain that she will never become queen despite her marriage to the heir apparent.

During her 1995 interview with Martin Bashir, the journalist asked Princess Diana if she ever thought about becoming a queen one day. “Do you think you’ll ever be Queen?” Bashir inquired.

Surprisingly, it only took Diana a moment to respond, which revealed how certain she felt about the issue. “No, I don’t,” the People’s Princess promptly answered the journalist’s query.

But not becoming an actual queen herself is not a big deal for Princess Diana as she is more concerned about the legacy she will leave behind to the British people. “I’d like to be a queen of people’s hearts — in people’s hearts — but I don’t see myself being Queen of this country,” she added, which seemed prophetic in hindsight. She would later be called the “People’s Princess” after her death.

Diana then hinted that it’s the powers that be that are not so keen about her becoming a queen. “I don’t think many people will want me to be Queen,” she added. “Actually, when I say people, I mean the establishment that I married into because they have decided that I’m a non-starter.”

And it might have something to do with the “establishment’s” misunderstanding of her intentions. “They see me as a threat of some kind and I’m here to do good,” Princess Diana explained. “I’m not a destructive person.”

Indeed, many believed that despite her problems with Prince Charles, Diana would not intentionally try to undermine the monarchy as it basically represents Prince William and Prince Harry’s future. “She valued the tradition of the monarchy,” Quora user Kristiv L Stark wrote. She was very proud to be the mother of the future king of England.”

But Princess Diana’s unexpected death in 1997 also made the monarchy realize just how popular and influential the late royal was. “Diana’s death had led to a mass outpouring of national grief the like of which had never before been seen,” Robert Jobson wrote in his book “Charles At Seventy: Thoughts, Hopes, And Dreams.”

The masses were particularly critical of Diana’s ex-husband, Prince Charles, his then-lover Camilla Parker-Bowles and even Queen Elizabeth. “There was an intense opprobrium towards Charles, Camilla and the Queen over their perceived coldness and aloof, haughty response,” the author added.