Did Prince Philip Like Princess Diana?
Many people around the world are mourning the death of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. As the longest serving royal consort, Philip was a figurehead in a lot of people’s lives for many decades. Now that he is no longer alive, fans are looking back on his relationships with other members of the royal family, namely Princess Diana. So, were Philip and Diana friendly? Did Prince Philip even like Princess Diana?
Prince Philip’s death
On Apr. 9th, news of Philip’s death was made public.
“It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen has announced the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh,” the royal family’s official Instagram account announced.
“His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle,” the post continued. “The Royal Family join with people around the world in mourning his loss. Further announcements will be made in due course.”
Prince Philip and Princess Diana’s relationship
Though Diana had a bit of a tumultuous relationship with many of the royals, Prince Philip made an extra effort to welcome his new daughter-in-law into the family.
“When Diana first joined the royal family, it was Philip who came to her aid, sitting next to her at black-tie dinners and chatting to her while she learned to master the art of small talk,” an excerpt from Ingrid Seward’s new book Prince Philip Revealed reads.
As she began to become discontent with royal life, Diana grew closer to Philip.
“When (Diana) found the restrictions of royal life difficult, it was Philip who helped her,” the book reads, according to an excerpt from PEOPLE Royals. “Once she was married, she never sat next to her husband; she was always sat next to Philip at the endless black-tie dinners, and he took care of her.
Even as Princess Diana’s relationship with Prince Charles ventured into unsalvageable territory, Philip remained sympathetic to Diana.
“As the couple’s marriage began to crumble and her increasingly erratic behaviour threatened the image of the monarchy, he tried again to help, setting up a highly personal correspondence with her and explaining that he understood the difficulties of marrying into the Royal Family,” the book states.
Prince Philip tried to save Diana and Charles’ marriage
When it became clear that Charles was cheating on Diana with Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Philip was shocked and offered sympathies to Diana.
“We never dreamed he might feel like leaving you for her,” Philip wrote of his son to Diana in a letter, according to the book. “I cannot imagine anyone in their right mind leaving you for Camilla. Such a prospect never entered our heads.”
Philip even offered to help Diana and Charles work on their marriage.
“I can only repeat what I have said before,’” he wrote. “If invited, I will always do my utmost to help you and Charles to the best of my ability. But I am quite ready to concede that I have no talent as a marriage counsellor!’”
Unfortunately, the friendship between them ended when Prince Philp asked Princess Diana to look into herself to
see what could have caused Charles to go back to Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. The idea that Diana could have been the cause of the infidelity offended her and ended their communication.
Their relationship remained fractured until Princess Diana’s death in 1997.
