Why Princess Diana and Prince Charles’ sister Princess Anne Didn’t Get Along
We know how Princess Diana and Prince Charles’ relationship ended in divorce after their marriage crumbled, and they participated in affairs with other people. But not too much is known about what the Princess of Wales’s relationship was like with other members of the royal family. In fact, it’s been reported that Charles’ sister, Princess Anne, and Princess Diana didn’t get along at all. Here’s more on why these royal ladies did not get along, plus which other princess wasn’t a fan of Diana either.
Why Princess Anne and Princess Diana did not get along
Queen Elizabeth II’s only daughter did not see eye to eye with her sister-in-law because of how she did things.
In the documentary Paxman on the Queen’s Children, Daily Mail editor Richard Kay explained why
“She didn’t like the way she went about her duty and the way she used the cameras and the media to promote herself, in her eyes,” Kay said. “Anne had a much more traditional approach to monarchy and royal duty.”
Chris Hutchins, who authored the book Diana’s Nightmare: The Family, agreed and noted that Anne was “a no-nonsense outdoorswoman who didn’t care about clothes” and couldn’t bond with Diana, who was “far more interested in having a good time.”
As for how Diana felt about the prince’s sibling, well, she wasn’t crazy about her, according to James Whitaker’s book Diana v. Charles.
He claimed that when speaking about Anne, Diana said, “I just don’t like her. She may be wonderful doing all the charity work for Save the Children and others, but I can do it as well.”
Why another princess did not like Diana either
There was another princess that reportedly wasn’t fond of Diana either, and that was the queen’s sister, Princess Margaret.
Royal biographer Craig Brown revealed that things weren’t always bad between the princesses, but they got that way after Diana and Charles separated.
In his book Ma’am Darling: Ninety-Nine Glimpses of Princess Margaret, Brown wrote that Margaret was furious at Diana for her scandals and for airing out the family’s dirty laundry. Margaret decided to cut Diana out of her life completely after the Princess of Wales’ controversial Panorama interview in 1995.
Princess Margaret called Princess Diana ‘hysterical’
Brown also claimed that the countess described Diana as a “wretched girl,” telling friends, “Poor Lilibet [Queen Elizabeth] and Charles have done everything they can to get rid of the wretched girl, but she just won’t go.”
Diana’s tragic death in 1997 didn’t do anything to soften Margaret’s stance on how she felt. Brown said that Her Majesty’s sister called the late princess and the public’s grief over her “hysterical.”
“She said the hysteria was rather like Diana herself,” Brown wrote. “It was as if when she died she got everyone to be as hysterical as she was.”
Princess Margaret passed away on Feb. 9, 2002, after suffering a stroke.
Read more: How Old Is Prince Charles’ Sister Princess Anne and How Many Times Has She Been Married?
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