King Charles Treated Diana ‘Poorly’ but Was ‘Overjoyed’ to Marry Camilla, Claims Former Butler
King Charles’s love life has long been a subject of deep fascination. However, only a few comparisons between his two marriages have been as revealing as those from the people who served him closely. According to two former butlers of the royal household, the contrast between his early years with Princess Diana and his later marriage to Camilla Parker Bowles could not have been more distant. Their accounts have shed more light on how the current monarch’s demeanor shifted from cold detachment to genuine joy over time.
Paul Burrell, who worked for the Princess of Wales for over a decade, once recalled her painful confession about the beginnings of her marriage with Charles. The two got married in 1981, and in his book The Royal Insider: My Life with the Queen, the King and Princess Diana, he wrote that Diana told him Charles had admitted during an argument, "I never loved you. I only married you to have children." After Prince Harry’s birth in 1984, she also allegedly heard him remark, ''Well, at least I've got my heir and spare now, and I can return to Camilla." For the princess, these words marked the moment she knew her marriage had effectively ended.
The former butler also recalled Diana telling him that she cried herself to sleep that night. "I gave him four good years, and he was gone. And for the rest of the time, I had to pretend and put on a facade for the world," the princess reportedly told Burrell. Despite the growing distance, she tried her best to uphold her public role, appearing affectionate and composed in public while suffering privately. Burrell also insisted that Diana never wished for divorce, as she believed love could still mend what had been lost. "Despite everything that happened, I have no doubt that Diana fell in love with Prince Charles. Unfortunately for Diana, the feeling was not mutual,” he wrote.
When Charles married Camilla in 2005, things appeared markedly different. Grand Harrold, who served as a royal butler during their married life, described an atmosphere of companionship and warmth. "He just got married, he was so happy, everything was going so well,” he said in an interview with Marie Claire. Unlike the stress and tension that surrounded his first marriage, this time around, the King was visibly affectionate and relaxed. "All I know is I witnessed the two of them, how they were, how happy she made him, how great she was with him, how she makes him laugh and smile and giggle, and I witnessed that," Harrold added.
Camilla and Charles had a quiet wedding at Windsor Guildhall, attended by close family members, including Prince William and Prince Harry. Even royal photographer Arthur Edwards, who has worked with the King for decades and attended his wedding, wrote in The Sun about what he thought of their relationship. "I have seen their marriage up close and, in my opinion, it is an extremely happy union." He continued, "Since their wedding in Windsor on April 9, 2005, it has become very obvious that they make each other feel very happy and secure."
He also added that the Queen Consort had an important role in his demeanor. "The main thing I've noticed is that The King, who I have been photographing for nearly 50 years, has become a nicer person," Edwards wrote. "Thanks to Camilla, he has calmed down. These days, he rarely gets stressed or wound up about things."