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Resurfaced Clip of Princess Diana Smashing a Bottle on Prince Charles’s Head Leaves Royal Fans Amused

Originally filmed during a royal visit to the set of 'The Living Daylights', the clip went viral on social media last year.

Princess Diana and Prince Charles’s tumultuous relationship has been well documented. Given their history, a resurfaced 1986 video of Diana breaking a sugar-glass bottle on Charles’s head has taken the internet by storm. Originally filmed during a visit to the set of The Living Daylights, the video was shared last year on X (formerly Twitter), prompting a flurry of reactions from royal watchers.

As per CheatSheet, Diana and Charles visited Pinewood Studios in 1986 for the filming of the 15th James Bond movie starring Timothy Dalton. During their visit, the couple observed a stunt team demonstration on how sugar glass bottles, designed to shatter harmlessly, were used in action sequences. Actor Jeroen Krabbé, who portrayed Russian General Koskov in the film, recalled the moment in his book Some Kind of Hero: The Remarkable Story of the James Bond Films. He penned, “We watched a show put on by the stunt guys where they smashed sugar glass bottles over their heads. I was standing between the royals and I said to Princess Diana, ‘You should smash one over your husband’s head.’" In response, Diana allegedly said, "'Oh, I’d love to.'"

Thomas Wheatley, another actor present on the set that day, confirmed that Diana may have acted with ‘considerable enthusiasm.’ Understandably, netizens had a lot to say. A royal fan quipped, “She said, ‘You didn’t tell me it was fake!’” Chiming in, another joked, “I guess they took the 'till death do us part' a bit too literally!” In a similar vein, a fan added, “You can actually see her surprise when she realized it's a fake.” Another echoed, “She meant that hit.” As the comments poured in, one also read, “Oops! Looks like Princess Diana mistook Prince Charles for a piata!”

Although the act was meant to be harmless fun, Diana's alleged excitement over it can be attributed to the fact that, at the time, her marriage to Charles was unraveling. By 1986, Charles had resumed his affair with Camilla Parker Bowles, leaving Diana struggling with feelings of betrayal and isolation. According to Christopher Andersen’s book The King: The Life of Charles III, their marriage was filled with intense conflicts. A former bodyguard revealed that their fights were so volatile that palace staff feared for Diana’s safety.

As per Fox News, Andersen wrote, “There were shotguns and handguns for security and rifles [for] security forces. So much screaming, shouting, and] slamming doors. Don’t forget Diana, when she was three months pregnant with [Prince] William, she threw herself down the stairs and landed at the feet of the Queen and Princess Margaret. So there [were] many violent episodes… So they tried to keep the weapons away from the royals.” Diana’s former protection officer, Ken Wharfe, described the palace atmosphere as 'highly combustible', noting that slammed doors and heated arguments became a daily occurrence, including one disturbing incident that reportedly involved Charles throwing a wooden bootjack at Diana, which narrowly missed her head.