The King's Shocked Response Surprised Even Himself, Says Royal Author
King Charles was reportedly taken aback by his own emotional response to the tragic news of Princess Diana’s death, despite their strained relationship and eventual divorce. According to eyewitness accounts, the King’s reaction was far more intense than anyone, including himself, had anticipated.
Royal author Christopher Andersen shared details of the moment Charles learned of Diana's death on August 31, 1997. "When he was first told over the phone that Diana had died, Charles howled like a wounded animal," Andersen quoted an eyewitness as telling Fox News Digital.
After rushing from Balmoral Castle in Scotland to Paris to bring Diana’s body back to England, Charles was reportedly overwhelmed with emotion. “A nurse who was standing in the room told me he reeled back and looked as if he had been ‘struck by an unseen force,’” Andersen recounted, noting that Charles nearly fainted upon seeing Diana's body.
Despite the well-known tensions between Charles and Diana, particularly after Diana publicly revealed his affair with Camilla, those close to the situation were surprised by the depth of Charles' grief. “He was devastated by Diana’s death, perhaps to a degree that surprised even him,” Andersen noted. “Charles was shattered.”
The late Princess of Wales tragically died in a car crash in Paris alongside her boyfriend, Dodi Fayed. Although their marriage had been marred by conflict, Andersen revealed that in the months leading up to her death, Charles and Diana had begun to reconcile for the sake of their sons, Prince William and Prince Harry. "In the months before Diana’s death, she and Charles decided to put their bitterness behind them and become, in her words, ‘very best friends,’” Andersen said, adding that Diana's love for Charles "never really died."
