Diana Wanted William and Harry to Know That King Charles 'Loved Me', Royal Biographer Claims

Princess Diana wanted her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, to know that their father, King Charles, loved her, according to royal biographer Ingrid Seward, who knew Diana personally.

Seward said Diana remained emotionally attached to Charles despite the collapse of their marriage and was particularly concerned that her sons understood his feelings towards her. Her comments come as Diana's brother, Earl Spencer, faces scrutiny over his new memoir, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, which includes disputed recollections about Charles's reaction to Diana's death in 1997.

'He Did Love Her' and the Marriage That Failed

Seward said Diana told her shortly before her death that she still loved Charles and regarded him as 'the one that got away.' According to Seward, Diana also said, 'It's very important to me, Ingrid, that my boys know that their father loved me.'

Seward further recalled that Diana believed the couple might have made their marriage work had they met when they were older. She said Charles had written Diana affectionate letters and argued that he had loved her, although she believed his feelings had changed over the course of their relationship.

'He did love her,' Seward said. 'He may not have loved her in the very beginning and he may not have loved her by the end, but he always loved her.'

Seward also said Charles was 'plagued by guilt' because he believed he should have been able to make the marriage work. She attributed the breakdown to a range of difficulties between the couple, including what she described as Diana's intense jealousy and their incompatibility at the time.

Her account contrasts with some of the claims made by Earl Spencer in Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, which was published on 22 September 2026.

Spencer wrote that Charles sounded 'giddily elated' when he spoke to him after Diana's fatal car crash in Paris on 31 August 1997. He also alleged that, during a disagreement over funeral arrangements, Charles told him, 'Rest assured, we'll forget her soon enough.'

Those claims are disputed. Buckingham Palace responded that grief can affect a person's memory and judgment, without directly addressing the substance of Spencer's account. Spencer has since stood by his recollection.

The disagreement over Spencer's memoir has also raised questions about its factual accuracy. Spencer apologised to broadcaster Piers Morgan after incorrectly linking Morgan to the publication of photographs of Diana working out at a gym in 1993. Despite the apology, Morgan has said he intends to pursue legal action.

The couple married at St Paul's Cathedral on 29 July 1981. Diana was 20 and Charles was 32. Their marriage became increasingly troubled, and Diana spoke publicly about its difficulties during her 1995 interview, when she famously said there were 'three of us in this marriage.' Their divorce was finalised in August 1996.

Life After Divorce and Competing Recollections

Diana's 1995 Panorama interview became one of the defining public moments of the breakdown of her marriage to Charles. She discussed their relationship, his affair with Camilla and the pressures surrounding her position as Princess of Wales.

The couple's divorce was made absolute on 28 August 1996. Diana retained her title as Diana, Princess of Wales, but lost the style 'Her Royal Highness.'

Her death the following year left William and Harry without their mother and prompted an extraordinary public outpouring of grief.

Spencer has presented Swan Song as his personal account of Diana's life and legacy. Before publication, he said the memoir was intended as a tribute to his sister and wrote that, after recording the audiobook, he believed Diana would have 'approved of every word.' He later said she would have been 'cheering from the rafters' amid the controversy surrounding the book.

Seward's account offers a different recollection of Diana's feelings towards Charles, but it does not independently establish what Charles felt about Diana at every stage of their relationship. Her comments are her recollection of conversations with Diana and should be presented as such.

Diana died in Paris on 31 August 1997, less than a year after the divorce. Charles later married Camilla Parker Bowles on 9 April 2005, she is now Queen Camilla.