Viewers continue to have questions whilst watching The Crown - including how old was Diana when she got married to Prince Charles. We share their noticeable age difference here.
Charles and Diana's wedding was one for the history books, with millions watching on as the now-King of England spoke his vows to a popular Princess of Wales, in what was hoped to be a match made in royal heaven. Then a young bride - not long out of education - many to this day have wondered how old Diana was when she tied the knot, much like the age when Princess Diana died.
There's also the subject of the Prince and Princess's age difference, which continues to pique interest much like the question was Diana taller than Charles? We share the answer to all your royal age queries...
How old was Diana when she married Charles?
Blushing bride Diana was 20-years-old when she said "I do" to Prince Charles on their wedding day at St Paul's Cathedral on July 29, 1981. Her groom was aged 33.
The young bride held her own as she walked down the aisle of the iconic venue - full of 3,500 guests. Whilst a further 750 million tuned in worldwide to see the two wed via television. Unsurprisingly it was dubbed 'the wedding of the century".
Later on via the Andrew Morton Diana book, Diana shared how the wedding wasn't as happy as it appeared on camera. In the transcript from her tapes (that were passed on to Morton through mutual friend James Colthurst) she expressed her sadness of the day.
"I don’t think I was happy," she said. "I never tried to call it off, in the sense of really doing that, but I think [it was] the worst day of my life."
How old was Diana when she met Prince Charles?
Princess Diana was 16 years old when she met Charles - then aged 30. They were introduced by Diana's older sister Sarah (who was allegedly dating Charles prior).
"It was 1977, recalls Diana in their engagement interview. "Charles came to stay as a friend of my sister Sarah's for a shoot. We sort of met in a plowed field," she told the camera, adding that he was "pretty amazing".
As for Charles's initial thoughts on Diana, he told The Telegraph in 1981: "I remember thinking what a very jolly and amusing and attractive 16-year-old she was. I mean, great fun, and bouncy and full of life and everything."
Four years later on February 24, 1981, 19-year-old Diana and 32-year-old Charles announced their engagement.
What was the age difference between Charles and Diana?
There was an age difference of 13 years between Princess Diana and Prince Charles. When the two divorced in August 1996, Diana was 35-years-old whilst Charles was 47.
Sadly, Princess Diana passed away just one year after the divorce was made official. She died in a car accident in Paris when the Mercedes crashed in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel. She was travelling with her then-boyfriend Dodi Fayed, who also died in the incident alongside driver Henri Paul.
The only surviving member of the incident was Diana's bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones who was the only passenger wearing a seat belt.
How old was Diana when she had William?
Diana was aged just 21-years-old when she gave birth to her son William on June 21, 1982. She became the first royal mother to give birth in a hospital, as previous members of the royal family gave birth at the palace instead.
The young princess and her husband posed with their newborn outside the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital in London, where William was born. In Andrew Morton's biography, Diana confirmed that she was induced. "When we had William, we had to find a date in the diary that suited Charles and his polo," she said. "William had to be induced because I couldn’t handle the press pressure any longer, it was becoming unbearable. It was as if everyone was monitoring every day for me."
A young Diana suffered mentally both during and after William's arrival. As recounted in Diana: Her True Story, Diana threw herself down some stairs at Sandringham "trying to get my husband's attention, for him to listen to me". Though thankfully the foetus was not harmed, with Diana suffering mainly bruising.
Diana also suffered from postpartum depression following the birth of William: "Came home and then postnatal depression hit me hard and it wasn’t so much the baby that had produced it, it was the baby that triggered off all else that was going on in my mind," reads the transcript. "Boy, I was troubled."
Diana reflected that a lot of this depression was linked to her husband. "If he didn’t come when he said he was coming home I thought something dreadful had happened to him. Tears, panic, all the rest of it. He didn’t see the panic because I would sit there quietly."
Aged nine months, William accompanied his mother and father on a royal tour of Austrailia and New Zealand in 1983. It was on this trip that the young Prince's nickname was decided by Diana.
"It began when I was two. I've been rightfully told because I can't remember back that far. But when we went to Australia with our parents, and the wombat, you know, that's the local animal. So I just basically got called that," William relayed in an interview with Matt Lauer in 2007.
William is Charles and Diana's first born child and as such is Charles's natural heir - making him next in line to the throne in the royal line of succession.
How old was Diana when she had Harry?
Princess Diana was 23-years-old when the couple's second son Prince Harry was born on September 15, 1984. Like his brother, Harry was born in the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital, London.
Diana recalled how her relationship with Charles was "the closest we’ve ever, ever been and ever will be” in the build-up to Harry's birth. "Then, suddenly, as Harry was born, it just went bang, our marriage. The whole thing went down the drain," she adds.
According to Diana, Charles was disappointed that their second born was a boy. "Charles always wanted a girl. He wanted two children, and he wanted a girl. I knew Harry was a boy, and I didn’t tell him," she continued in the book.
At Harry's birth, Diana alleges that Charles gave just two remarks: "First comment was: 'Oh God, it’s a boy,' second comment: 'And he’s even got red hair'".
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- Did Charles want the Queen to abdicate?
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