Princess Diana once revealed why her marriage to Charles broke down

And it's nothing to do with Camilla...

Words by Jadie Troy-Pryde

The fascination with Princess Diana's marriage to Prince Charles has never quelled, even though their divorce was finalised 21 years ago in 1996. The couple were married for fifteen years, and despite claims Charles believed he could 'learn to love' Diana, he later referred to their union as a 'Greek tragedy' in recently publicised letters.

But as the twenty year anniversary of Diana's tragic death ebbs ever closer this summer, more details about their famously turbulent relationship have come to light thanks to an updated version of the infamously explosive biography by Andrew Morton, Diana: Her True Story - In Her Own Words.

Throughout their marriage, many speculated about what was really going on behind closed doors. Many believe that their marriage broke down following Charles' affair with Camilla Parker Bowles after Diana told BBC News: 'There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.'

But Diana privately told biographer Morton that shortly after Prince Harry's birth in 1984, things got particularly difficult for the pair.

'Charles and I were very, very close to each other the six weeks before Harry was born, the closest we've ever, ever been and ever will be,' Diana admitted.

'Then, suddenly, as Harry was born, it just went bang, our marriage. The whole thing went down the drain.'

Diana explains that although she knew she was having a baby boy, Charles had always wanted a girl and so she kept the gender from him until the birth.

'He wanted two children and he wanted a girl,' she said.

And his reaction to Prince Harry's arrival, according to Diana, was: 'Oh God, it's a boy... and he's even got red hair.'

Diana went on to say that she knew that Charles had 'gone back to his lady', and the couple divorced in 1996, just a year before her tragic death.