Prince Charles once proposed to his cousin before marrying Diana

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With the coronavirus-enforced lockdown 2.0 isolating us once more to our homes, we have never been more ready for the highly anticipated return of The Crown.

Yes, The Crown season four landed on Netflix this weekend and we're all in binge-watch mode.

The fourth season sees its star-studded second cast return, with Olivia Coleman reprising her role as Queen Elizabeth, Helena Bonham Carter playing Princess Margaret and Game of Thrones’ Tobias Menzies returning to his role as Prince Philip.

It is the storyline around Josh O’Connor, The Crown’s Prince Charles, however that has got everyone talking, joined by Emerald Fennel (Camilla Parker-Bowles) and Emma Corrin (Princess Diana), to act out the highly publicised and very controversial affair.

The story arc has unsurprisingly unearthed multiple anecdotes around the Prince of Wales, with one proving to be particularly controversial.

It has emerged that before Prince Charles married Princess Diana, he popped the question to his second cousin.

Yes, really.

According to recent biography, Battle of Brothers by Robert Lacey, via The Express, Prince Charles once proposed to his second cousin, Amanda Knatchbull, something that was reportedly encouraged by his great uncle, Lord Mountbatten.

'When the prince finally made his proposal in the summer of 1979 - shortly before Lord Mountbatten's assassination by the IRA - the independent-minded Amanda politely turned him down,' Robert Lacey explains in his book.

Lacey went on to add that 'Over the years the two cousins did grow close, developing a mutual respect and friendship that has lasted to the present day.'

Well, that's that.

Jenny Proudfoot
Features Editor

Jenny Proudfoot is an award-winning journalist, specialising in lifestyle, culture, entertainment, international development and politics. She has worked at Marie Claire UK for seven years, rising from intern to Features Editor and is now the most published Marie Claire writer of all time. She was made a 30 under 30 award-winner last year and named a rising star in journalism by the Professional Publishers Association.