Photo: Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images
Over 40 years ago,Prince Charles(nowKing Charles III) and Lady Diana Spencer (who became known worldwide asPrincess Diana) announced they were to marry.
The couple, who had only been dating for six months, made an official announcement via the Lord Chancellor at 11 a.m. on Feb. 24, 1981.
“It is with greatest pleasure that theQueenand theDuke of Edinburghannounce the betrothal of their beloved son the Prince of Wales to the Lady Diana Spencer, daughter of the Earl Spencer and the Honourable Mrs Shand Kydd,” the statement read.
In a joint interview with the BBC at Buckingham Palace, Charles said that he was “delighted and frankly amazed” that Diana was prepared to take him on, while Diana described her husband-to-be as “pretty amazing” as she looked shyly up through her blonde fringe.
During this somewhat stilted and awkward interview with the couple, Charles made his infamous remark about the meaning of love, which Diana later said “traumatized” her. When asked if the couple were in love, Diana replied sheepishly, “Of course,” while Charles said, “Whatever in love means,” as he looked awkwardly to the floor.
Charles revealed they had managed to keep the engagement a secret, having proposed to Diana three weeks prior at a private dinner at Buckingham Palace. During the interview, he explained that he wanted to give Diana time to consider her answer during a planned trip to Australia, but Diana accepted straight away and moved out of her apartment that she shared with roommates in Kensington to live in Clarence House until the big day.
Jayne Fincher/Princess Diana Archive/Getty Images
The ring was later passed down toPrince William, who gave it toKate Middletonon theday of their engagementin 2010.
Charles and Diana married on July 29, 1981, in St. Paul’s Cathedral in front of 3,500 guests while an estimated 750 million people worldwide watched on television.
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Prince Charles and Princess Diana on their wedding day in 1981.Anwar Hussein/WireImage
After having their sons, Prince William andPrince Harry, thecouple separated in 1993and officially divorced in 1996. Tragically, Princess Diana died on Aug. 31, 1997, in acar crash.
source: people.com
