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King Charles III embarked on his first trip since his cancer diagnosis this week, traveling with Queen Camilla around Australia. The country welcomed the royal duo on October 18 with a spectacular display of photos from their visits over the years, displayed at the Sydney Opera House. Still, there was a noticeable presence in these images.
The four-hour show showed Charles in his youth playing cricket and spending the day on Bondi beach, but there was no photo of Princess Diana in sight. According to GB Newsthe photos were carefully selected by Australia and the palace, so Diana was conspicuously absent at this point. Die-hard royal fans will remember Diana’s triumphant trip home in 1983 – she was 21 and less than two years into her turbulent marriage to then-Prince Charles.
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The shells of the Sydney Opera House are illuminated with a royal projection to officially welcome King Charles III and Queen Camilla on October 18, 2024 in Sydney, Australia. The King’s visit to Australia will be his first as monarch, and CHOGM to Samoa will be his first as head of the Commonwealth of Nations.
Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images.
Her popularity grew during the trip as Charles became increasingly jealous of the attention she was receiving – from fans Crown they know this narrative well. “Victor Chapman, press secretary for the tour, had become accustomed to late-night phone calls from Charles complaining about the sparse press coverage of him compared to the hagiographic acres granted to his wife,” wrote author Tina Brown in her book: The Diana Chronicles.
For Diana, the trip was “completely traumatic.” He finished me off,” she told biographer Andrew Morton via the website New York Post Office. “He was jealous; I understood the jealousy, but I couldn’t explain that I didn’t ask for it. The tour was a success in the eyes of the public, but behind closed doors it was an absolute disaster.
King Charles III and Princess Diana.
Tim Graham Photo Library at Getty Images
“The Prince was embarrassed that the crowds so clearly favored her over him,” wrote Sally Bedell Smith in her biography: Prince Charles: the passions and paradoxes of an incredible life. “For her part, Diana was disturbed by the disproportionate interest in her, especially when she realized that it was troubling Charles. She collapsed under the strain, crying to her lady-in-waiting and secretly developing bulimia. In letters to friends, Charles described his anxiety at the effect that “all this obsession and madness was having on his wife.”
It is therefore understandable that King Charles did not want to be reminded of his 1983 tour and how his late ex-wife lived. Diana truly was the people’s princess. Neither he nor Queen Camilla ever achieved this level of public adoration.
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Before you go, click here to see all our favorite photos of Princess Diana.
