The Gist
Prince William’s christening at Buckingham Palace took place 43 years ago today on August 4, 1982, about six weeks after his birth that June 21.
His mother, Princess Diana, later said that photos from the event were “ghastly” and that it “couldn’t have been worse.”
The Princess of Wales said she felt like an afterthought at the occasion, later telling biographer Andrew Morton that she “was excluded totally that day.”
Just one year into her marriage—and her life as a working royal—Princess Diana could already see the cracks in the facade.
Lady Diana Spencer married Prince Charles on July 29, 1981; 11 months later, they welcomed their first child, Prince William, on June 21, 1982. When William was six weeks old, his christening was held, which the former Princess of Wales said “couldn’t have been worse.”
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Prince Charles and Princess Diana at Prince William’s christening on August 4, 1982
William’s christening took place 43 years ago today, actually—August 4, 1982 (which also happened to be the first birthday of Meghan Markle, an ocean away in California). Speaking to her biographer Andrew Morton—whose 1992 book Diana: Her True Story was a bombshell—Diana wrote that she was experiencing postpartum depression and “felt desperate” and unsupported at what should have been a happy occasion.
“Nobody asked me when it was suitable for William,” Diana said of the date and time of the christening (via Marie Claire). “11 a.m. couldn’t have been worse. Endless pictures of the Queen, Queen Mother, Charles, and William. I was excluded totally that day.”
“I felt desperate because I had literally just given birth,” Diana continued. “William was only six weeks old, and it was all decided around me. Hence the ghastly pictures.”
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Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles, Princess Diana, Prince William, Prince Philip, and the Queen Mother at William’s christening
Diana told Morton that she “wasn’t very well, and I just blubbed my eyes out. William started crying, too. Well, he just sensed that I wasn’t exactly hunky dory.”
Per The Daily Mail, William’s christening—which took place in the Music Room at Buckingham Palace, a traditional setting for such events since the birth of Queen Victoria’s children—also happened to fall on the 82nd birthday of the Queen Mother, the mother of Queen Elizabeth. William wore the antique christening robe commissioned by Queen Victoria and was baptized by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Runcie.
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Prince William, Princess Diana, and Prince Charles
Just over two years after William’s birth, his younger brother Prince Harry was born on September 15, 1984. According to royal biographer Katie Nicholl, Diana hoped that the birth of a second child would repair her marriage to Charles, and Nicholl wrote in her book Harry: Life, Loss, and Love, “The Waleses’ marriage had been in trouble for some time, the fairytale slowly and painfully descending into a story of dysfunction and heartbreak.”
“By the time of Harry’s birth, Charles was becoming increasingly vexed by their incompatibility,” Nicholl continued. “Diana later admitted that Harry’s conception was ‘if by a miracle,’ but there had been a brief respite in their attrition just before his birth.”
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Prince Charles, Princess Diana, and Prince Harry after Harry’s christening
Though the closeness didn’t last, Diana later admitted that the period before Harry’s birth was good for her marriage, and that they were close during that time: “As with many couples who believe the birth of a child may repair damage to their relationship, both were looking forward to their new arrival,” Nicholl wrote.
“In fact, despite the fact she knew Harry was going to be a boy and kept it from her husband, Diana said that she felt she and Charles 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,’” she added.
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Princess Diana and Prince Charles
In Morton’s book, he claimed that, while Diana was excited to welcome another son, Charles clearly wanted a daughter. The Princess of Wales told Morton that her husband’s first comment upon seeing his second son was, “Oh God, it’s a boy. And he’s even got red hair.” (Red hair was a trademark of the Spencer family—Diana’s birth family.)
When it came time for Harry’s christening, the Prince of Wales apparently told Diana’s mother, Frances Shand Kydd, “We were so disappointed—we thought it would be a girl.”
“Mummy snapped his head off, saying, ‘You should realize how lucky you are to have a child that’s normal,’” Diana later recalled. “Ever since that day the shutters have come down, and that’s what he does when he gets somebody answering back at him.”
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Prince Charles and Princess Diana
Ultimately, Charles and Diana separated in 1992 and finalized their divorce in 1996. Diana later told Morton that Charles “told a lot of people the reason why the marriage was so wobbly was because I was being sick the whole time. They never questioned what it was doing to me.”
Read the original article on InStyle