How Did Queen Elizabeth Really Feel About Princess Diana During Her Rocky Marriage To Charles?

Queen Elizabeth's relationship with Princess Diana has been a topic of conversation amongst tabloids for years. Although Diana died in 1997, "The Crown" has been part of the reason that many people have been so curious about her relationship with her ex-husband's mother, as Tatler points out. There have been numerous reports and rumors that the queen didn't really care for Diana, but it seems that things could have been blown out of proportion. According to Tatler, the queen "made it clear" that she "approved" of her daughter-in-law. Additionally, she trusted Diana "to represent the Royal Family early in her marriage," which is a sign that the queen really did like her. But it wasn't that simple.

As Good Housekeeping reports, things between the queen and Diana were "complicated." The monarchy, notoriously private, didn't approve of Diana's "brutal honesty," and she seemed to push boundaries in any way that she could, which also challenged the queen. As the years went on, Diana's marriage to Prince Charles broke down, and the two ended up getting divorced. Obviously, this wasn't the outcome that anyone wanted to see, let alone the queen, given that her son was set to inherit the throne one day. 

So, how did the queen really feel about Diana when things fell apart between her and Charles?

One might say that Princess Diana and Prince Charles' marriage was doomed from the start; Charles was, after all, in love with another woman (Camilla Parker Bowles), according to Bustle. Diana herself commented on the rumors that her husband had a thing for Camilla, telling BBC, "well, there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded" (via Bustle). And while some might think that the queen was wildly disappointed in Diana for not making it work, that doesn't seem to have been the case. Royal author Matthew Dennison told Fox News that the queen "sympathized" with Diana, and "had a great personal fondness for her." 

"I don't think there was ever any lack of affection. I think the queen didn't understand why the princess might say or do things that would jeopardize the institution that she'd married into, which was also her own children's inheritance. ... I think the queen found that very difficult. But there's no doubt that Diana needed to be heard," Dennison told Fox News.