Were Princess Diana and Queen Elizabeth friends or enemies? Prince Charles’ wife enjoyed his mum’s support and understanding, say palace insiders … until after the Panorama interview

Aug 7 , 2021

Diana, Princess of Wales, and Britain’s Queen Elizabeth outside Clarence House in London in August 1987 – but were the two of them ever friends? (AP Photo/Martin Cleaver, File)

The mother of Princes Harry and William came clean about the state of her marriage to Prince Charles in a Panorama interview – describing it as ‘a bit crowded’

Diana’s brother Charles Spencer is the queen’s godson and her maternal grandmother Lady Fermoy was a lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth, the queen mother

Much has been made over the years about the true nature of the relationship between the late Diana, Princess of Wales, and her former mother-in-law, Queen Elizabeth. Some say that the pair never got on, while others maintain that initially there was a bond between the two which soured after the divorce between Diana and Prince Charles. Here we look back at the stages of their relationship, from initial meeting to the sad, sorry end.

The Spencers and Windsors’ historical ties

Queen Elizabeth poses with her son, Prince Charles, and his then-fiancée, Lady Diana Spencer, at Buckingham Palace in March 1981. Photo: AFP

Members of the Spencer and Windsor families have a connection that goes quite a way back. Diana’s brother, Charles Spencer, is actually the queen’s godson, and her maternal grandmother, Lady Fermoy, was a lady-in-waiting to the queen’s late mother, Queen Elizabeth. It stands to reason then that the monarch would’ve known then-Lady Diana Spencer’s aristocratic heritage, something she would have realised would serve her well in her forthcoming royal life.

Initially, the rapport between the two was good

Princess Diana and Queen Elizabeth. Photo: @princessdibooks/Twitter

According to royal biographer Andrew Morton, in his book Diana: Her True Story – In Her Own Words, the relationship between Diana and the queen started off rather formally, having been “governed by the fact that she was married to her older son and a future monarch”. Morton went on to write: “In the early days, Diana was quite simply terrified of her mother-in-law. She kept the formal obsequies – dropping a deep curtsy each time they met – but otherwise kept her distance.”

But the fact that the queen allowed Diana to represent the family at events (such as the 1982 funeral of former Hollywood star, Princess Grace of Monaco, which she attended alone), signified the confidence the queen had in her daughter-in-law.

Matrimonial troubles