Forty-four years ago, on this day, July 29 in 1981 Lady Diana Spencer walked down the aisle at St. Paul's Cathedral to marry Prince Charles in what was famously dubbed the 'wedding of the century'."
With millions of people watching around the globe, it looked like a real-life fairytale. But behind the pomp and public adoration was a marriage that would soon crack under pressure – and a scandal that would make global headlines.
'There Were Three Of Us in This Marriage'
Diana discovered early in her marriage that Prince Charles was still emotionally entangled with his former flame, Camilla Parker Bowles. Despite being married to Diana, Charles resumed his affair with Camilla in 1986, reported Vogue.
In her now-famous 1995 interview with BBC's Panorama, Diana addressed the elephant in the room with a single line that made headlines worldwide, “There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.”
The Revenge Dress
On June 29, 1994, the very evening Prince Charles publicly confessed to his affair in a Jonathan Dimbleby documentary, Diana made a surprise appearance at a Vanity Fair party in a slinky, off-the-shoulder black Christina Stambolian dress. According to People, she had owned the dress for three years but had never worn it.
The dress was her backup option after a Valentino look she originally planned to wear was leaked to the press. The now-iconic black dress quickly became known as the “revenge dress,” a term still used today to describe a fashion choice that signals power and poise post-breakup.
By 1992, the cracks in the royal marriage had widened. British Prime Minister John Major announced their formal separation that year. The couple finalised their divorce in 1996.
Divorce, Tragedy, And Charles' Remarriage
Just a year after the divorce, Diana tragically died in a car crash in Paris, while the press was following her. Three years later, in 1999, a French investigation found that driver of the Mercedes-Benz W140, Henri Paul, lost control of the vehicle at high speed while intoxicated by alcohol and under the effects of prescription drugs, and concluded that 'he was solely responsible for the crash'.
However, Charles continued to face public scrutiny, especially over his long-standing relationship with Camilla. Eventually, he married her in 2005, turning a once-controversial affair into a royal marriage.
The contrast between July 29, 1981, and June 29, 1994, couldn't be sharper. One was the day Diana became a princess. The other was the day she reclaimed her power – wordlessly, through fashion.
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