How did Prince Philip and Diana's close friendship end? She called him 'Pa' after he took her under his wings
Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth II's husband, has died aged 99, Buckingham Palace announced on Friday, April 9. Philip's relationship with Princess Diana, who became a part of the royal family back in 1981, was considered to be a "close" one.
According to claims made by a royal biographer, Philip took Diana under his wing after her marriage to Prince Charles. He taught her things like how to master the art of small talk at black-tie dinners. In fact, Diana and Philip grew so close before her tragic death that she called him “Pa.”
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As royal expert, Marlene A Eilers Koenig documents on History Extra, Diana's husband had a romance with Camilla Parker Bowles before she married Andrew Parker Bowles in 1973. Charles and Camilla remained platonic best friends after she married Andrew. But, they rekindled their romance not long before Charles started dating Princess Diana in 1980. It was reported that Prince Phillip wrote his son a letter, where he advised Charles to either propose to Diana or end the relationship completely. He chose to do what was right for “this country and for my family” by proposing to Diana Spencer on February 6, 1981.
According to new book 'Prince Philip Revealed: A Man of His Century', Philip and Diana were in touch when Diana and Charles split in 1992. According to a report by the Express, author Ingrid Seward gave fans a sneak peek, stating that few people outside of royal circles are aware of how hard Philip worked to help Diana.
“As the couple’s marriage began to crumble and her increasingly erratic behavior threatened the image of the monarchy, he [Prince Philip] tried again to help, setting up a highly personal correspondence with her [Princess Diana] and explaining that he understood the difficulties of marrying into the Royal Family,” Seward writes.
Prince Philip wrote letters to Diana, where he made it clear that he doesn't approve of Charles' affair. In one of his letters, Philip said that Charles “was silly to risk everything with Camilla.” The Duke of Edinburgh also told his daughter-in-law that they never dreamt Charles would leave her.
“I cannot imagine anyone in their right mind leaving you for Camilla. Such a prospect never entered our heads,” Philip wrote before signing off as “Pa.” In June 1992, Diana wrote back. Starting her letter with “Dearest Pa,” she told him how happy she was to receive his letter. Diana was grateful for the honest and heartfelt note and hoped he would read hers with the same spirit. She ended the letter by writing, “With fondest love, from Diana.” Charles and Diana divorced in 1996. One year later, she tragically died in a Paris car crash. Prince Charles and Camilla tied the knot on April 9, 2005.