King Charles found out about Princess Diana’s death hours after a car accident took her life. He reportedly “fell apart” over the news and was “distraught” not only for himself but his immediate family, whom he feared would be blamed for the heartbreaking tragedy.
Princess Diana’s untimely death left King Charles wondering if he’d be blamed
After a trip to France with her boyfriend, Dodi al Fayed, Princess Diana looked forward to returning to England and seeing her boys, Prince William and Prince Harry. The couple were planning to leave the City of Lights when a car crash killed them and their driver, Henri Paul.
Then-Prince Charles learned of the accident in the hours after Diana’s death. At the time, he was on summer break with his sons at Balmoral Castle in Scotland.
Royal author Tina Brown wrote about Charles’s reaction in the book Diana: 7 Days That Shook the Windsor’s. “He was absolutely distraught; he fell apart.”
“He knew, instantly, that this was going to be a terrible thing. That he will be blamed, that they will be blamed, for the death of Diana,” Brown continued.
