King Charles' sole public declaration of love for Princess Diana revealed

King Charles made only one public pronouncement of adoration for his wife, Princess Diana, and it happened during their 1983 visit to Australia and New Zeeland.

In his 1993 book Diana Vs Charles, veteran journalist and author James Whitaker wrote, "The couple attended a dance in Melbourne and got lost in the lift trying to find the correct floor. The lift finally stopped and as the doors opened they found themselves face to face with the Press Association's veteran photographer Ron Bell. Charles stepped out, his eyes shining, and, turning back towards Diana, he said, "Ron, isn't she absolutely beautiful? I'm so proud of her."

The author said "It's generally agreed among the Prince and Princess of Wales's circle that the conjugal side of their marriage was over by 1986, a mere five years after the royal wedding. Certainly that is what Charles told his polo manager, Ronald Ferguson."

According to Reuters, when Charles's first wife, the popular, glamorous Princess Diana, died aged 36 in a car crash in Paris in 1997, Camilla was depicted by the media as the most hated woman in Britain, someone who could never marry Charles, let alone become queen.

Charles and Diana separated in 1992 and divorced in 1996. Diana had blamed Camilla, often portrayed as staid and dowdy, for wrecking her marriage and the now Camilla has perennially been compared with Charles's photogenic first wife.

But Charles and Camilla did marry in 2005, and since then she has come to be recognised, albeit grudgingly by some, as a key member of the royal family, whose calming effect on her husband has helped him deal with his role.