Were Princess Diana And Prince Charles Ever Compatible?

When we think of Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana, scandal tends to come to mind — there was Prince Charles' infidelity, their divorce, and, of course, Diana's tragic death. Yet, it is also hard to overlook the storybook romance that marked the early days of their courtship. The haunting grandeur of the royal wedding — the bride gliding down the red carpet of the cathedral, trailed by a veil that went on for days — was a real-life fairy tale. Or, so it seemed. 

So, what actually happened with these two? When did Princess Diana and Prince Charles fall out of love... or, were they never the great couple that they had initially appeared to be? To get the answers to these questions, The List interviewed relationship expert Paige Michelle, who specializes in human design, an approach to understanding humans that categorizes people into five different types based on their birthday and place of birth (per Medium). There are generators, manifestors, projectors, reflectors, and manifesting generators, but those categories themselves do not speak to whether two people will have a strong connection, according to Michelle. "Princess Diana was an emotional projector and Prince Charles is a generator, but types don't really play a role in compatibility," she explained. "In human design, it is less about compatibility and more about where people are complementary, and if the people share similar perspectives on life, values, etc." 

But how did Princess Diana and Prince Charles stack up in those regards?

According to relationship expert Paige Michelle, Princess Diana and Prince Charles had very different temperaments, which set them up for conflicts and misunderstandings. "As a projector, Princess Diana didn't have as much life force, so she was more relaxed and went with the flow, and didn't actually have a lot of energy to travel and be around people all the time," Michelle noted. "As a generator, Prince Charles is a doer, always on the go, and has more life force energy, so he may not understand why she was not also that way."

Princess Diana and Prince Charles, therefore, likely struggled to communicate, Michelle added. "Princess Diana, with her defined heart, was very willful, full of love, and emotionally driven (her emotions are her authority). She did not have a consistent way of communicating, due to her almost completely open throat, which made her present as soft-spoken and shy, but deep down, she is somewhat desirous of attention," Michelle explained. "She had a lot to say and didn't quite know how to say it, but felt pressure to say it."

Princess Diana's difficulty articulating how she felt likely frustrated Prince Charles, Paige Michelle speculated. "Being in the royal family, he was probably taught to push his emotions away," she explained. "So, although he did feel the world's pain, he doesn't understand why the princess was so carried away by her emotions and he wished she had been more logical."

So what was upsetting to the princess? According to Michelle, Princess Diana always felt like an outsider. "She never pictured herself as royal, and she most likely had no idea who she was herself without being royal," Michelle said. "Because of this, she really did not know how she fit into that family, or what to do to make herself fit." Clearly, this couple had the cards stacked against them from the very beginning, between Princess Diana feeling out of place, and Prince Charles not knowing how to handle her emotions. 

"With these two, they did not share the same perspective and there wasn't a solid friendship foundation energetically, meaning there was a lot to compromise on," Michelle added, "with Prince Charles probably being the one who most often got his way because it was the way of the royal family."

Does all of this conflict and misunderstanding mean that there had never been love between the two? Not necessarily, according to Paige Michelle. However, Princess Diana likely sensed that her husband did not really "get" her — and, she likely was right about this suspicion. "Princess Diana was very open, specifically in the center of identity, which means she is more of a reflection of those around her. Most likely, when Prince Charles fell in love with her, there were the parts of her that were reflecting him and so he never truly saw her and who she was," Michelle explained. "Since she had such a strong capacity to feel, I believe she felt and always knew that."

Michelle also pointed out that, even though the reason why this couple lacked compatibility is clear to her, that does not mean their relationship was "doomed" because of their human design types. "If two people are self-aware, emotionally available, and open to working on the relationship, this can turn into more compromise, which would have been required of the prince," she noted. "Ultimately, what brought them together was that Charles needed Diana more than she ever needed him. Unfortunately, what made the relationship unhealthy was the fact that he would never be able to admit that or appreciate who she was."