The Untold Story Behind Prince William's Christening: Royal Tensions and Emotional Struggles

The Royal Rumble: Behind-the-Scenes Drama of Prince William's Christening

It was a day fit for royalty, but behind the pomp and circumstance, the newly minted parents were already embroiled in a battle that would define their marriage for years to come. On August 4, 1982, Prince Charles and Princess Diana welcomed their firstborn son, Prince William, into the world. But instead of basking in the joy of new parenthood, the couple was already at odds over everything from Godparents to baby names.

The Christening ceremony, held in the Music Room of Buckingham Palace, was a far cry from the traditional family gatherings that most people experience when welcoming a new addition. For one, it took place at 11 am – a time that Diana later recalled as "ghastly" and "excruciating." The Princess, still recovering from childbirth and struggling with post-natal depression, felt like she was being treated like an afterthought.

"It's just been awful," Diana told her biographer Andrew Morton in 1992. "Nobody asked me when it was suitable for William... I wasn't very well, and I just blubbed my eyes out."

The tension between Charles and Diana was palpable even to outsiders. The Princess Royal, Princess Anne, had offered to be Godmother to Prince William but was snubbed by the couple in favor of a more aristocratic lineup that included King Constantine II of Greece and Princess Alexandra of Kent.

Anne's frostiness towards the couple was legendary, with some suggesting she had an unspoken rivalry with Diana. When asked for her reaction to the news of William's birth while on a charity trip in New Mexico, Anne snapped: "I didn't know she had one."

The drama surrounding Prince William's christening was just a harbinger of things to come. As the couple continued to navigate their marriage, they found themselves at odds over everything from baby names to roles as parents.

Charles had long wanted to call his first son Arthur after Queen Victoria's consort, while Diana preferred the more modern name William. In the end, they compromised on a middle name that would become a family tradition: Philip Louis. But it was a small victory in what would prove to be an exhausting game of marital ping-pong.

By the time Prince Harry was born 18 months later, the couple's marriage had reached crisis point. The Princess had become increasingly isolated and desperate for help as her bulimia spiraled out of control. Charles, meanwhile, seemed more interested in his polo matches than his faltering relationship with Diana.

"It was a tragic marriage from the start," says Katie Nichol, author of Harry: Life, Loss and Love. "They were two people who came from very different worlds, and they just couldn't find common ground."

The birth of Prince Harry had initially brought the couple together, with Diana telling Morton that she felt closer to Charles in the weeks leading up to the baby's arrival than at any other time in their marriage.

But it was a fleeting moment of happiness. As soon as Harry was born, the old problems resurfaced – and this time, they would prove even more insurmountable.

Diana's struggles with her mental health continued unabated, with the Princess experiencing terrifying episodes of bulimia that left her feeling like she was "about to disappear." Charles, meanwhile, seemed increasingly detached from his wife's plight, focusing instead on his own personal dramas and public appearances.

"It was a vicious cycle," Morton notes. "Diana felt like she was walking on eggshells, never knowing when Charles would lash out at her next."

Their marriage continued its downward spiral until the couple finally separated in 1992 – just four years after Prince William's Christening. The divorce that followed would leave both parties scarred, but for Diana, it marked a turning point in her long and tortured relationship with the British press.

"It was like being trapped in a nightmare," she told Morton of the tabloid scrutiny she endured during the divorce proceedings. "I just wanted to get away from all of it – the cameras, the reporters, the endless questions about my marriage and my health."

But even as Diana emerged from her personal hell, the wounds of her marriage with Charles would continue to fester for years to come. And for Prince William, who was still reeling from his parents' divorce, the trauma would prove a lifelong burden.

As one royal insider notes: "The Christening of Prince William may have been a celebration of new life, but it also marked the beginning of a very long and very difficult journey – not just for the young Prince, but for his family as a whole."

Sources:

• Andrew Morton's Diana: Her True Story (1992)
• Katie Nichol's Harry: Life, Loss and Love
• Robert Lacey's The Battle of Brothers (2019)