Diana felt ‘Charles wasn’t cut out to be King’ and was ‘stuck in a rut’ after divorce, expert claims

Princess Diana believed “Charles was not fit to be king” and felt he was “in a rut” following their divorce, a royal expert claimed.

Before her tragic death in 1997, the late royal opened up about her ex-husband’s future role as monarch to the BBC’s then royal correspondent, Jennie Bond.

To write for The Telegraphthe expert claimed the mother-of-two had told her that Charles was struggling in his role as Prince of Wales in the wake of their split.

Diana is said to have said at her home in Kensington Palace, “The truth is Charles would be much happier living in Tuscany, painting the landscape or studying architecture.”

As such, Diana then told the expert that her ex-husband was “not fit to be king” because he had “enough problems” as heir to the throne.

In addition, Diana is said to have told Jennie that her ex-husband had to review some patronages and royal obligations.

The royal family had already been working with charities and environmental organizations for 30 years.

The royal reportedly said: ‘He’s stuck in a rut. Just look at his program. He’s doing exactly the same as ten years ago.’

However, the expert – who has written three biographies on the late queen – said Charles’ lifelong passion for environmental affairs has proven he will be a forward-thinking monarch.

In 2020, the King admitted that people thought he was ‘stupid’ when he started speaking about the importance of environmental protection to the Countryside Steering Committee for Wales.

At the age of 21, Charles gave his first impassioned speech about his personal concern about oil spills and single-use plastics.

He also shared how, as a teenager in the 1960s, he worried about the destruction of trees, wetlands, and habitats, and about “the white heat of progress and technology to the exclusion of nature and our environment.”

In his 1970 speech, Charles highlighted a problem that has become an illustration of humanity’s threat to nature.

The official portrait of King Charles and Queen Camilla released this month along with their coronation invitations

Jennie Bond (pictured in 2016) was the BBC’s Royal Correspondent for 14 years, until she stepped down in 2003

Then he had said, “When you consider that each person produces about 2 pounds of waste a day, and that with 55 million of us on this island, we use single-use bottles and indestructible plastic containers, it is not hard to imagine the mountains of waste we will be involved in one way or another.’

Jennie claims her conversation with Princess Diana took place in the drawing room of her Kensington Palace home shortly after their divorce was finalized in 1996.

The year before, Princess Diana made similar comments in her Panorama interview – describing how Charles can find it “suffocating” to be king.

Asked by Martin Bashir how Charles felt about becoming king, Diana said: “There was always a conflict with him on that subject when we discussed it and I understood that conflict because it’s a very demanding role – being the Prince of Wales.” – but it’s as demanding a role as king.

In her 1995 Panorama interview, Princess Diana said Charles might find the role of king “suffocating.” In 2021, a report by Lord Dyson concluded that the BBC covered up Bashir’s ‘deceptive behaviour’ to secure the bombshell interview

“Being Prince of Wales now brings more freedom and being king would be a bit more stifling.

“And knowing the character, I would think that the top job, as I call it, would put huge restrictions on him and I don’t know if he could adapt to that.”

In 2021, a report from Lord Dyson concluded that the BBC covered up “deceitful conduct” by Bashir to secure the great interview with Princess Diana, and led to a call from Prince William to never broadcast it again.

Following the investigation, the BBC made charitable donations amounting to £1.42 million, divided equally between seven charities associated with Princess Diana.