Diana and Charles’s bust-up in their bedroom at Althorp

GEORGE AUSTIN EX-ARCHDEACON OF YORK

WHAT disturbs me considerably is that when he was preparing Diana for marriage, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Runcie, didn’t think she was doing the right thing, that she was taking on something she wouldn’t be able to cope with — but he didn’t say so. I believe that was a gross dereliction of duty.

He could surely have said to Diana: ‘Look, you don’t need to marry this man. If you are having any doubts about this, please tell me. Are you quite sure you’re doing the right thing? It isn’t too late to withdraw.’

As any of us would do if we had a couple coming to us for marriage preparation and we thought one of them really didn’t want to do this.

WINSTON CHURCHILL GRANDSON OF THE WARTIME PM

WITHIN a month of the wedding, I happened to be taking some constituents to Althorp, Diana’s childhood home, and her father, Johnny Spencer, said: ‘I’d love to show you the private apartments.’

So we had lunch. And then: ‘I must show you the guest room that I had completely redone for Charles and Diana to stay in on their return from honeymoon.’

As he opened the door, he said: ‘I’m afraid it’s a bit of a shambles now.’ And clearly there’d been a battle royal: there were water stains on the green silk wallpaper; there was a Chippendale chair that was broken; there was a mirror cracked. At the time, my wife and I put it down to a sort of lovers’ tiff. But, with the benefit of hindsight, one can see that [the marital discord] started right at the beginning. And I suspect it was when Charles told her of his affair with Camilla before they were married. This seemed to drive her ballistic, and from that moment everything went downhill very rapidly.

ADMIRAL SIR HENRY LEACH EX-FIRST SEA LORD, 1979-82

SHE only had to give one of those sideways looks and you’d fall flat on your face and grovel. How much was in there, I don’t know.

MICHAEL WHITLAM FORMER BOSS OF THE BRITISH RED CROSS

DIANA invited me to have tea with her. She was sitting in the living room with an ambassador’s wife, in her dressing gown and with white stuff all over her face. I, of course, looked incredibly embarrassed, and they thought this was highly amusing and spent the next two hours ribbing me about it. ‘Come join the girls for some girly chat,’ said Diana.