Princess Diana‘s ill-fated romance with then-Prince Charles appeared to be a fairytale from an outsider’s perspective, but the realities were different even before their royal wedding.

Several accounts have detailed Lady Diana’s reservations about entering into a marriage with Charles, whom she feared had already given his heart to his then-ex-girlfriend Camilla Shand.

Royal biographer Catherine Mayer shared more details about a point of contention between the royal couple in her book, Divide and Rule. The future King was reportedly “in a lather about the loss of a cufflink just before the pre-wedding ball at Buckingham Palace.”

The cufflinks had been a gift from Camilla that Diana was “well aware” of, and likely put a strain on their relationship. At the event, Charles was pictured wearing a classic black dinner suit while Diana was all smiles in a hot pink gown that designer Elizabeth Emanuel later described as “sexy”, but beneath the surface, tensions had already begun to rise.

Princess Diana’s ‘total jealousy’ on honeymoon

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The missing cufflinks, which featured two interlocking ‘C’s similar to the Chanel logo, reappeared weeks later during their post-wedding getaway. Charles wore the jewellery for a dinner on the Royal Yacht Britannia.

Royal biographer Andrew Morton later revealed in Diana: Her True Story that Diana had confronted her new husband about whether they were from Camilla, and he replied: “Yes, so what’s wrong? They’re a present from a friend.”

Diana recalled she felt “total jealousy,” especially since reminders of Charles’ relationship with Camilla had already begun days before their July 1981 wedding.

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The 20-year-old had discovered a custom gold bracelet Charles had made for Camilla engraved with ‘F’ and ‘G’, which stood for their pet names for one another, Fred and Gladys.

The breakdown of their royal romance

Despite their difficult start, Charles and Diana reportedly enjoyed several years of wedded happiness, during which they welcomed Prince William and Prince Harry. However, after years of emotional distance and revelations of infidelity on both sides, the couple separated in 1992 and finalised their divorce four years later.

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Following Diana’s tragic death in 1997, Charles and Camilla gradually went public with their relationship, eventually marrying in a civil ceremony in 2005.

Assessing the monarch’s second marriage, Catherine Mayer, author of Divide & Rule, said in an interview with Fox News Digital: “I think the non-negotiability was the point after the divorce and, of course, after Diana’s death.

“He understood that this was the one woman who could really sustain him. And I think he felt the need for that kind of support, and Camilla has clearly always been prepared to do that.”