Princess Diana’s alarming pre-royal interview that predicted her future struggles

Princess Diana and Prince Charles’s marriage was a roller coaster of emotions, setbacks and drama.

And while most of the hostility remained concealed behind closed doors, the late Princess of Wales had on numerous occasions dropped hints of her turbulent royal life.

BBC’s Angela Rippon and ITV’s Andrew Gardener sat down for an interview with Prince Charles and Princess Diana before their marriage.

With the interview being pre-approved beforehand, the engaged couple was warned not to stray from the script.

Years later, Rippon discussed the interview in great detail in Channel 5 documentary, Charles and Di: The Truth Behind their Wedding.

"When we first arrived at the Palace and met Prince Charles and Diana in a corridor, Prince Charles as always was very relaxed. Lady Diana less so, it was a whole new experience for her,” she said.

Queen Elizabeth’s press secretary Michael Shea had given the two journalists a briefing beforehand how they were not to deviate from the set of pre-approved questions.

Rippon revealed that Shea stood out of the camera shot but right in front of Diana’s eye line.

"I'm not quite sure how comfortable it made her feel. I got the impression that Princes Charles was very protective towards her. Lady Diana was almost slumped in the chair, she was in new territory. She was out of her depth,” she said.

"Put any 20-year-old in front of a television camera and say this is an interview about what could be one of the most important days of your life and it's going to be seen by hundreds of millions of people around the world, and there is this man standing behind the person interviewing you making sure you get it right. Crikey, anyone would be nervous,” she said.

"With the knowledge of hindsight you read so much more into body language, what was said, looks that were given, reactions. That's the value of hindsight isn't it,” she went on to say.

"That expression on Diana's face at the end speaks volumes. Maybe we should have read so much more into that five seconds at the end the interview. It might have told us so much more about what was to come,” she added.