Diana and Charles Engagement

Yes, Annie but she was a child then.

Diana hadn’t only been on the scene for a few months, she lived in Sandringham before they moved to Althorp.

Charles visited Althorp when he was dating Diana’s sister Sarah.

Why anyone ever thought a over-sensitive nineteen year old from a broken home a suitable bride for any member of the House of Windsor beats me, and did then.

I agree.... but apparently the grandmothers of both of them thought it was a perfect match.

I doubt Diana's putative virginity was a consideration, all the Royal Family needed to know was that she wasn't pregnant by someone else!

What was worrying was the fact that the heir to the Throne was over 30 and still unmarried and showing no inclination to marry.

Obviously, if he had married a woman of his own age, there would have been concerns that she might have difficulty conceiving, but he could well have married a woman in her mid-twenties without that being a bother.

Why anyone ever thought a over-sensitive nineteen year old from a broken home a suitable bride for any member of the House of Windsor beats me, and did then.

I doubt if anyone would bother over something so trivial.

Baggs my question also. It would be a tad difficult nowadays!

yggdrasil

The Palace needed to be sure the heir to the throne was marrying a virgin. That was why anyone older would have been a problem

Why did The Palace need to be sure about that?

The Palace needed to be sure the heir to the throne was marrying a virgin. That was why anyone older would have been a problem

I was 19 and got married in 1980 so I don't think it was anything unusual for that age/era but now? I think there would be a lot more questioning of a man of 30s and a young girl of 19.