charles diana honeymoon

Inside King Charles and Princess Diana's private second honeymoon – all the photos

The Italy trip celebrated their tenth wedding anniversary

Deputy Lifestyle Editor
November 14, 2022

King Charles and his first wife, the late Princess Diana, iconically posed for photos as they headed on their honeymoon back in July 1981, but they reportedly went on a total of three (or perhaps even four!) breaks to celebrate their marriage.

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Following their royal wedding, the then-Prince and Princess of Wales had a three-month-long honeymoon, followed by another private boat trip in Italy to mark their tenth wedding anniversary in 1991 – and the latter was touched upon in season five of The Crown.

WATCH: The Crown season five teases Diana and Charles' divorce

It sparked quite a reaction among fans, with some Twitter fans commenting: "A second honeymoon with you, me, and 20 other people," and: "He brought along other people to the honeymoon?!?!!!!!" Take a look back at the best photos and details from all of their honeymoons

The royals heading on their honeymoon following their wedding in 1981

In 1981, Charles and Diana started married life by catching the train to Romsey in Hampshire where they stayed at Prince Philip's family home, the Broadlands estate.

READ: I lied about my honeymoon to get five hotel upgrades – and more couples' confessions

MORE: Princess Anne's honeymoon menu onboard Royal Yacht Britannia is so luxurious - and you can try it

Diana and Charles were pictured on the royal yacht Britannia

They then enjoyed an 11-day cruise on board the royal yacht Britannia, which they boarded at the Rock of Gibraltar before visiting Algeria, Tunisia, Sicily, the Greek islands and Egypt. To finish off their travels in October, Charles and Diana flew to his mother the late Queen Elizabeth II's Scottish home, Balmoral.

The Prince and Princess of Wales flew to Balmoral

Fast-forward ten years and the royal couple were joined by their two children Prince William and Prince Harry on their Italian boat trip.

© Photo: Rex

Diana rocked a pink floral suit as she boarded a boat in 1991

In August 1991, Diana was pictured boarding the Alexander Yacht in Naples wearing a white top layered underneath a bright pink floral skirt suit, while Charles wore a cream suit. Their two young sons looked smart in matching cream trousers, polo tops and sunglasses.

© Photo: Rex

Princes William and Harry joined the couple on their "second honeymoon"

But they weren't alone on their trip, which was dubbed a "second honeymoon" at the time. Then-Prince Charles' cousin Norton Knatchbull, his wife Penelope and their children Alexandra and Nicholas were reportedly among the guest list, alongside several aides.

© Photo: Rex

They enjoyed a private boat trip with the Knatchbulls

Nicholas was spotted enjoying a spot of swimming while smiling up at William and Harry, who stood on the boat. Nicholas' sister was not pictured, but she was battling with kidney cancer at the time and sadly died aged five shortly after they returned from their trip in October 1991.

While The Crown depicts the "honeymoon" as one full of tension, not much is known about the real-life private boat trip. However, Princess Diana and now-King Charles III separated in December of the following year, and they divorced in 1996.

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