Princess Diana maintained different levels of relationships with her brothers-in-law during her time within the British royal family.
As the wife of the then Prince Charles, Diana had relationships with his siblings, Prince Edward, Prince Andrew, and Princess Anne.
Prince Edward and Princess Diana
When Diana married Prince Charles in 1981, Prince Edward, the youngest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip was 17 years old.
At first, Edward and Diana had a normal relationship, there was only 3 3-year difference between them.
However, as the years went by Edward felt that she was “redefining” the institution and decided to distance himself from her.
Ingrid Seward, in her book “Prince Edward: A Biography”, assured that Edward “distrusted” the Princess of Wales, ever since she began her relationship with Charles.
The new Duke of Edinburgh allegedly sensed “the problems that would be caused” by Diana in the family.
According to reports, Edward kept his distance from Princess Diana, preparing for “trouble to come.”
The relationship deteriorated after Charles and Diana’s separation in 1992.
Edward remained loyal to his older brother during the stormy divorce.
This caused a definite estrangement with Diana, who felt that the royal family had abandoned her.
Princess Diana and Princess Anne
Princess Anne, Elizabeth II’s only daughter, never had a close relationship with Diana. In fact, it was rumored that Anne was jealous of her sister-in-law’s glamour and popularity.
Richard Kay, a journalist specializing in the royal family assured that:
“Princess Anne did not like Diana. She disapproved of the way she handled herself during her public engagements, and the way she took advantage of the cameras and the media to promote herself.”
Anne reproached how Diana handled her divorce from Charles and that she should have handled the matter privately instead of publicly airing her marital problems.
In 1992, Diana secretly collaborated on the biography “Diana: Her True Story,” in which she criticized the royal family. This ended up fracturing the fragile relationship between the two sisters-in-law.
Princess Diana and Prince Andrew
In contrast, Diana of Wales had a very close relationship with Prince Andrew, the second son of Elizabeth II and Philip of Edinburgh.
“Diana’s relationship with Prince Andrew was much warmer,” Kay said.
Hence also the princess’s complicity and close friendship with the Duke of York’s ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson.
However, Andrew remained loyal to the royal family during Charles and Diana’s divorce. He sided with his older brother, which displeased Lady Di.
Andrew also disapproved of Diana going public with her marital problems.
In short, the popular and charismatic Diana had ups and downs in her relationship with her rigid royal brothers-in-law.
Charles’s divorce caused the total fracture of relations.
Still, they all shared in the mourning when Diana tragically passed away in 1997.