Princess Diana withheld a significant piece of information from then Prince Charles during her pregnancy with Prince Harry: she knew the baby was a boy but did not tell him. The royal couple, who married in July 1981, had announced in November of that year that they were expecting their first son, Prince William. In February 1984, they announced they were expecting again, but Diana kept the baby's gender a secret from her husband.
Royal author reveals Diana's secret
According to royal author Ingrid Seward, Charles was surprised to learn they had welcomed another son, but Diana was not. Seward claims in her biography, Catherine & Diana: "Oddly, despite the closeness she had felt with Charles before Harry's birth, she never told him she was expecting another boy. She knew he longed for a daughter, and her extreme vulnerability made her keep this piece of intimate information from him."
In Andrew Morton's book, Diana: Her True Story, Diana said of her relationship with Charles that the time before Harry was born was "the closest we've ever, ever been and ever will be". She also revealed that Charles was disappointed when he learned Harry was a boy, remarking: "Oh God, it's a boy. And he's even got red hair."
Impact on the royal family
Diana's tapes, which formed the basis of the official biography, also revealed that Charles's comments caused upset in the Spencer family and disappointed the late Queen Elizabeth. Diana recounted: "At Harry's christening, Charles went up to Mummy [Queen Elizabeth] and said 'we're so disappointed, we wanted a girl' and Mummy snapped his head off and said 'you should realise you are lucky to have a child that's normal'."
Diana added that this exchange negatively impacted the King's relationship with his mother, explaining: "Ever since that day, the shutters have come down. That's what he does when he gets somebody answering back at him."
