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'YOU'RE NOT GOING OUT IN THAT ARE YOU?'

Princess Diana revealed husband-to-be Charles ruined their first official date by mocking her dress in newly released tapes

PRINCESS Diana told in newly released tapes how Charles ruined their first ­official date when he criticised her dress.

The pair stepped out before the cameras in March 1981 for a bash in aid of the Royal Opera House but Di was soon close to tears.

 Princess Di wore a black satin dress on her first official date with then husband-to-be Prince Charles
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Princess Di wore a black satin dress on her first official date with then husband-to-be Prince Charles

She said: “I remember walking into my husband-to-be’s study and him saying, ‘You’re not going in that dress, are you?’

“I replied, ‘Yes I am.’ And he said, ‘It’s black! Only people in mourning wear black!’ And I said, ‘Yes, but I’m not part of your family yet.’

“Black, to me, was the smartest colour you could possibly have at the age of 19. It was a real grown-up dress.

“I was quite big-chested then, and they (the press) all got frightfully excited. I learned a lesson that night.”

 The tapes reveal that the couple quarrelled over Diana's choice of dress colour
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The tapes reveal that the couple quarrelled over Diana's choice of dress colourCredit: Rex Features

Desperate Diana said she “shrunk to nothing” in the months leading up to her fairytale wedding to the prince as she battled bulimia.

Di’s struggle with the eating disorder began just days after Charles proposed to her in February 1981 — five months before they wed at St Paul’s Cathedral.

 Love rival ... Diana spoke about her frequent rows with Charles over Camilla and how he gave her a bracelet just days before the wedding
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Love rival ... Diana spoke about her frequent rows with Charles over Camilla and how he gave her a bracelet just days before the weddingCredit: Rex Features

In newly revealed tape recordings in which she poured her heartbreak out to biographer Andrew Morton, she said: “I remember the first time I made myself sick. I was so thrilled because I thought this was the release of tension.

“The first time I was measured for my wedding dress, I was 29 inches around the waist.

“The day I got married, I was 23½ inches. I had shrunk into nothing from February to July.”

 Diana pours her heartache out to biographer Andrew Morton in newly released tapes
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Diana pours her heartache out to biographer Andrew Morton in newly released tapes
 The princess talked about her battle with bulimia starting shortly after Charles called her 'a bit chubby'
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The princess talked about her battle with bulimia starting shortly after Charles called her 'a bit chubby'Credit: PA:Press Association

The princess, who was Lady Diana Spencer when she was a ­royal-in-waiting, described feeling isolated and intimidated in the run-up to her wedding day.

She said: “The bulimia started the week after we got engaged.

“My husband put his hand on my waistline and said, ‘Oh, a bit chubby here, aren’t we?’ and that triggered off something in me.”

 Princess Diana at her first official date with husband-to-be Prince Charles and Princess Grace of Monaco
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Princess Diana at her first official date with husband-to-be Prince Charles and Princess Grace of MonacoCredit: PA:Press Association

Diana recalled meeting Charles for the first time in November 1977 when he was going out with her then 22-year-old sister Sarah.

He came to stay at the ­Spencer family home in Althorp, Northants. Di said her first impression was: “God, what a sad man.”

She recalled how shocked she was when Charles made a pass at her a few years later.

 19-year-old Diana felt black was the smartest colour to wear and felt very 'grown-up' in her dress
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19-year-old Diana felt black was the smartest colour to wear and felt very 'grown-up' in her dressCredit: AP:Associated Press

Di said: “The next minute, he leapt on me practically, and I thought this was very strange.

“I wasn’t quite sure how to cope. Frigid was the word.”

Amazingly, Di revealed she had to call Charles “Sir” and was only allowed to use his first name after they married.

She also spoke of her agony at Charles’s lies after discovering he had sent flowers to Camilla Parker Bowles using their nicknames Gladys and Fred.

 Diana first met Charles in 1977 when he was dating her sister Sarah
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Diana first met Charles in 1977 when he was dating her sister SarahCredit: PA:Press Association

She admitted: “I never dealt with that side of things. I just said to him, ‘You must always be honest with me.’”

Di told how Camilla called Charles before he left for a royal tour of Australia and New Zealand.

She said: “I was in his study talking to him when the telephone rang. It was Camilla.

“I thought, ‘Shall I be nice and leave him alone so he can talk to her in private, or shall I sit here?’"

 The Princess admitted she 'learned a lesson' about the press the night she wore the black satin dress
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The Princess admitted she 'learned a lesson' about the press the night she wore the black satin dressCredit: PA:Press Association Archive

“I thought I’d be nice, so I left them to it. It just broke my heart.

“We always had discussions about Camilla, though. I once heard him on the telephone in his bath on his hand-held set saying, ‘Whatever ­happens, I will always love you.’

“I told him afterwards that I had listened at the door, and we had a filthy row.”

 Diana revealed in the tapes that she had frequent heated discussions with Charles about Camilla
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Diana revealed in the tapes that she had frequent heated discussions with Charles about CamillaCredit: Getty Images

Di discussed how angry she was at discovering Charles had given Camilla a bracelet with the letters G and F entwined just two weeks before the wedding.

She said: “I walked into this man’s office and said, ‘What’s in that parcel?’

“He said, ‘Oh, you shouldn’t look at that.’ I said, ‘Well, I’m going to look at it.’

“I opened it and there was the bracelet, and I said, ‘I know where this is going.’"

 The Prince is reported to have given Camilla a bracelet just two weeks before marrying Diana
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The Prince is reported to have given Camilla a bracelet just two weeks before marrying DianaCredit: Getty Images

“I was devastated. This was about two weeks before we got married.

“He said, ‘Well, he’s going to give it to her tonight.’

“So rage, rage, rage! ‘Why can’t you be honest with me?’ But no — Charles cut me absolutely dead."

 Diana revealed in the tapes how angry she was about Charles's relationship with Camilla
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Diana revealed in the tapes how angry she was about Charles's relationship with CamillaCredit: PA:Press Association

“It’s as if he had made his ­decision. If it wasn’t going to work, it wasn’t going to work. He’d found the virgin, the sacrificial lamb, and in a way he was obsessed with me.

“He took the bracelet lunchtime on Monday. We got ­married on the Wednesday.”

Diana reportedly recorded the account in 1991 as her marriage began to disintegrate.

Twenty years on from their mother’s death, the Duke of ­Cambridge and Prince Harry have now spoken publicly about their experience of mental health issues.

As part of their Heads Together campaign, Harry told how he sought counselling to deal with his grief.
William said it took him “almost 20 years” to be able to speak “more honestly” about his mother.

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