Omari Gates
Princess Diana and Prince Charles' 1983 tour of Australia is depicted in season four of Netflix's The Crown. The six-week trip was the Princess of Wales' first overseas royal tour and proved to be a pivotal moment in the royal couple's relationship. The tour was originally intended to be Prince Charles' first major outing as the future King of England, but the public's fascination with Diana, dubbed Dianamania, caused tension in their marriage. The trip also impacted the plans of the new Australian Prime Minister, Bob Hawke, who wanted to break away from the Commonwealth. However, Princess Diana's popularity in Australia is said to have set the Republican cause back by two decades.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Year | 1983 |
| Tour duration | Six weeks |
| Countries visited | Australia, New Zealand |
| Purpose | To persuade Australia to maintain its ties to the Commonwealth and monarchy |
| Outcome | The tour was a success, with Diana's popularity increasing and affecting plans of the new Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke, who wanted to break away from the Commonwealth |
| Changes in The Crown | The inclusion of Prince William on the tour, Diana's insistence on visiting William, and the depiction of the tour as a turning point in Charles and Diana's marriage |
| Diana's popularity | Diana's global popularity became apparent, with crowds turning out to see her and her husband |
| Impact on Charles | Charles became jealous of Diana's success and popularity, feeling that he was reduced to a walk-on part |
| Diana's experience | Diana was initially fatigued, sunburned, and jet-lagged, but she eventually charmed the country and won over the press |
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What You'll Learn
Diana's popularity
Princess Diana's popularity in Australia was immense. Her 1983 tour of Australia and New Zealand with Prince Charles drew huge crowds, and the public's preference for the Princess was evident. The Australian crowds saw her as "down to earth" and "relatable", and she was so beloved that it set the Republican cause back two decades.
The tour was a challenging experience for Diana, who was just 21 and described as "shy" and "unpredictable" by the press. She was jet-lagged, sunburned, and fatigued, and the constant attention and crowds overwhelmed her. She was photographed crying during a public appearance outside the Sydney Opera House, and she later recalled in an interview that the attention she received upset her husband.
Despite the challenges, the tour was a success, and it firmly established "Dianamania". Diana's popularity and charisma won over the Australian people, and she proved to be a dazzling new PR person for the British Crown.
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Charles' jealousy
Prince Charles and Princess Diana's 1983 tour of Australia was a landmark royal tour, marking the 22-year-old princess' first overseas trip. The tour was a success, but it also marked the beginning of "Dianamania", which caused Prince Charles to become jealous of his wife's success and popularity.
The tour was meant to be Charles's first major outing as the future King of England, but the crowds went mad for Diana, and there were points when Charles was booed and people insisted on seeing Diana instead, which hurt the Prince's feelings. According to Tina Brown, people would "groan in disappointment" when they saw Charles. Charles's letters from the trip reveal his mindset: "I do feel desperate for Diana. There is no twitch she can make without these ghastly, and I am quite convinced, mindless people photographing it...How can anyone, let alone a 21-year-old, be expected to come out of this obsessed and crazed attention unscathed?"
Diana herself acknowledged her husband's jealousy in an interview for Andrew Morton's biography: "He was jealous; I understood the jealousy but I couldn’t explain that I didn’t ask for it." She also said, "How took it out on me. [...] I understood the jealousy, but I couldn't explain that I didn't ask for it."
The impact of the tour on their relationship is clear. According to one source, the tour "changed Diana and Charles's dynamic for good". Lady Joel, the mother of Australian journalist Alexandra Joel, who was working as a local reporter in Sydney at the time, recalled that Charles seemed "jealous" of his wife, although she added that she "probably shouldn't say that".
The success of the tour and the popularity of Diana had political ramifications, too. The tour took place at a tense time in the relationship between the UK and Australia, which had just elected the Labour leader Bob Hawke, a staunch Republican who wanted to eliminate Australia's ties to the Commonwealth and monarchy. However, Diana's popularity "turned the whole mood around", and by the end of the tour, a poll found that Monarchists outnumbered Republicans two to one.
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Diana's first overseas tour
Princess Diana and Prince Charles' first overseas tour together was to Australia and New Zealand in 1983. The trip marked Diana's first overseas trip and her first-ever trip abroad. She was 21 or 22 years old at the time. The couple spent over 40 days in Australia and New Zealand, covering 30,000 miles and making up to eight appearances in one day. They visited Alice Springs, Ayres Rock, Bondi Beach, and Perth, and met with dignitaries and locals.
The tour was also Prince William's first overseas public appearance, as Diana broke with royal tradition by insisting on bringing him along. Diana was the first royal to bring her baby on an overseas tour. Former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser suggested that Charles and Diana bring William, and the tour schedule was not disrupted for this purpose.
Diana's popularity in Australia and New Zealand eclipsed that of her husband. Crowds turned out to see the couple, mainly Diana, and would express disappointment if they were on the "wrong side" of the couple's car or walkabout. One reporter wrote that "people responded more warmly" to Diana than to Charles. The Princess herself commented on her husband's jealousy, saying:
> "I understood the jealousy, but I couldn't explain that I didn't ask for it."
The success of the tour set the Republican cause in Australia back by 10 to 20 years. Princess Diana was so beloved by Australia that when a referendum was held in 1999 on whether Australia should become a republic, the country voted "no".
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Political goals
Princess Diana and Prince Charles's 1983 tour of Australia was a politically sensitive event. It took place at a time when Australia's new leader, Bob Hawke, wanted to eliminate the country's ties to the monarchy and Commonwealth. The royal couple's visit was therefore an attempt to persuade Australians that they still wanted a monarchy.
Diana's popularity in Australia, however, threatened to derail these political goals. The Princess of Wales was a breath of fresh air, bringing "stunning fashion and an endearing presence" to the royal family. Her popularity started to eclipse that of her husband, and Charles became jealous of her success. While Charles was supposed to be the focus of the tour, as the future King of England, crowds went mad for Diana. There were points when Charles was booed, and the crowds insisted on seeing Diana instead.
Diana's popularity in Australia had a lasting impact on the country's political landscape. Hawke was a staunch Republican who was part of the growing anti-monarchy movement in Australia that had been building since the 1970s. However, by the end of Charles and Diana's tour, a poll in Australia found that Monarchists outnumbered Republicans two to one. Princess Diana had proved to be a dazzling new PR person for the British Crown, and her popularity set the Republican cause back two decades. When a referendum was held on Australia becoming a republic in 1999, the country voted "no". This outcome has been attributed to how Princess Diana won the hearts of Australians.
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Diana's trauma
Princess Diana and Prince Charles's 1983 tour of Australia is depicted in season four of Netflix's The Crown. The series takes some artistic license with its storylines, but the tour was a significant moment in the royal couple's relationship and marked a turning point in Diana's life.
The trip was the 21-year-old Diana's first overseas royal tour, and she was already dealing with negative press about her youth, shyness, and rumoured eating disorder. The international press were waiting for the couple in Australia, and Diana's fatigue, sunburn, and jet lag were noted by reporters. However, despite these challenges, she was able to charm and captivate the press and the public.
Diana's popularity and the attention lavished upon her during the tour affected Prince Charles. As the future King of England, he was supposed to be the focus of the trip, but the crowds went wild for Diana. There were points when Charles was booed, and people would express disappointment when he appeared instead of Diana. This dynamic caused tension in their marriage, and Charles became jealous of his wife's success and popularity.
The tour was so traumatic for Diana that she was photographed crying in front of a large crowd outside the Sydney Opera House. Diana's biographer, Andrew Morton, described the tour as a "terrifying baptism of fire" and said that "the tour was utterly traumatic". He also noted that Diana cried in the privacy of her hotel room, unable to handle the constant attention.
Despite the challenges, the tour was a success, and Diana's popularity helped improve the mood towards the monarchy in Australia, which had been growing increasingly Republican since the 1970s. By the end of the tour, a poll found that Monarchists outnumbered Republicans two to one, and Diana had become an international star.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, Princess Diana's popularity in Australia affected Prince Charles. Charles was supposed to be the focus of the tour as it was his first major outing as the future King of England. However, the crowds went mad for Diana, and there were points when Charles was booed and the crowds insisted on seeing Diana instead, which hurt his feelings.
Yes, Princess Diana's popularity in Australia affected the country's political landscape. The tour marked a success for the monarchy, as Diana's popularity set the Republican cause back two decades. In 1999, when a referendum was held on Australia becoming a republic, the country voted "no".
Princess Diana's Australian tour in 1983 was her first overseas royal tour. A journalist who witnessed the tour claimed that Diana "could not have been unchanged by the experience in Australia". The tour also marked an inflection point in her marriage to Prince Charles, as it was during this time that Charles first realized how much the public preferred his wife to him.
