The entire world as well as the Netflix series, The Crown, blames Prince Charles for the collapse of his marriage to Princess Diana, as he rekindled flames with first loveCamilla Parker Bowles. However, an ex-aide claims that it was the other way around. Meaning, it was Diana and not Charles, who initially cheated in the marriage.
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Former royal aide Allan Peters has come forward with a startling new account of events. According to his claims, Charles did not pursue romantic feelings for Camilla until he realised Diana was having an affair with fellow protection officer Barry Mannakee.
So much for the ‘protection’ officer
Barry Mannakee worked as a protection officer for Diana for almost a decade. He started working for Diana in 1985 and, their romance started off in the same year while they were on a fishing trip at Balmoral. Allan claimed in a recent CNN documentary:
The popular perception is that the Prince of Wales was straying all the way through his marriage — and that is definitely, unequivocally, not the case.
The first person that strayed was the Princess. He went back to see Mrs Parker Bowles after he learned about her affair with Mannakee.
This is not the first time someone has blamed Diana for adultery. Royal author Jonathan Dimbleby presented a similar narrative in his 1994 biography on Charles.
The affair of 1985
While Mannakee and Diana had a good start in 1985, he was later transferred from working at the palace to the Diplomatic protection squad in 1986. As per Allan, this did not go down well with Diana and that is when he confronted Prince Charles about the affair. When Charles approached Allan to understand Diana’s weird behaviour, he was faced with the brutal truth.
So, I said: 'You've got to talk to her.' And he said: 'Well, I've tried all that, and the only thing that seems to be upsetting her is that Barry Mannakee is going back to uniform.
And, if she's that upset, Barry can stay.
At that stage, I was forced to say: 'Well, Sir, if he stays, then I'm afraid I'll have to leave.' “And, I think, at that point, the penny dropped. He was utterly shocked and was clearly very upset.
Considering the state of their marriage, nobody is a victim here. After Harry’s birth in 1984, the couple was reported to be sleeping in separate bedrooms, and by 1986 the two were taking vacations separately. Allan commented:
Nobody is the villain. In my view, everyone is the victim. Charles was under a lot of pressure to get married and she, too, was the victim of this whole process.
