Princes William and Harry could meet at the funeral of Princess Diana's aunt. Photo / AP
Princes William and Harry could meet at the funeral of Princess Diana's aunt. Photo / AP
While Britain and most of the world were caught up in the wedding fever that was Prince Charles and Diana’s fairytale wedding, one family relative wasn’t as enthralled as everyone else, according to the Daily Mail.
Mary Roche, Diana’s aunt - who died last Friday at the age of 88 - reportedly had a fair sense of trepidation prior to her niece’s nuptials.
The apprehensive aunt spotted Diana looking “unhappy” while at a pre-wedding event at Buckingham Palace in 1981, where other invitees reported the future bride to be in good spirits.
While Diana was growing up, Mary was extremely close to her niece and knew her to be “very natural and prone to giggles, a lot of fun”.
“I just remember her being unhappy at that reception”, she later revealed.
Mary Roche was the daughter of the 4th Lord Fermoy and was the older sister of Diana’s mother, Frances Shand Kydd.
Their father was an acquaintance of George VI and the eldest son of Frances Ellen Work, an American heiress. Their mother, Ruth, was a friend and lady-in-waiting to the Queen Mother.
Roche revealed later on that she had thought her 20-year-old niece was not well-suited to marry the future monarch, who was 33 at the time.
“They were at very different stages of development,” she explained. “Diana was young and had limited life experience, and Prince Charles was already a great thinker. He read a great deal. They were, perhaps, different people.”
Diana’s car accident wasn’t the only tragedy to affect Mary Roche. Tory MP Sir Anthony Berry, her first ex-husband, was murdered by the IRA in 1984 during the Brighton hotel bombing. Berry was the son of Gomer Berry, the 1st Viscount Kemsley and the former owner of the Daily Telegraph.
Diana’s aunt Mary Roche had a sense of trepidation about her niece's marriage to Prince Charles. Photo / Getty Images
This poises the question: could the bickering brothers, Prince William and Harry, reunite at the funeral of their mother’s close confidante?
Royal enthusiasts have already been speculating whether Harry and Meghan will decide to bury the hatchet and reunite with the family at the King’s Coronation in May.
While there has been confirmation that the Sussexes have received their invitation to the royal event of the year, they have not hinted at whether they will attend or not.
King Charles’ coronation, a spectacle that is expected to be watched by millions of people in the UK and possibly billions globally, is set to take place on May 6, which just so happens to be Harry’s son Archie’s 4th birthday.
The news of Mary Roche’s death comes just days after word spread about the Sussexes’ eviction from Frogmore Cottage by King Charles, a move that many suspect will throw a spanner in the works with regards to future UK trips for the Montecito-based royals.
