My first Royal tour was Charles and Diana’s ‘depressing’ go to to South Korea… it wasn’t what ended their marriage – the true ‘ultimate straw’ was way more mundane, claims ROBERT HARDMAN

Robert Hardman has lifted the lid on Charles and Diana’s ‘miserable’ final royal tour together, claiming the trip to South Korea wasn’t what ended their marriage. 

The royal correspondent was sent to Seoul in November 1992 for his first ever foreign assignment covering the couple’s four-day visit to honour British troops who fought in the Korean War. 

The tour came just months after Andrew Morton’s explosive biography Diana: Her True Story had been published, revealing Diana’s deep unhappiness and sparking a media frenzy around the couple.

Speaking on the Daily Mail’s Queens, Kings and Dastardly Things podcast, Hardman pushed back against claims the tour was ‘the straw that broke the camel’s back’ for the marriage.

Hardman told co-host and historian Kate Williams that coverage of the visit was ‘unfair’ – although he acknowledged it ‘wasn’t easy’ for the Prince and Princess.

Robert Hardman has lifted the lid on Charles and Diana’s ‘miserable’ final royal tour together, claiming the trip to South Korea wasn’t what ended their marriage

The royal correspondent was sent to Seoul in November 1992 for his first ever foreign assignment covering the couple’s four-day visit

On the latest instalment of the Queens, Kings and Dastardly Things podcast, royal biographers Robert Hardman and Kate Williams chart the extraordinary life of Diana, Princess of Wales 

He argued that, like most couples who eventually split, the real incident that finally ended things was something far more mundane.

‘The tour was eye-opening for all sorts of reasons’, Hardman said.

‘The thing that sticks in my mind was that, on the one hand, you had the royal soap opera. It was clear it wasn’t an easy time for them.

‘But I remember thinking, well done both of you – because this is pretty miserable and they were putting their best foot forward for the country.’

‘There was this subtext of unhappiness [between them]. There was a moment where the couple were caught on camera looking in opposite directions, appearing particularly downcast.

‘I remember the headline: it said, The Glums. That seemed unfair to me, because they were actually at a wreath laying ceremony in a cemetery.

‘I remember one Palace press officer coming up and berating the press. He said: ‘What’s all this stuff about the glums? They’re in a cemetery – what do you expect? Cartwheels?’

‘There was an underlying truth to it, it would be their last tour together. Although it wasn’t the event that brought things to a final halt.’

The tour came just months after Andrew Morton’s explosive biography Diana: Her True Story, revealing Diana’s deep unhappiness and sparking a media frenzy around the couple

Hardman told co-host and historian Kate Williams that coverage of the visit was ‘unfair’ – although he acknowledged it ‘wasn’t easy’ for the Prince and Princess

The incident that Hardman claims ended the marriage was a scheduled trip to Sandringham in late November 1992.

Aristocratic families from across the country would be bringing their children to a shooting weekend, with Charles and Diana again expected to put on ‘a united front’.

He said: ‘There were going to be lots of families there and the boys, William and Harry, were supposed to be coming out.

‘Diana said – actually, I am not going. I’m taking the boys elsewhere.

‘Charles said – hang on, this whole weekend’s been organised. And she just said no, I’m not doing it.

‘That was the moment when the couple thought, this can’t carry on. It was then the separation was decided.’

The separation was officially announced to Parliament by Prime Minister John Major on 9 December 1992.

You can listen to the second episode of the Queens, Kings and Dastardly Things miniseries The Diana Years wherever you get your podcasts – or watch on YouTube.