Princess Diana ‘made a top secret visit to Australia to clear her head’ before marrying Prince Charles and becoming one of the most famous women in the world
Before embarking on her famous royal tour of Australia in 1983, Princess Diana visited the country alone in February 1981.
According to a report by 9Honey on Thursday, the late royal travelled to Australia to clear her head before announcing her engagement to Prince Charles.
Her low-key trip Down Under appeared to have gone unnoticed, with Diana travelling to Yass, a town in New South Wales, to visit her mother, Frances Spencer.
Secret visit: Before embarking on her famous royal tour of Australia in 1983, Princess Diana visited the country alone in February 1981. Pictured in London in November 1980
She decided to visit after Prince Charles, 72, proposed, but urged her to think carefully about what her life as a royal would entail.
‘She came for a three-week holiday to stay with her mum in Yass and it was just a week after Prince Charles had proposed to her,’ royal author Juliet Rieden told Talking Honey.
‘She had said yes but it hadn’t been announced to the world. [Diana] had this really big secret that she was keeping, and was hiding away in Australia and pretty much came in under the radar.’
The great escape: According to a report by 9Honey on Thursday, the late royal travelled to Australia to clear her head before announcing her engagement to Prince Charles. Pictured together in Balmoral
Diana later returned to Australia for a royal tour after marrying Charles and welcoming son Prince William, now 38.
It was one of three visits to Australia Diana made with her husband, before their divorce in 1996.
She tragically died a year later on August 31, 1997 at the age of 36, after being involved in a fatal car accident in Paris.
Welcome return: Diana later returned to Australia for a royal tour after marrying Charles and welcoming son Prince William (left). Pictured after arriving in Australia in March 1983
The royal couple first visited Australia together in March 1983, and according to a report by Vogue in November, the monarchy was worried about how Diana would handle the high-pressure tour.
‘The Queen is “terribly worried” before the tour because of Diana’s youth and apparent shyness,’ the Press Association’s royal correspondent Grania Forbes wrote at the time.
But they didn’t have to worry, with Diana winning fans and charming the country during the visit.
On tour: The royal couple first visited Australia together in March 1983, and according to a report by Vogue in November, the monarchy was worried about how Diana would handle the high-pressure tour. Pictured together in Uluru in March 1981
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