Charles did not like Diana’s surprise Billy Joel dance, ‘it was early sign of doomed marriage’

​Anne Allan explained that there might be two reasons for Charles’ displeasure. One, he’s probably not a man who likes surprises; and two, probably he did not like his wife wearing a slinky dress, showing her body. ” I’m not quite sure whether he thought it was the appropriate thing for Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales.”

Princess Diana’s ballet teacher Anne Allan has written a book ‘Dancing with Diana’ explaining an early sign of a doomed marriage that she picked up from an incident — among many other recollections. In December 1985, Diana danced to Billy Joel’s “Uptown Girl” at the Royal Opera House in London. It was meant to be a surprise for Charles but it became a shock for him as Charles, according to the writer, did not approve of the princess dancing in a slinky gown with no stockings.
“She wanted Charles to approve of it,” Anne told Fox News. Charles’ three-word reaction was “well done, darling”. That’s it. Charles immediately went on to doing something else. “And when you’ve come offstage and your adrenaline is pumping … you just want somebody to tell you that you’re doing all right.”
The episode is not unknown. The Season 4 of the Crown on Netflix showed the dance routine and its aftermath.
Anne Allan explained that there might be two reasons for Charles’ displeasure. One, he’s probably not a man who likes surprises; and two, probably he did not like his wife wearing a slinky dress, showing her body. ” I’m not quite sure whether he thought it was the appropriate thing for Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales.”
But all that Diana was hoping was to light spark in their marriage.
“She just wanted to bring romance into her life, because that’s what she thought it should be. And I know that they had many, many happy times together. . . . She would arrange a nice night . . . and Charles occasionally would do that, too. But he was probably a bit more pragmatic as a person.”
“I think she was much more able to see possibility of how romance should be. I’m not sure if that was how Charles was. She loved holding hands, she loved having a cuddle. She was a very affectionate person. It meant a lot to her to have that in her life.”
The performance was kept under the wrap till the last moment.
“She just thought it would be great fun not telling Charles,” said Allan. “She would just appear, and it would be hugely entertaining, and everybody would maybe have a nice time.”
“More than anything, she wanted to support her husband,” said Allan. “That’s what mattered to her. She loved him dearly, and she just wanted him to shine. . . . When articles became more and more about her, she just said, ‘I do wish they would spend more time photographing Charles than I. I don’t want to make things difficult.’”
When Diana told Anne she just wanted to be loved
Princess Diana and Anne eventually developed a friendship, and Diana would frequently seek Anne’s counsel. In the book, Diana is quoted expressing her distress over her husband’s affair, saying, “I know he’s seeing Camilla again. Why doesn’t he love me? I just can’t understand.”
“I have tried everything, tried to conform to his wishes even though I don’t always agree. There’s no affection between us, and I am always on my own. I just want to be loved. I can’t keep going on like this. They are really expecting me to just say nothing and keep going. How do I do that?”
“Anne, he runs off to Camilla whenever he can. It’s not at all what I want. I’d like the marriage to work, but it just isn’t for now. Do I just put up with it, hoping he will change?”