Princess Diana Appeared ‘Too Short’ In Throwback Photo With Prince Charles

Princess Diana was tall but in one photo she appeared “too short” for Prince Charles.

A throwback photo of the Prince and Princess of Wales was shared on Instagram. In the black and white picture, Prince Charles is standing tall while Princess Diana’s face is just on his chest level.

Princess Diana could be sitting that’s why she appeared “too short” but the chair isn’t visible in the snap since the picture only shows up to Princess Diana’s shoulder level. One netizen couldn’t help but wonder about Princess Diana’s height.

One commented that the two were of the same height. A different user pointed out how Princess Diana had to wear flat shoes in their engagement photos to make Prince Charles look taller. In some instances, the heir apparent had to be on a higher step or on top of a box.

The Prince and Princess of Wales both stand 5 feet, 8 inches tall. The photos where Prince Charles appeared taller than Princess Diana were staged to conform to the idea that men should be taller than their wives.

“This effort to make Charles appear taller is a social commitment to the idea that men are taller and women shorter,” Professor Lisa Wade of the Occidental College in Los Angeles explained. “When our own bodies, and our chosen mates, don’t follow this rule, sometimes we’ll go to great lengths to preserve the illusion.”

“When Charles and Diana were posed together formally, however, they were typically arranged so as to suggest that he was significantly taller than her, or at least to disguise the fact that he was not.”

Prince Charles and Princess Diana had a fairytale-like wedding, but their marriage was very different. The couple ended up in divorce just years after welcoming their two sons, Prince William and Prince Harry.

In 1992, the couple announced their separation. In 1993, Princess Diana humiliated Prince Charles when she suddenly appeared in a state banquet where her presence wasn’t expected.

However, Richard Kay and Geoffrey Levy reported that Queen Elizabeth II actually invited Princess Diana in hopes that she and Prince Charles would still rekindle their romance. However, the surprise reportedly infuriated Prince Charles, Princess Anne and Queen Mother.