Social media users have been left cringing over resurfaced footage of Prince Charles discussing his future bride.
The Prince of Wales was 32 years old when he married Princess Diana in 1981, but the video of Charles thought to be from the late 1960s or early 1970s reveals the question of exactly who he would marry had played on his mind in the years beforehand.
During the resurfaced clip, an interviewer asked Charles whether he had 'any thoughts about the lady that a Prince of Wales should marry'.
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The question prompted Charles, who was likely in his 20s at the time, to laugh and admit the question of his future wife was 'sort of difficult'.
"You've got to remember that when you marry in my position you're going to marry somebody who perhaps one day is going to become queen, and you've got to choose somebody very carefully.
"It's got to be somebody pretty special," Charles said, explaining he had to choose someone who was 'used' to the kind of life they would live as his wife.
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The video was shared on the Instagram page Lost In History Pics, where it received thousands of likes and comments from viewers who were clearly made uncomfortable by its resurfacing.
Responding to the clip, one person joked: "I feel like I need to address this video with my therapist…"
Another commented, "I wish I had never seen that," while a third agreed, writing: "I could’ve gone my whole life without seeing this."
It's unclear whether Charles had already met Diana at the time the interview took place, as the pair first met at Diana's family estate Althorp House in 1977. Vogue reports Charles was dating Diana's older sister, Sarah, at the time, however he is said to have ended the relationship after Sarah allegedly told a journalist she wouldn’t marry Charles 'if he were the dustman or the King of England'.
Charles and Diana were confirmed to be in a relationship in 1980, and the prince proposed the following year at Windsor Castle.
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The pair were married for more than a decade, but ultimately divorced in 1996, just one year before Diana lost her life in a car crash.
The Prince of Wales went on to marry Camilla Parker Bowles, who he had also met in the 1970s. The pair announced their engagement in 2005 and married the same year, at which point Camilla gained the title Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall.
Featured Image Credit: Lost In History/Instagram/BBC ArchiveTopics: Prince Charles, The Queen