Charles reportedly told Diana he ‘might be gay’ in sarcastic reply, claims new book

Charles response to his then-wife Diana came when they stopped having sex and their marriage began to crumble, according to a new book.

King Charles and Princess Diana’s volatile marriage had royal protection officers fearing for their safety, according to an explosive new book.

In his upcoming biography, The King: the Life of Charles III, author Christopher Andersen calls the royal couple’s relationship “highly combustible” and refers to claims Diana hurled epithets and mocked her husband’s obsession with “the dreary looking Camilla”, the New York Post reports.

King Charles and Princess Diana’s marriage was “highly combustible”, according to a new book. Picture: AFP

According to the book, Diana become physically aggressive with King Charles, with one valet reportedly watching on as the princess “literally pursued” her husband “down hallways, up staircases and from room to room” at Charles’ Highgrove House country retreat.

Andersen refers to a number of arguments between the pair, including one where Diana asks her husband, “why won’t you sleep with me”, after he “called a halt to their sexual relationship”, reportedly since the birth of Prince Harry.

The new book claims “violence seemed inevitable”. Picture: Getty Images

The King reportedly responded sarcastically: “I don’t know, dear. I think I might be gay.”

According to the book, Diana told her husband he would never be king, after he demanded a level of respect “that he felt his position warranted”.

“Do you know who I am?” he allegedly asked his wife, who reportedly answered that he was a “f***ing animal”.

“William will succeed your mother. I will see to that,” she reportedly said.

Diana referred to her husband’s mistress as the “dreary-looking Camilla”. Picture: AFP

Andersen writes that a bodyguard claims “the clashes between Diana and Charles were now so raw that “violence seemed inevitable’”, with royal security staff reportedly on high alert.

The author also claims that Charles felt pressure from his father, Prince Philip, to marry Diana, and was annoyed by her giggles during his proposal, calling her “juvenile and unnerving”.

Before long, Diana realised her fiance was in love with then-mistress, Camilla Parker-Bowels

“Consumed by anger and frustration, both bride and groom separately cried themselves to sleep the night before the wedding,” the book claims.

The couple separated in 1992 and divorced in 1996. Just a year later, Diana was killed in a car crash, aged 36.

The King: The Life of Charles III is available from November 8.

Originally published as Charles reportedly told Diana he ‘might be gay’ in sarcastic reply, claims new book