Prince Charles’ Marriage to Diana was ‘Idiotic,’ Says Former German Chanellor 

Prince Charles’ Marriage to Diana was ‘Idiotic,’ Says Former German Chanellor

By Jack Phillips, Epoch Times | October 14, 2014

The Prince and Princess of Wales, Prince Charles and Princess Diana leave St. Mary\'s Hospital in Paddington, London with William\'s brother—to be named Prince Harry—on Sept. 16, 1984. (AP Photo)

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Princess Diana’s marriage to Prince Charles was an “absolutely idiotic affair,” said ex-German leader Helmut Kohl in a new book.

Kohl, who was chancellor from 1982 until 1998, said he was not impressed with Diana’s marriage to Charles in 1981.

“Her marriage was an absolutely idiotic affair,” he said, according to the Daily Mail. “Had she become queen immediately she would have done her bit in bed, created three princes and her duty to the nation would have been fulfilled. But like this she had to travel around, talk to mayors and so on and then she withered away.”

But he said Charles was “entirely friendly,” according to the Express. He also described Prince Philip as a “blockhead” in the book.

The book is being published by journalist Heribert Schwan, who was tasked with writing the ex-chancellor’s memoirs, but the relationship between the two fell apart in 2001 and 2002.

A court told Schwan that he needed to return the tapes that contained what Kohl said.

“These recordings reveal that, contrary to popular belief, Kohl is a man with a sense of humour. The passages about the royals are particularly amusing,” said Tilman Jens, who co-authored the book, according to the Express.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel (L) and former Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi (R) accompany former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl at his arrival at a gala evening in his honour at the Deutsches Museum on September 27, 2012 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Prince Harry and Prince William paid a tribute to Diana via a charity set up in her name. The Diana Award, as it has been called, is intended to tackle bullying and social exclusion and was set up two years after she died.

“We believe, when encouraged and supported, that young people have the ability to change society for the better,” the two said in a joint forward. “We know that our mother – in whose memory this award was established – felt the same and would be proud of its achievements to date.”

“Having met young people working with the charity in Newcastle and in London, we were struck in both cases by their deep and lasting sense of social responsibility,” they said. “These young people were working hard to tackle the social issues that affected them – such as bullying or social exclusion – and the Diana Award empowered them to do more.”