Confession: I am completely obsessed with Meghan Markle. She was just a regular American woman (well, as “regular” as a successful actor can be) who was swept off her feet by a real life prince. It's basically a freakin' fairytale! But she's not the first non-royal to marry a Windsor and capture our hearts. Diana Spencer, the original "people's princess," was the first commoner to marry a British royal in over three centuries, when she married Prince Charles. Sadly, they split after 15 years, and Prince Charles and Diana’s astrological compatibility goes a long way toward explaining why, despite an epically romantic beginning, the pair was just not meant to be.
Prince Charles is a Scorpio (born Nov. 14, 1948) and Diana was a Cancer (born July 1, 1961), and while these two passionate water signs have the potential to be incredibly compatible, they can also be a highly volatile pairing who can, when things take a bad turn, spiral quickly and are nearly impossible to bounce back. Sadly for Charles and Diana, this proved to be the case, and what started off as a fairytale became toxic. There have been a handful of books on the subject, but here is how their astrological traits may have contributed to the downfall of their relationship.
Diana and Charles first met in 1977 when Charles was dating Diana's sister, Lady Sarah Spencer (now McCorquodale), but by 1980 he was courting Diana, taking her away to the country on vacation and out sailing on the royal yacht. In 1981, the two were engaged and appeared to be very much in love. They were married at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London in a ceremony that was watched by 750 million people on TV. It was the very definition of a fairytale wedding. While there were some signs of strain early on, it seemed as though they were on their way to happily ever after.
This initial powerful chemistry and connection is very common in Cancer and Scorpio pairings. Emotional and security-loving Cancers are drawn to the power and magnetism of Scorpio. While Scorpio tends to be extremely guarded with their heart, they actually long for someone they can be vulnerable with, and loving Cancer gives them that opportunity to feel safe opening up. For someone like Charles, who had (and surely still has) the added pressure of living his whole life in the public eye, feeling safe must be an even rarer thing, and it could explain why he is so drawn to Cancers. (His current wife, Camilla Parker Bowles, is also a Cancer.) This is why these couples, when they find one another, tend to rush headlong into a committed relationship without paying attention to red flags along the way.
By 1986, the relationship was in real trouble. Charles began his affair with his former girlfriend and future wife Camilla — a fact that was not lost on Diana, who allegedly confronted Camilla at a party in 1989. However, Diana had a five-year love affair of her own with James Hewitt, who she had hired to teach her and her sons to ride horses.
While Scorpio and Cancer can, in the best case scenario, be able to build a strong foundation of trust and openness, they can also just as easily retreat instantly back into their protective shells if wounded. Both signs tend toward jealousy and can lash out cruelly in response. When both parties begin engaging in that cycle of hurt and retaliation, it becomes a feedback loop of resentment and pain that pushes each of them further away.
By 1996, it became clear that Charles and Diana's relationship was irreparable, and the couple finally filed for divorce, ending their 15 year marriage.
Ultimately, Scorpio can be very secretive and Cancer can become clingy, and over time that push and pull can create an extremely toxic combination, where each party feels alternately suffocated and wronged. And where there was once a tentative openness and desire for connectedness and passion, there is a coldness and distance as each party pulls away.
Diana and Charles are a perfect example of when a Scorpio and Cancer couple goes wrong. While it begins with passion and promise, it’s a fragile pairing that either goes very right (as in the case of Camilla and Charles) or falls apart in a spectacularly tragic fashion.
Check out the “Best of Elite Daily” stream in the Bustle App for more stories just like this!
