When Princess Diana sensationally uttered the words: “there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded” jaws dropped around the world.
The explosive comment referred to the torment of watching husband Prince Charles and a then-Camilla Parker Bowles enjoy a 'not-so-secret' affair.
Diana admitted in a BBC Panorama interview that Camilla was a factor in the breakdown of her relationship with Charles, whom she started dating when she was 19 and he was 32.
Their wedding, watched by 750 million around the world, had seemed like a fairy tale – but behind closed doors it was anything but, according to Diana.
The People’s Princess gave BBC journalist Martin Bashir one of the most revealing interviews ever given by a member of the Royal Family.
And she did not hold back.
She bravely laid bare her battle with bulimia, post-natal depression, adjusting to life as one of the most famous women in the world, and having a husband “who loved someone else”.
And in secret recordings, taped in 1991 to form part of her biography, Diana claimed when she confronted Charles over his affair with Camilla he is said to have told her: "Well, I refuse to be the only Prince of Wales who never had a mistress."
In the same tapes, aired in documentary, Diana: In Her Own Words, she also described how the Queen responded when she sought advice over Charles’ unfaithfulness.
Diana said: “I went to the top lady, sobbing, and I said ‘what do I do. I’m coming to you, what do I do?’"
But she said Her Majesty did not give her the response she was hoping for.
Instead, Diana claims her mother-in-law gave a short three word reply: 'Charles is hopeless.'
She said the Monarch also replied: ‘I don’t know what you should do.’
Diana added: “And that was it, and that was help.”
The Princess, mum to Princes Harry and William, and Charles separated in 1992, and divorced in 1996.
Charles, now 71, went on to marry Camilla, now 72, in 2005.
At the wedding reception at Windsor Castle, the Queen, in front of 800 guests, offered a toast to the newlyweds and said: “They have overcome Becher’s Brook and The Chair and all kinds of other terrible obstacles.
“They have come through and I’m very proud and wish them well. My son is home and dry with the woman he loves.”
Meanwhile as we previously reported, Diana also said in the tapes for her autobiography that confronting Camilla over her relationship with Charles was “one of the bravest moments” of her marriage.
She claimed "all hell broke loose" and Charles ran off like "chicken with no head".
