Then-Prince Charles and his first wife Princess Diana's 1983 tour of Australia was considered a huge success, but there was one light-hearted moment that may have hinted at a more solemn reality.
After waving goodbye to their nine-month-old son Prince William, who joined them briefly off the plane in Alice Springs, the royal couple visited Hobart, Tasmania, where they met children from Rokeby High School Hobart and granted them an extra day off school.
Later that evening, 21-year-old Diana continued to embrace diplomatic dressing, changing out of her red and white striped daytime outfit and into a crimson ruffled evening gown by Bruce Oldfield, which she accessorised with the Spencer tiara at the Wrest Point Hotel in Hobart.
Prince Charles loses the attention of the crowd
Sitting behind her husband on stage, the late Princess of Wales accidentally drew focus as Charles made a speech.
Complimenting Diana, he told the crowd: "The last time I was here was two years ago, in 1981, shortly before we were married, and at that time, everybody was saying, 'Good luck!' and, 'Hope everything goes well!' and, 'How lucky you are to be engaged to such a lovely lady.' And my goodness, I was lucky enough to marry her."
© Getty ImagesFollowing his heartfelt words, Diana was spotted making a face, causing the audience to erupt with laughter and alerting Charles to her disagreement about their marriage.
Diana shyly giggled and bowed her head, and Charles quickly recovered from the interruption to his speech by making a light-hearted joke: "It's amazing what ladies do when your back's turned."
© Getty ImagesPrincess Diana's candid comments on the Australia tour
Behind the smiles, Princess Diana was struggling with the media attention during her four-week tour of Australia.
In Andrew Morton's 1992 biography, she recalled: "It was the hardest moment of being the Princess of Wales... It was hot, I was jet-lagged, and I felt sick. I was too thin. The whole world was focused on me, day after day. I was the front-page story in the newspapers. It seemed outrageous to me because I hadn't done anything important myself, like climb Everest or something extraordinary like that."
Her sudden fame and popularity sparked tension with her husband, Charles Spencer confirmed in his latest memoir, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister.
Explaining the background to one infamous photo, which showed Diana looking tearful in Sydney, he wrote: "As she herself would say: 'With the media attention came a lot of jealousy [from her husband]. A great deal of complicated situations arose because of that.' Sometimes, it was all too much."
