The couple honeymooned in Hampshire and aboard the royal yacht Britannia in the Mediterranean. The spectacle of the young, attractive and privileged couple starting life together touched well-wishers at a personal level, and the prince and princess's relationship became, in a sense, public property. The 12-year age difference between the prince and princess seemed to matter little at this stage. The royal couple didn't keep their public waiting on the all-important question of producing an heir to the throne. Diana gave birth to William Arthur Philip Louis on June 21, 1982, less than a year after the wedding.

Princess Diana blossomed publicly in the early years of her marriage, throwing herself into the duties of royal life with a liveliness that reinvigorated the royal family's image.
Diana actually seemed to enjoy the work of ribbon-cuttings and charity fund-raisers. As princess, she conveyed royal authority, while as a person, she conveyed warmth and concern in a direct, unpretentious way to charity recipients as well as to the crowds who thronged to see her.
The princess, tall, slim and glamorous, indulged herself in clothes and made a point to wear British fashion, and pictures of her were snapped up by a public increasingly eager for news of this unusually approachable and modern royal.
Diana also promptly fulfilled her duty to provide heirs to the throne, giving birth to Prince William (William Arthur Philip Louis) in 1982 and Prince Harry (Henry Charles Albert David) in 1984. She was a devoted mother, and made an effort to expose her sons to life outside the palace.

The rumors and reports about the couple's unhappiness abruptly became official in 1992, when then-Prime Minister John Major announced to Parliament that Charles and Diana were separating.