When Prince Charles and his wife Diana Spencer became engaged in early 1981, they had only met 13 times; according to the Mirror, their July 29, 1981 wedding was a fairy tale, but the proposal was not. In fact, Diana "burst out laughing" at Charles' unromantic proposal.

Diana, who was only 19 at the time, had no idea when she arrived at Windsor Castle that day that the future king, 32, would ask her to marry him. According to Ingrid Sward, editor of Majesty Magazine, speaking about the documentary "Charles and Diana: The True Story of Their Wedding," Charles told her upon his arrival that he "missed her very much" and showed her to the children's room at Windsor Castle where he proposed to her.

"He was a man of his word.

In response to Prince Charles' proposal of marriage, Diana "burst out laughing," Sward says. 'That was probably just nerves, I think. She didn't think it was the most romantic proposal, but she accepted the proposal."

In a later interview, Diana revealed more about Charles' proposal, saying, "He said, 'Do you realize that one day you're going to be queen? And I said, 'I love you so much. He said, 'Whatever love means to you.' He said that. So I thought, wow. I thought he meant it." (Prince Charles would, of course, repeat this infamous phrase in a later interview over the engagement.)

Royal biographer Christopher Wilson states that Diana had no idea that a proposal was forthcoming. Prince Charles was in his early thirties at this time, and the pressure was mounting for him to end his bachelorhood, marry, and produce an heir to the throne.

"Prince Charles did not pick her up, embrace her, or do any of the things we do when we ask our loved ones to marry us. He called her mother and simply said, 'Look, I've already done it. You asked me to marry you, and I've already decided.' He finally found a wife."

Diana herself confirmed this call to the queen in Andrew Morton's Diana: Her True Story, where she recalls that "a voice in my mind said, 'You won't be queen, but you will play a tough role. Then, she remembers, "he [Charles] ran upstairs and called his mother."