PRINCESS DIANA may have had up to 10 affairs before her husband Prince Charles was unfaithful for the first time with his former flame, Camilla Parker Bowles, Express.co.uk can reveal.

The Prince and Princess of Wales’ wedding was perceived as a fairytale — but the idyllic union soon dissolved into bitter resentment between the two royals within the first few years of marriage. Both turned to extramarital affairs to cope but eventually split in 1992 and officially divorced four years later. The tale of their separation is usually pieced together based on two key accounts provided by Diana — Andrew Morton’s ‘Diana: Her True Story’ which the royal secretly contributed to, and her explosive BBC Panorama interview with Martin Bashir.

Diana said, “there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded”, a claim which severely dented the heir’s reputation and led viewers to believe Camilla had been integral to their marriage.

This narrative has been picked up once again by Netflix’s hugely popular drama, The Crown, which retells significant events from the Queen’s reign with some creative licence.

The Prince of Wales dated Camilla in 1972, and had an illicit relationship with her in 1979 after she was married, but he is said to have stopped seeing her when he decided to marry Diana.

The Crown, on the other hand, emphasises that Charles never stopped contacting his former mistress.

Howard Hodgson, royal biographer and an acquaintance of the Prince of Wales, told Express.co.uk that this particular storyline was completely inaccurate.

He explained: “When Charles comes to his third [relationship] with Camilla, they are by now both married and both very unhappy, and Patti Palmer-Tomkinson invites them to her house in 1986, and that’s it.

“By that time, Diana had had affairs with 10 people, all of which the public knew nothing about.”

Patti Palmer-Tomkinson is a close friend of Charles and has been since the Seventies.

Mr Hodgson also pointed out how the Prince of Wales was asked by journalist Jonathan Dimbleby in a 1994 interview if he had tried to be “faithful and honourable” to his wife.

Charles replied, “yes, absolutely”, but then added: “Until it became irretrievably broken down, us both having tried.”

He appeared to confirm that his affair with Camilla only began in 1986, five years after he married Diana.

Mr Hodgson said that The Crown’s implication in season four that Charles never ceased his affair with Camilla is “just not true”.

He explained: “If it was true, there is absolutely no supporting evidence.”