The Princess of Wales shocked the world 25 years ago by opening up about private matters including her husband Prince Charles’ affair with Camilla Parker Bowles, her own affair with her riding instructor James Hewitt and the state of her mental health. She said the infamous words that there were “three of us” in the marriage, and confirmed that she suffered with bulimia and depression. Diana also said she did not think she would ever be Queen and claimed The Firm did not like that she did things “differently”.
Tonight, a new documentary entitled ‘Diana: The Truth Behind the Interview’ airs on Channel 4, which will give fresh insights into that iconic interview with Martin Bashir.
The programme will include interviews with insiders at the BBC and those who knew the princess, as well as examining archive documents to uncover the real story behind the interview.
What has been documented already is that the Queen saw the interview as the final straw, instructing Diana and Charles to get divorced afterwards.
She was reportedly sick of the public spat that was damaging the Crown, as well as hurting her grandsons Prince William and Prince Harry.
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Penny Junor wrote in her book ‘The Duchess: The Untold Story’: “The Queen finally lost patience.
“This public mud-slinging wasn’t just harming the monarchy, it was damaging for the young princes.”
The Queen had a turbulent relationship with her daughter-in-law Diana, but she was most distraught after the interview, according to the Channel 5 film ‘The Interview That Shocked the World’.
Daily Mirror royal editor Russell Myers discussed the Queen’s reaction with ITV host Lorraine Kelly ahead of the documentary’s release earlier this month.
“It was all planned and her team didn’t tell the Palace. We’re still talking about it several years later.”
Ms Kelly noted the Queen’s interesting word choice.
She said: “When the Queen says ‘frightful’, she means a lot worse than that, doesn’t she?
“Frightful’s just a polite way of covering it.”
However, Princess Diana’s interview could be considered a response to Charles’ tell-all interview the year before, in which the Princes of Wales admitted for the first time that he had been unfaithful in his marriage to Diana.
He told the interviewer he had remained faithful to Diana “until [their marriage] became irretrievably broken down”.
Despite this, Prince William reportedly told a friend after Diana’s interview: “My Papa never embarrasses me. My Mummy embarrasses me.”
William, who was 13 when the Panorama interview aired, reportedly called his mother “in a rage”, because he could not believe she let cameras into their home and did what he saw as a betrayal to his father and the Royal Family.
‘Diana: The Truth Behind the Interview’ is on at 9pm tonight on Channel 4.
‘The Duchess: The Untold Story’ was written by Penny Junor in 2017 and published by HarperCollins. It is available here.
