Princess Diana's 'regret' over Panorama Interview was due to William and Harry
The princes were just 12 and 15 when they lost their motherShortly before her death, Princess Diana reportedly revealed a heartbreaking regret she had over her Panorama interview due to her young sons, Prince William and Prince Harry.
The late “People’s Princess” is said to have made the devastating admission to one of her close friends.
In August 1997, days to weeks before her tragic death, Diana enjoyed what would turn out to be a final summer holiday with her friend Rosa Monckton.
Princess Diana’s 1995 Panorama interview
During the trip, Rosa claims Diana opened up about her now-infamous Panorama interview that had taken place two years before in 1995.
Princess Diana’s BBC Panorama interview with journalist Martin Bashir was broadcast 30 years ago. An estimated 200 million viewers worldwide watched the princess speak out on several sensitive topics, including infidelity in her marriage to William and Harry’s father, now King Charles, and her struggles with bulimia. She famously said “there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded” when talking about Charles’ alleged affair with Camilla Parker Bowles.
At the time of the interview, Diana and Charles had separated. However, they divorced later in 1996.
The BBC had hailed the interview as the “scoop of a generation”.
It has since become one of the most scrutinised broadcasts in modern history.
A 2021 enquiry by Lord Dyson concluded that journalist Martin Bashir had acted in a “deceitful” way and faked documents to obtain the interview with Diana. This included the use of fabricated bank statements suggesting people close to her had been paid to keep the princess under surveillance.
BBC Director-General Tim Davie issued an apology and vowed to never show the interview again.
The BBC and Bashir both apologised, and the BBC wrote to William and Harry.
Diana’s ‘regret’ over William and Harry
However, according to Rosa, the mum-of-two’s main regret was not about what she herself had confessed on camera, but its impact on her two sons, then just 15 and 12.
She told me she regretted doing it because of the harm she thought it had done to her boys.
“She told me she regretted doing it because of the harm she thought it had done to her boys,” Rosa told PEOPLE.
“She was frail and that made her susceptible to Bashir,” she went on.
Rosa also added that Diana had “kept it all in”: “He’d told her she couldn’t talk about it. She cut people out because of that.”
Both princes have publicly condemned the interview and continue to be vocal about their pain concerning their mother’s treatment.
Following the 2021 investigation, Prince William issued a statement, saying: “It brings me indescribable sadness to know that the BBC’s failures contributed significantly to her fear, paranoia and isolation that I remember from those final years with her.”
He also said: “The interview was a major contribution to making my parents’ relationship worse and has since hurt countless others.”
Meanwhile, Prince Harry said: “Our mother lost her life because of this and nothing has changed. By protecting her legacy, we protect everyone, and uphold the dignity with which she lived her life.”
Read more: In pictures: Stunning snaps of Prince William retracing Diana’s steps in Brazil
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