The 'real' third person in the marriage: The mysterious death of Barry Mannakee and his alleged romance with Diana
King Charles's infidelity was well known...and apparently Princess Diana also had another lover
Royal biographer Hugo Vickers has made some bombshell claims in his latest book – including a jaw-dropping insight into Princess Diana’s supposed relationship with her bodyguard, Barry Mannakee, whilst still married to King Charles.
In King Charles’ 1994 interview with Jonathan Dimbleby, the then-Prince of Wales claimed he had not had an affair with Camilla Parker Bowles (now Queen Camilla) until his marriage with Princess Diana was “irretrievably broken down”.
But what did he mean? Well, Vickers seems to have explained the drama going on behind the scenes.
King Charles and Princess Diana’s rollercoaster marriage
There were allegations of infidelity on both sides when it came to Princess Diana and Charles’ marriage.
They ultimately split in 1992, before finalising their divorce in 1996.
In a 1994 interview, Charles admitted he had been faithful “until [the marriage] became irretrievably broken down”.
In her 1995 Panorama interview, Diana also admitted to being unfaithful. She confirmed she had an affair with James Hewitt.
She also famously stated: “There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.”
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A friend of Princess Diana allegedly claimed to Sally Bedell Smith, author of Diana in Search of Herself: Portrait of a Troubled Princess, that Diana would “collect” men.
One allegedly being her bodyguard, Barry Mannakee.
Princess Diana’s ‘romance’ with bodyguard Barry Mannakee
Tina Brown, author of the The Diana Chronicles, claimed of Diana’s connection with Barry Mannakee: “For a woman in a golden cage, bodyguards are an obvious candidate for romantic fixation. A bodyguard may be the only real man a princess meets. His strong shoulders clear the path ahead in the crowd. His firm hand on her elbow guides his principal to the refuge of a waiting car.”
Reports claim Princess Diana also spoke adoringly of Mannakee in a tape recording.
“I was only happy when he was around,” the princess supposedly said of him. “I was like a little girl in front of him the whole time. Desperate for praise. Desperate.”
Following the birth of Prince Harry in 1984, Princess Diana and Barry Mannakee’s relationship was said to have started.
Hugo Vickers claims that Diana’s regular protection team noticed a “change in her behaviour whenever she was in Mannakee’s company,” and feared what this may mean for the duo.
People in Diana’s circle were also said to notice that something was going on between them.
Concerned of the implications, Diana’s protection officers were said to have confronted her.
Inside Diana’s alleged affair with Barry Mannakee
Hugo Vickers penned, as per the Daily Mail: “Although Diana at first denied she was having an affair, she eventually admitted it. Alarmed, the protection officers pointed out that Mannakee – who had married at 19 in 1966 – had a wife and two daughters. Continuing this inappropriate relationship, they stressed, would present inevitable dangers to her and to her reputation. The affair continued. The best solution, the protection officers decided, was to arrange for Mannakee to be transferred to non-royal duties – but they faced resistance from Charles, who liked the officer and wanted to keep him on.
“The best solution, the protection officers decided, was to arrange for Mannakee to be transferred to non-royal duties – but they faced resistance from Charles, who liked the officer and wanted to keep him on. The excuse given for the transfer was that the hours had been too long, and that he was too often away from his family. Reluctantly, the prince agreed Mannakee should move on. Diana herself heard the news from Mannakee in a phone call he made to her direct line. She was extremely upset, but would not tell her husband why.”
When informed why Diana was so upset, King Charles was said to have insisted that Mannakee be reinstated, but when told by her royal protection officers that they would resign if Mannakee returned to Diana’s circle, Charles was said to have understood.
Barry Mannakee’s untimely death
Despite leaving her service, Diana and Barry Mannakee’s affair was said to have continued for a while. It later fizzled out.
And sadly, Barry Mannakee later met a tragic, untimely death.
On May 15, in 1987, Barry was killed whilst riding pillion on a motorcycle driven by PC Stephen Peet. The motorcycle collided with a car at Woodford in east London. Barry was just 39-years-old.
According to Vickers, Diana was desperately upset over Mannakee’s death.
She was even said to have believed his death was the result of a conspiracy by those around her. She allegedly believe he had been killer for her own protection.
Vickers described this as “grossly unfair”.
In video tapes broadcast in 2004 by the American television network NBC, Diana had allegedly said of her romance with Mannakee: “I was quite happy to give all this up…Just to go off and live with him. Can you believe it? And he kept saying he thought it was a good idea.”
The interviews, conducted by Diana’s voice coach, Peter Settelen, allegedly recorded her claiming Barry had been “bumped off,” because of their affair.
In 2004, Sir John Stevens, the outgoing Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, ordered a re-investigation of the circumstances of Mr Mannakee’s death as part of Operation Paget - the inquiry into Diana’s own death.
Princess Diana’s supposed ‘ambitions’ to marriage then-Prince Andrew
Princess Diana was plagued with claims about her love life.
Hugo Vickers has even lifted the lid on what the royal family thought about Diana when she first connected with King Charles.
Although Diana ultimately ended up being enamoured with the then-Prince of Wales, apparently, before him, she had eyes for another royal.
Vickers stated: “On paper, the virginal and aristocratic Lady Diana Spencer had seemed a perfect royal bride. When Charles began to contemplate her as a possible wife, he was much encouraged by his friends. Including the Parker Bowleses. As a schoolgirl, Diana had a professed ambition: to marry her childhood playmate Prince Andrew. The truth is she hardly knew Charles, and called him ‘Sir’ until the day of their engagement. Not everyone was happy about the prince’s choice. Some, who’d known Diana in Norfolk, predicted trouble, aware of her fragile nature.”
Buckingham and Kensington Palace have been contacted for comment.
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