The true story behind Lady Diana’s ‘revenge interview’ and what ‘The Crown’ didn’t cover

Twenty-five years have passed since Diana of Wales lost her life in a car accident that to this day is rumored to be the result of premeditated murder. An anniversary that The crown has shown one of the most difficult moments for the Princess of Wales in its fifth season, the famous ‘revenge interview’, where he not only spoke openly about his private life, but also pulled the strings of Elizabeth II herself and the entire royal family.

It was 1995 when ‘the eternal princess’ sat down on the BBC, in the presence of journalist Martin Bashir, to tell her truth. In a televised interview, Prince Charles’s ex-wife spoke candidly about the struggles for survival in the Crown, including among her revelations the then-Prince’s infidelity, in particular his affair with the now Queen Consort, Camilla of Cornwall : “There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.”

Far from her sentimental relationship, “the people’s princess” also talked about her personal struggle with bulimia, in which self-harm and depression were the protagonists of her life for many years. A “secret illness” he dealt with in silence: “It was a symptom of what was happening in my marriage. I cried for help, but gave the wrong signals (…) The cause was the situation in which my husband and I had to keep it all together because we didn’t want to let the audience down and yet there was clearly a lot of fear within our four walls.

Many years later, it is known that Prince Harry and William’s mother agreed to participate in the Panorama program under manipulation, deceit and pressure. The journalist used his wiles to persuade Diana of Wales to speak publicly, using suspicions that the Secret Service was spying on her to gain her trust. “Had we done our job properly, Princess Diana would have known the truth in her lifetime. We have let her, the Royal Family and our public down,” acknowledged the chain’s CEO Tim Davie.

In addition, Bashir showed Lady Di a fake abortion document from Tiggy Legge-Bourke, her children’s nanny, to convince her that Prince Charles was being unfaithful to her trusted person. Last July, Davie announced that the nanny would be compensated “for the totally unfounded accusations” the presenter made about her and that he got the Princess of Wales to agree. to speak publicly in front of 23 million viewers.

Prince William assured that at the time “the deceptive way in which the interview was obtained has had a major influence” in Diane’s words. “The interview was a major contributor to the deterioration of my relationship with my parents and has hurt countless people ever since (…) It is sad beyond words to know that the BBC’s failures have contributed significantly to the fear, paranoia and isolation that I remember from those last years with her”.

In addition to apologizing, the public channel donated more than 1.6 million euros – the amount he collected by selling the interview around the world – to some of the charities linked to the princess. The total amount was split between Centrepoint, English National Ballet, Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity, The Leprosy Mission, National Aids Trust, The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity and The Diana Award.

After the truth about “the revenge interview” that The Crown has not told came to light, Tim Davie vowed not to broadcast it again: “Now that we know the shocking way in which the interview was obtained, I have decided that the BBC will never again nor will we license it in whole or in part to other broadcasters.” To Martin Bashir, the journalist, resigned from the BBC in 2021, before the interview research was published. After learning of the scandal, the communicator stated that he was “deeply sorry” and that it was never his intention to “hurt Diana”.