Queen so worried’ at break-up

PRINCESS Diana’s close friend Harry Herbert has revealed the Queen was deeply concerned for her as her marriage to Prince Charles fell apart.

It has often been reported that Her Majesty and the Princess of Wales had a strained relationship. But Mr Herbert said that during a visit to Balmoral in 1992 the Queen asked to talk to him about how Diana was coping.

Speaking for the first time about his friendship with Diana, Mr Herbert tells ITV documentary makers: “The Queen wanted to talk to me about it because she was so worried. She was so, you know, worried about Diana.

“And the Queen wanted to know how was Diana feeling – and was it as bad as it was. And it was a sad discussion – a sad moment really because that was everything at its worst.”

Vision

Mr Herbert is the son of the late Henry Herbert, the 7th Earl of Carnarvon, a lifetime friend of the Queen and manager of her racing stables.

Remembering when he first met Diana while playing golf at Balmoral, Mr Herbert says: “Just as I was about to play my shot, this vision of beauty appeared, full of laughter and energy. And like everyone who meets her she had a big impact.

“I’m sure my shot was violently hooked or sliced but we became great friends from that moment.”

Diana’s brother Earl Spencer also appears in tomorrow night’s documentary.

The 53-year-old tells how his sister was plagued by “insecurities and unhappiness” that stemmed from the divorce of their parents.

And William Van Straubenzee, who met Diana when she was 14 and became a close friend, recalls how whenen he first met her she “slobbed”d” around in “jerseys coveredd in hippos and jeans” and had a penchant for “trashy,rashy, romantic novels”.”.

He says: “She was shy and she wass pretty unsure of herselff and pretty naive andd quite gullible really. She was quite easy to tease but she took it in incredibly good spirits.

“But you had no inkling of what sort of person she was going to be.”