William welcomes probe into infamous interview

Probe should help establish the truth behind actions that led to the interview and decisions taken by those in the BBC.

Prince William has called an investigation into claims that his mother Princess Diana was tricked into agreeing her bombshell 1995 BBC interview a “step in the right direction”.

The late princess’ brother, Charles Spencer, has alleged the flagship Panorama programme reporter who conducted the interview, Martin Bashir, showed him faked documents to persuade his sister to take part.

The BBC announced on Wednesday the immediate start of an investigation, a move welcomed by the prince. “The independent investigation is a step in the right direction,” William, 38, said on Wednesday.

“It should help establish the truth behind the actions that led to the Panorama interview and subsequent decisions taken by those in the BBC at the time.”

Diana detailed her collapsing marriage to the heir to the throne in the November 1995 interview, which was watched by a record 22.8 million people.

She famously said “there were three people” in her marriage – her, Charles and his long-time lover Camilla Parker-Bowles – and revealed she had been unfaithful.

Diana and Charles formally divorced in 1996 and she died in a Paris car crash in 1997. Charles and Camilla married in 2005.

New reports have surfaced alleging that Bashir used underhand methods to persuade Diana to talk, including by claiming her own staff members were being paid to spy on her.

The probe will focus principally on the role of Bashir, who was little-known at the time. It will consider “the mocked-up bank statements purporting to show payments to a former employee of Earl Spencer... [and] the purported payments to members of the Royal Household”.

Bashir, 57, who is now the BBC’s religious affairs editor, has not responded to the latest claims. The BBC said he was seriously unwell after contracting the coronavirus and is also recovering from heart surgery.

Prince William