THE REAL DIANA
A three-part documentary sheds new light on her life, loves and tragic death – as told by those who were there to witness it first-hand
You might wonder what more there is to be said about Princess Diana. After all, hers is one of the most documented lives of the 20th Century. But now an enthralling new documentary – showing over three consecutive nights on Channel 5 – provides fresh insight into what went on behind the scenes as this glamorous, unpredictable figure at the heart of the Establishment transformed not only the Royal Family but Britain itself.
This is history as told by those who were there as first-hand witnesses in and around the Palace, among them her private secretary, Patrick Jephson, butler Paul Burrell and bodyguard Ken Wharfe, along with BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond and author Andrew Morton, in whom the Princess of Wales confided before he wrote the explosive 1992 biography Diana: Her True Story.
The series begins on Wednesday with Diana: Her Last Summer, recounting the whirlwind of events that preceded her death at the age of just 36: the aftermath of her divorce from Prince Charles with its £17m settlement and her rebirth as an inspirational style icon; the frenzied speculation around her friendship with heart surgeon Hasnat Khan and then her involvement with Dodi Fayed; and the chaotic final hours at the Ritz in Paris before that fateful car journey on August 31, 1997.
On Thursday Diana: Queen Of Hearts? examines the remarkable impact Diana made through her charity work – helping to shatter the prejudices against Aids patients in the 1980s and walking through a minefield in Angola as part of a campaign for a landmark international treaty.
Finally, on Friday, at the earlier time of 8pm, Diana: A Mother’s Love sheds light on the most important aspect of her life: her relationship with Princes William and Harry. We learn how even this proved to be an area of conflict from the start, as her motherly instincts came up against centuries-old royal conventions when it came to the timing of William’s christening.
The Diana story is one that never tires in the retelling – and it may yet reveal vital clues for the future of a Royal Family whose younger generations have been so dramatically shaped by her life.