ROYAL REVENGE
Twenty-five years after Princess Diana’s bombshell BBC interview aired, more allegations have surfaced claiming the late royal was tricked into it. Now, her sons and brother want justice.
With new allegations surfacing that the late Princess Diana may have been tricked into her famous 1995 BBC interview, royal insiders tell Us that her loved ones are demanding answers.
On Nov. 20, 1995, almost 23 million people gathered in front of their television sets to watch the Princess of Wales open up like never before. Speaking to BBC reporter Martin Bashir from her living room at Kensington Palace, an uncensored Diana lifted the lid on her life as a royal, detailing the extreme isolation she felt and revealing the truth about her troubled relationship with estranged husband
Prince Charles (she famously quipped “there were three of us in the marriage, so it was a bit crowded,” about his ongoing affair with Duchess Camilla).
“Never before had a member of the royal family been so frank and honest,” Diana’s former friend and butler, Paul Burrell, tells Us. “It was unprecedented.”
The fallout was swift and harsh. Queen Elizabeth II demanded Diana and Charles, now 72, officially part ways (they had been separated since 1992), and cut Diana off completely. “It was catastrophic for the princess,” recalls Burrell. “All ties between her household and the Palace were severed.” Diana and Charles divorced in August of 1996, and she tragically died in a car crash
in Paris one year later at just 36 years old. Even Diana’s close bond with her eldest son Prince William, then 12, was shaken by her tell-all. “He was young and naive,” says a source, “and lashed out at her.”
Now, new allegations about how the BBC and Bashir gained access to Diana have come to light. Diana’s brother, Charles Spencer, claims Bashir lied and tricked Diana into talking by using fake bank statements to convince her that some of her closest royal confidants were being paid to spy on her, and he says he just recently learned the BBC was in on the job. He also says Bashir falsely told Diana that William had been given a watch with a recording device on it, and that members of her security team had been bribed into recording secret tapes of her. (Spencer is also believed to have recorded all of his conversations with Bashir leading up to the televised sit-down.) “[The BBC] knew,” Spencer tweeted on Nov. 8, “[and] they covered it up.”
CON JOB?
According to Diana’s former bodyguard Ken Wharfe, the princess was desperate to share her side of the
“She became very isolated as a result [of the interview].”
KEN WHARFE, DIANA’S FORMER BODYGUARD
story when the interview aired.
“She wanted the world to know the true reason behind the collapse of her relationship
[with Charles],” Wharfe tells
“Her real aim was to let the truth be known about the state of her life and what had actually happened to her. Nobody [else] was going to speak out on Diana’s behalf.”
According to friends, she was in a vulnerable place when she signed on to air her grievances. Reveals a second insider, “Everyone knows Diana was a trusting but extremely fragile soul at the time of that interview.” The first source says Bashir was one of the few people she allowed into her private world. “If Diana were alive today, she would’ve been absolutely devastated if the claims prove to be true,” the source says, noting that she only trusted a handful of people — with Bashir
being one of them. “Even back then, some questioned his authenticity, but Diana stood by him. This would be the ultimate betrayal for her.”
VOWING REVENGE
William is furious over the accusations. When the BBC announced in mid-November that they were determined to “get to the truth” about the events surrounding the 1995 interview, Kensington Palace released a statement saying the 38-year-old father of three “welcomed the investigation.” More than anyone, William is still reeling from the aftereffects. The first source says he regrets getting angry at his mother for speaking out, especially now that he has a better idea of the reported blackmail and bad behavior going on behind the scenes. “He believes Diana was manipulated and exploited by Bashir,” says the source,
“and is determined to get to the bottom of it.”
Harry is also livid. The 36-yearold has famously spoken out about the unfair treatment he feels his late mother — and his wife, Meghan Markle — received in the U.K. press. “I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces,” he said in 2018. “Harry is angry about all the shadiness and is full of conspiracy theories,” explains the source.
Though the brothers had been at odds in part because of Harry’s departure from his royal role earlier this year, the insider says they’ve been brought closer by their shared quest for the truth. “Blood is thicker than water for both of them, and there’s no way any differences of opinion would prevent them from uniting for their mother’s memory,” says the insider, adding that William and Harry are telling friends that they demand answers. “If this investigation expedites their relationship getting back on track, it’ll be the one silver lining to emerge from the darkest of clouds.”
Even the 94-year-old queen is hoping justice will prevail. “There’s a lot of empathy within the royal family as a whole for what Harry and William are dealing with,” says the insider, adding that while it’s a delicate topic for the queen since she had such grave misgivings about the interview at the time, she’s sensitive to her grandchildren’s plight. “If the allegations prove to be true, heads will roll,” says the insider. “For the sake of what’s right and fair, and for the memory of Diana.”