Princess Diana’s 1995 interview for Panorama with Martin Bashir is, perhaps, one of the most shocking moments in royal history. After all, it was during this interview that the Princess of Wales shared her thoughts about Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles’ affair. And it was also during this moment that she talked about her ex-husband as the future king of Britain and admitted to suffering from bulimia, among many other things.
Years after the interview aired, the BBC was found guilty of coercing Princess Diana to share important information about her personal life and failed relationship with Prince Charles. They were also accused of showing the mom of two fake documents to trick her into giving her side of the story.
Prince William and Prince Harry’s former nanny were also dragged into the issue after she was accused of having an affair with Prince Charles. The network recently paid Tiggy Legge-Bourke a generous sum after they cleared her name.
Princess Diana Wasn’t Allegedly Bullied Into Giving An Interview To Martin Bashir
But during a recent interview, English journalist David Dimbleby said that he doesn’t think Princess Diana was bullied or forced into sharing her accounts with the world. In fact, looking at the controversial interview reportedly showed Princess Diana saying what she really wanted to say.
Dimbleby also revealed that he asked permission to show snippets of the interview in his new documentary, Days That Shook the BBC, but he was banned from doing so. After all, the recent agreement stated that the interview could no longer be released except for journalistic reasons.
“Showing the Diana interview is the one argument that I lost. My view – and I put it forcefully and regularly – was that I didn’t want to show the interview as such, although I believe it has historical validity, but that it underlined the BBC’s independence. I understand Prince William’s objections and the problem with how the interview was achieved, but I don’t believe Diana was coerced into giving it. You can see it in the interview. She clearly wants to say her part, she was not bullied or hectored into it. The clips show that what she was saying was genuinely meant. But the BBC had just reached a legal settlement with the former royal nanny Alexandra Pettifer [Tiggy Legge-Bourke] and [current director-general] Tim Davie pledged the BBC would not show it again except for journalistic reasons. Our request came too soon,” he said (via Express).
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Tim Davie Confirms Princess Diana’s Panorama Interview Will Never Be Released Again
Director-general Tim Davie was the one who said that Princess Diana’s interview would never be released ever again. He also expressed regret over the BBC’s failure to investigate the matter immediately after they saw some warning signs.
“Had we done our job properly, Princess Diana would have known the truth during her lifetime. We let her, the Royal Family, and our audiences down,” he said.
Martin Bashir Convinced Princess Diana Wasn’t Unhappy With Their Interview
Even though Bashir was the one who interviewed Princess Diana at the time, he was not charged with anything. But during a previous interview, Bashir stressed that the Princess of Wales wasn’t unhappy with their conversation.
“I never wanted to harm Diana in any way and I don't believe we did,” he said.
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