Diana's famous BBC interview is making headlines again. It was broadcast 25 years ago – Diana revealed that in it …
Not only should it have led directly to the divorce, a friend of Princess Diana (1961-1997) even claimed it could have contributed to Diana's death: On November 20, 1995, the BBC broadcast an interview with Diana as part of the television series "Panorama" out. 25 years later, the conversation with Martin Bashir (57) made headlines again. The renewed allegations: The journalist sneaked the TV scoop by manipulating Diana. According to Diana's close friend Rosa Monckton (67), the mother of Prince Harry (36) and Prince William (38), who died in 1997, "suddenly changed" when she met Bashir about the interview. In the Daily Mail, Monckton claimed Diana was “obsessed” with conspiracy theories surrounding her.
For Monckton, the interview was an important turning point in Diana's life. The reason: Queen Elizabeth II (94) is said to have demanded after the broadcast, the divorce proceedings between Diana and her then-husband, Prince Charles (72), to be started quickly . The couple split up in 1992. Due to the divorce, Diana is said to have lost the protection of the royal family, among other things. According to Monckton, this could have saved her from the circumstances that led to her accidental death in Paris in August 1997.
Allegations against Bashir
Rosa Monckton is not the only one who is currently speaking out and criticizing Bashir. A "comprehensive independent investigation" should clarify with the BBC how the interview came about. Prince William also welcomed that the truth was now being sought. In a new documentary by the British broadcaster ITV, the accusation was once again raised that Bashir had sneaked the conversation through forged documents, including bank statements that were supposed to give Diana the impression that employees of the royal family had sold stories about Diana and her surveillance caused.
This had already been investigated in 1996. Bashir was acquitted of any wrongdoing at the time for failing to use the forged documents in the interview. The journalist himself is currently unable to comment on the matter for health reasons. His interview with Diana was considered the "Scoop of the Century" at the time. It was the first time a member of the royal family had spoken publicly about so many personal details. Almost 23 million viewers followed the show in Great Britain alone.
"There were three of us in this marriage"
Princess Diana and Prince Charles were married in July 1981. After the two children William and Harry were born, it should not have been long before both had affairs. Prince Charles resumed the relationship with his ex-girlfriend (and current wife) Camilla Parker Bowles, 73. When Bashir asked Princess Diana if Camilla was a "factor" in the failure of the marriage, Diana responded with the now famous phrase: "Well, there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded." ("Well, there were 3 of us in this marriage so it was a bit crowded.")
"Secret Illness"
Princess Diana called the re-flared bond between Prince Charles and Camilla "pretty devastating" and also confirmed that she suffered from bulimia. She called the eating disorder a "secret disease" that she had to deal with for years. "It was a symptom of what was going on in my marriage. I yelled for help, but gave the wrong signals (…)." The cause was the situation, Charles and she had to hold everything together, "because we didn't want to disappoint the public, and yet there was obviously a lot of fear in our four walls".
Diana had postpartum depression
The royal family was "thrilled" to welcome a baby boy and future king into the family with the birth of Prince Williams, according to Princess Diana, after having had a difficult pregnancy followed by a secret battle against postpartum depression. She has not received much support from the royal family because she may have been "the first person in this family to ever suffer from depression or to cry openly."
She hurt herself
During the interview, Princess Diana also confirmed rumors that she had harmed herself. "When nobody listens to you, or you think nobody listens to you, all kinds of things start to happen," she explained. "For example, you have so much pain inside you that you try to hurt yourself from the outside because you want help, but it is the wrong help you are asking for. (…)" She explained that she was injured my arms and legs. "I didn't like myself. I was ashamed because I couldn't cope with the pressure."
Affair with James Hewitt
Bashir asked the princess about her relationship with James Hewitt, 62, who claimed to have had an affair with her. She explained that it "went beyond a close friendship" and that she was unfaithful: "I adored him. Yes, I was in love with him. But I was terribly abandoned." Diana wanted her marriage to work and said of Charles, "I loved my husband". She also revealed: "I don't want a divorce, but of course we need clarity about a situation that has been the subject of enormous discussion, especially in the last three years. All I can say is that I am waiting for my husband to decide which one Way we'll all go. "
"I was a problem"
Diana said after she and Charles split up, she no longer felt like she had the support of the royal family. "I was now the Prince of Wales' separated wife, I was a problem, I was a burden. (…)" She added, "After we split everything changed and life became very difficult for me (…) My husband's side was very busy stopping me. " The problem for the royals was that they knew Diana would not go quietly. "I will fight to the end because I believe I have a role to play and I have to raise two children," said Diana.
Charles as King?
Diana also let it through in the interview that she did not trust Charles to do the "top job", as she called the throne. That would mean "enormous restrictions" for him, "and I don't know whether he could adapt to it". When asked if she would like Prince William to succeed the Queen, Diana replied: "My wish is for my husband to find rest and other things follow from this, yes." Regarding her own role, she said: "I want to be queen in the hearts of men." She does not see herself "as the queen of this country". Nor do she, according to Diana, believe "that many people want me as their queen". Above all, she considers the establishment into which she has married to be "a failure," she said.
Diana died less than two years after the famous interview. On the night of August 31, 1997, the car in which she was sitting with her then partner Dodi Al-Fayed (1955-1997) hit a pillar in the car tunnel under the Place de l'Alma in Paris at excessive speed.