Prince William Says In Heartfelt Video The BBC Failed His Mother

May 21, 2021 by apost team

The Royal Family Affair gets tongues wagging at the slightest rumor. For instance, the news of the divorce between Princess Diana and Prince Charles in 1996 was the talk of the year.

In the royal family, marriages are held in high regard, and marital issues were not publicly talked about. A royal divorce was unheard of until Charles and Diana came out to the public with the news of their divorce. It wasn't all that shocking since there were constant rumors over the years of Charles having an affair with his now current wife, Camilla Parker Bowles, while he was still married to Diana.
Diana was open about the troubles in her marriage to Charles and even confronted Camilla about their affair in 1989. Diana and Charles separated in 1992, just a decade into their marriage. The issue could no longer stay hidden from the public once Charles confessed to the infidelity claims in 1994. Even before that, close observers of the royal family had had an inkling as to what was happening.

However, behind the scenes, Diana suffered greatly during the couple's split — and not only because their marriage suffered due to infidelity. Diana had frequently complained about the British media's behavior towards her, feeling that she was persecuted and followed everywhere. After their marriage problems became public, this feeling intensified. She even blamed the royal family for not doing enough to discourage reporters from hounding her.

In an independent inquiry that concluded on May 20, investigators — headed by retired judge John Dyson — found that Martin Bashir, the BBC reporter who conducted Diana's infamous Panorama interview in 1995, gained access to the princess with forged documents. In response, Prince William condemned the BBC and all media outlets using similar tactics.

In November 1995, the BBC aired a Panorama interview, featuring Princess Diana and the reporter and interviewer Martin Bashir. The interview came at a time when interest in the marriage troubles of the royal couple was high. In fact, the program was so popular that it precipitated Bashir's career breakthrough.

The interview was the biggest news of the year among media outlets. In a very candid and open talk, Diana talked to Bashir about her fears during her marriage and the misery and stress she felt from being under the media's scrutiny at all times and having to adhere to strict royal protocols and standards. She confessed previously unknown things, like her struggles with bulimia, self-harm, depression and infidelity. The full transcript is available here.

In his statement, released on May 20, William said that this interview was a "major contribution to making my parents' relationship worse." His words could not be truer; the royal family at the time was shocked and stunned that Diana would talk so openly and assign so much blame. Now it has become known that part of this blame and resentment that Diana expressed in the infamous interview was based on information Bashir had given her in order to gain her approval for the interview. He claimed her car and phone lines were bugged and that spies of the royal family were reading her mail.

Part of his proof of this were bank statements that, according to Bashir, proved that the royal family had been bribing Diana's security detail and secretary to spy on her for them. These statements were later proven to be forgeries based on forgeries. The recent investigation also proved that Bashir's higher-ups learned of the forgery and covered it up.

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Prince William and Prince Harry, who have both long ascertained that the media carried part of the blame for their mother's death, reacted very strongly to the investigation's conclusion.

In his statement, William specifically mentions that he is hurt by the fact that the bank statements were already contested in 1995.

William stated: "But what saddens me most, is that if the BBC had properly investigated the complaints and concerns first raised in 1995, my mother would have known that she had been deceived. She was failed not just by a rogue reporter, but by leaders at the BBC who looked the other way rather than asking the tough questions."

He also made it clear that in his eyes the deceitful documents clearly influenced what his mother said in the interview and how she said it. The fallout from the interview changed and dramatized his parents' separation and heightened Diana's paranoia and fear of the royal family's behavior towards her.

"It effectively established a false narrative which, for over a quarter of a century, has been commercialised by the BBC and others," William added, further asking that the interview never be aired again.

Prince Harry released his own statement, essentially echoing his brother's emotional words. Harry, however, also mentioned that it seemed these practices were still common today: "Our mother lost her life because of this, and nothing has changed.

Bashir himself has also reacted to the investigation's findings, defending his interview. According to him, he did not sway the princess with rumors about surveillance and spies; rather, he claims he heard those things from her. He admitted, however, that forging the bank statements was a "a stupid thing to do," but that he "absolutely" stands by "the evidence" he provided.

What do you think about the investigation surrounding Princess Diana's interview and Prince William's statement? Would you have reacted more strongly in his place? Tell us what you think and pass this article along.