Princess Diana Was Coached for Hours on What to Say During Her Infamous ‘Panorama’ Interview
Princess Diana‘s interview with Panorama is one of the most famous and infamous interviews ever given by a member of Britain’s royal family. It took place in 1995 inside Kensington Palace where the princess lived following her separation from then-Prince Charles.
The interview was watched by an estimated 23 million people, which was nearly half of the United Kingdom’s population at the time. It was explosive for viewers to hear Diana talk about her troubled marriage to the future king. But it’s now being reported that the late princess‘s words came from someone else as she was told how to respond and what to say about certain subjects.
TV crew members say Princess Diana was coached and told what to say during interview
Princess Diana’s Panorama interview was conducted by former BBC journalist Martin Bashir.
During the controversial interview, Diana did not back down from the hard-hitting questions about her private life. Well, according to a report in The Telegraph, Bashir spent hours training and coaching the princess to help her deliver “succinct and lively answers.”
Crew members who were involved with the program at the time claim Bashir met Diana on several occasions in the six months leading up to the interview sometimes over meals but also during car rides in the countryside. One example of what Diana was reportedly coached to say was “Yes, I adored him. Yes, I was in love with him” about army officer and riding instructor James Hewitt with whom she had an affair.
Jonathan Maitland, who wrote the play The Interview and previously worked with Bashir, said: “I am absolutely satisfied from talking to crew members and those who knew Bashir well that he helped coach her.”
Maitland, however, could not confirm whether it was Diana or Bashir who came up with the most famous line in the interview when Diana spoke about Charles’ relationship with Camilla and said: “There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.”
Prince William called Bashir ‘rogue’ after investigation findings
In 2021, an independent inquiry — The Lord Dyson Report — found that the BBC covered up “deceitful behavior” by Bashir to obtain the interview with the late princess. The investigation was prompted by Diana’s brother Charles, the 9th Earl Spencer.
In his inquiry, Lord Dyson found that Bashir deceived Earl Spencer into introducing the journalist to his sister by showing him forged bank statements that falsely suggested individuals were being paid to keep the princess under surveillance.
After he learned about the findings of an investigation into his mother’s Panorama interview, Prince William delivered remarks via social media.
William was very direct and did not mince words describing Bashir as “rogue.” He also hit out at the BBC saying the news organization was “invasive” in its reporting. The prince then said the BBC’s “failures contributed significantly to [his mom’s] fear, paranoia, and isolation that [he] remember[s] from those final years with her.”
