An Interview with HRH the Princess of Wales

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Episode of the Panorama series
Original title An Interview with HRH the Princess of Wales
Country of production United Kingdom
original language English
Production
company		 BBC
length 55 minutes
First broadcast November 20, 1995 on BBC One
Rod
production Mike Robinson
camera Tony Poole
cut Ian Corcoran
occupation

An Interview with HRH the Princess of Wales is a British documentary from the BBC . The television film was broadcast on November 20, 1995 as part of the Panorama television series on BBC One .

content

Diana spoke about her early expectations for marriage and how she "desperately wanted it to work" given her own parents' divorce. The constant presence of the media and their focus on them led them to perceive themselves as "a good product that sits on the shelf ... and people make a lot of money out of you". The effect of the first trip to Australia and New Zealand in 1983 was that she came back as "... another person, I let go of the sense of duty ... and the demanding role I was in now". She felt uncomfortable being the center of attention and had found an affinity with people who had been "rejected by society".

Diana said that she experienced tremendous relief during her pregnancy with William, but that she went on to suffer from postnatal depression, which led to her being labeled by others as unstable and mentally unbalanced. She therefore started self-harming and becoming bulimic, both of which intensified after Charles resumed his relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles. She famously noted, regarding her husband's relationship with Parker Bowles, that "there were three of us in this marriage". Diana felt compelled to fulfill her role as Princess of Wales and her behavior had led friends of Charles to suggest "that I was unstable and sick again and should be put in some kind of home ... I was almost an embarrassment ".

She claimed that she had never met Andrew Morton but that she allowed her friends to speak to him. His subsequent book Diana: Her True Story resulted in the couple agreeing to a legal separation. Diana confirmed the accuracy of Squidgygate tapes from a telephone conversation she had with James Gilbey; however, she denied the allegations of having an affair with him and molesting Oliver Hoare. Diana said she found herself in a unique position as the separated wife of the Prince of Wales and that she "would fight to the end because I have a role to play and two children to raise". She confirmed her extramarital affair with James Hewitt and was hurt by his collaboration on a book about their relationship. Diana spoke of her difficulty dealing with the constant media attention, which she described as "abusive and ... harassment".

Diana spoke of her desire to be an ambassador for the United Kingdom. Regarding the future of the monarchy, she said, "I think there are a few things that could change that would alleviate these doubts and the sometimes complicated relationship between the monarchy and the public. I think they could go hand in hand instead to be so distant ". She mentioned showing William and Harry homeless projects and meeting people who are dying of AIDS. Diana said it was not her desire to get a divorce, but she did not believe that she would ever become queen or that many people would want her as queen; However, she wanted to be a "queen of the hearts of men, in the hearts of men".

She felt that royalty viewed her as "some kind of threat" but that "every strong woman in history has had to go a similar path, and I think strength is what causes the confusion and fear". When asked if the Prince of Wales would ever become king, Diana said, "I don't think any of us know the answer to that. And obviously it's a question that is on everyone's mind. But who knows who knows what fate will produce, who knows what circumstances will produce? " and that "there was always a conflict with him on this subject when we discussed it, and I understood that conflict because it is a very demanding role to be Prince of Wales, but it is an equally demanding role to be king . "

production

The recordings took place on November 5, 1995 at Kensington Palace . The interview is said to have lasted four hours. Diana answered a total of 143 questions from Martin Bashir in the interview, five times there are two questions in a row. She is said not to have known the questions before, but she was only too aware of the subject areas covered by the interview. Diana's only condition was that only she herself could inform Queen Elizabeth II of the interview she had given.

Effects

A few weeks after the interview was broadcast, Queen Elizabeth II sent handwritten letters to Diana and Charles, advising them to divorce:

"I have consulted with the Archbishop of Canterbury and with the prime minister and, of course, with Charles, and we have decided that the best course for you is divorce"

"I have consulted with the Archbishop of Canterbury, and with the Prime Minister, and of course with Charles, and we have decided that the best solution for you is divorce"

Audience rating

On British television, the Panorama episode reached a peak of 22.8 million viewers with the interview. The program was broadcast in over 100 countries around the world and seen by around 200 million viewers.

Reporter and BBC fraud

25 years after the 1995 interview with Princess Diana was broadcast, allegations were raised in 2020 that Bashir sneaked the interview with the help of forged documents, according to Diana's brother Charles Spencer, among other things, with forged bank statements. These should prove that palace employees were paid to divulge information about the British Crown Princess. Only then should Princess Diana have been ready for the interview. In addition, leading BBC managers tried to cover up this fraud following the interview.

At the end of 2020, the BBC commissioned an independent investigation from the Right Honorable Lord Dyson , longtime Master of the Rolls. She announced that she had an original handwritten note from Diana. In it, she stated that the (forged) documents did not play a role in her decision to give the broadcaster an interview. The investigation lasted about six months and in May 2021 came to the conclusion that the allegations of fraud were correct. Thereupon BBC boss Tim Davie announced in a statement: "While the BBC can no longer turn back the clock after a quarter of a century, we can only apologize completely and unconditionally." Previously, the BBC announced that Bashir had the BBC for health reasons leaves.

After the investigation report became known, Prince William and Prince Harry attributed joint responsibility for Princess Diana's death to the media. "The ripple effect of a culture of exploitation and unethical practices ultimately cost them their lives," said Prince Harry. Prince William said the interview was "a major contributor" to the deterioration in his parents' relationship. "It is my view that the fraudulent manner in which the interview came about has substantially influenced what my mother said."

literature

  • Dariusz Galasiński: Restoring the order: Metalanguage in the press coverage of Princess Diana's Panorama interview . 2004, doi : 10.1515 / 9783110907377.131 .
  • Jackie Abell, Elizabeth H. Stokoe: I Take Full Responsibility, I Take Some Responsibility, I'll Take Half of it But No More Than That: Princess Diana and the Negotiation of Blame in the `` Panorama 'Interview . 1999, doi : 10.1177 / 1461445699001003002 .
  • Sabine Kowal, Daniel C. O'Connell: Theoretical Ideals and their Violation: Princess Diana and Martin Bashir in the BBC Interview . 1997, doi : 10.1075 / prague.7.3.02kow .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The Panorama Interview: This is a transcript of the BBC1 Panorama interview with the Princess of Wales, broadcast in November 1995. Retrieved May 22, 2021 .
  2. ↑ BBC Radio 5 live - In Short - 'I was there': Princess Diana on Panorama, 1995. Retrieved May 22, 2021 (British English).
  3. ↑ 50 Facts about Panorama # 33.
  4. ↑ Princess Diana follows Prince Charles' footsteps
  5. ↑ The Panorama Interview
  6. ↑ 'I was there': Princess Diana on Panorama, 1995
  7. ↑ 50 Facts about Panorama # 38.
  8. ^ Queen Elizabeth urges early divorce 'for Charles and Diana
  9. ↑ Why Princess Diana was stripped of her title after her divorce to Prince Charles
  10. ↑ 50 Facts about Panorama # 39.
  11. ↑ 'I Won't Go Quietly'
  12. ↑ a b BBC investigation report: Reporter sneaked an interview with Diana , on tagesschau.de, from May 21, 2021.
  13. ↑ BBC presents handwritten note from Diana . In: spiegel.de, November 14, 2020 (accessed November 15, 2020).
  14. ↑ BBC apologizes "unconditionally" for errors , on stuttgarter-nachrichten.de, May 21, 2021.
  15. ↑ Journalist Martin Bashir leaves the BBC , on spiegel.de, May 14, 2021.

Remarks

  1. ^ Report of The Dyson Investigation by The Right Honorable Lord Dyson for the BBC. May 14, 2021.