Princess Diana die-hards all over the world are fucking fuming right now as the BBC journo who obtained her iconic 1995 interview just got exposed for lying about it – and Prince Harry has released a statement saying that this chaotic shit is what ultimately led to her death.
So, to give you context, Princess Diana gave a massive interview in 1995 where she went absolutely IN on the royal family. She admitted to having an affair, told ~private~ details of her messy marriage with Prince Charles, and famously said her marriage has “three people in it” when revealing she knew about Prince Charle’s affair with Camilla Parker Bowles.
It was the spiciest news of the time, especially given Princess Diana was still part of the monarchy and it was her first solo interview as a royal. The thing is, the interview was thrown into fresh controversy last year after her brother, Charles Spencer, claimed that Martin Bashir (the journo in question) used fake documents and other dodgy means to to convince Diana to do it in the first place.
NEW: A report has found the BBC fell short of the high standards of integrity and transparency over the 1995 interview with Princess Diana.
Journalist Martin Bashir was found to have acted inappropriately and in serious breach of BBC guidelines
— Emily Ferguson (@emsferg) May 20, 2021
Charles accused Bashir of showing him forged bank statements to suggest that Princess Diana’s house staff were being paid to keep her under surveillance. He alleged that Bashir used those to gain his trust and get access to Diana, and that Bashir made up stories about the royal family to encourage Diana’s concerns of a conspiracy against her.
Following the accusations, the BBC – which aired the interview – appointed John Dyson, a retired senior judge, to lead an investigation into Charles’ accusations.
Now, after months of investigating, Dyson has concluded that Bashir did use “deceitful behaviour” regarding the interview, AND that Bashir repeatedly lied to his bosses about how he got it. And on top all that, the BBC‘s been found to have covered up for Bashir after not properly investigating him. The report criticised the BBC for failing to maintain the “high standards of integrity and transparency which are its hallmark”.
BREAKING: Prince Harry has issued a statement in response to the investigation into Martin Bashir’s 1995 BBC interview with Princess Diana:
“The ripple effect of a culture of exploitation and unethical practices ultimately took her life.” pic.twitter.com/ZiWT7Yw0Ui
— Ellie Hall (@ellievhall) May 20, 2021
To make all this even more chaotic, Prince Harry has now released a statement saying that it’s this type of dishonesty that ultimately led to his mother’s death.
“The ripple effect of a culture of exploitation and unethical practices ultimately took her life,” he said.
“Our mother lost her life because of this, and nothing has changed. By protecting her legacy, we protect everyone, and uphold the dignity with which she lived her life. Let’s remember who she was and what she stood for.”
This isn’t the first time Prince Harry has attributed blame to the press over Princess Diana’s death – he also implied it in his high-profile interview with Oprah.
A statement on today’s report of The Dyson Investigation pic.twitter.com/uS62CNwiI8
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) May 20, 2021
Prince William also released a statement expressing anger over the situation, although it’s interesting to note the difference in his approach – where he called Princess Diana paranoid, Harry called her “unquestionably honest.”
Bashir’s shitty conduct is partly inspiring so much rage because of the conspiracies believed by Princess Diana. She was super paranoid about being spied on by the royal family, and she was convinced there was a plot to kill her.
The legitimacy of her paranoia is still contentious (there are LOTS of conspiracies), but these fears were a huge part of her mental health struggles. Taking advantage of her fragility and paranoia to get access to her is obviously fucking terrible, and I’m glad Prince Harry absolutely rinsed the press for it.
