Diana’s top aide ‘would have done anything to pull panorama interview’

Diana’s younger son, Prince Harry, and his wife Meghan Markle, have just announced that they will be taking part in a 90-minute interview with TV host legend Oprah Winfrey. The announcement

has stunned royal spheres, with some asking if the two will reveal what life is really like behind Palace walls and why they decided to quit the Royal Family last year — subsequently

triggering a crisis within the monarchy. While the Queen is said to have complete faith in Harry and believes he will remain tight-lipped about the individual members of his family, a glance

back at previous royal interviews proves they do not always go to plan. Diana was interviewed by journalist Martin Bashir for BBC Panorama back in 1995 — the now famous programme was

watched by nearly half of the UK, and is still a prominent part of the Royal Family’s history today. When speaking to the BBC, the Princess of Wales revealed the extent of the infidelity in

her relationship with Prince Charles, and uttered the now-famous line: “There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.” She also claimed that her then-teenage son Prince

William should ascend the throne ahead of his father, Charles, even though the Prince of Wales has been the heir apparent since he was three years old. The interview has returned to the

spotlight recently after allegations that the Princess was misled into agreeing to speak so openly with Mr Bashir. The BBC is now investigating any wrongdoing more than 25 years later, with

the backing of Downing Street, William and Harry. Discussing the collapse of Charles and Diana’s marriage in the Amazon Prime documentary, ‘Serving the Royals: Inside the Firm’, the Princess

of Wales’ top aide revealed the significance the interview had on the royal herself. Patrick Jephson, private secretary to Diana from 1988 to 1996, knew there was likely to be a large

public fallout after Charles admitted to the BBC that he had been having a long-term affair with his former flame Camilla Parker Bowles. Mr Jephson explained that he believed Diana wanted to

get her own back on her estranged husband through her own confessional interview, and so attempted to dissuade her. He told the documentary: “The thing that would make her look semi-divine

would have been to forgive, publicly hold out a hand of reconciliation to the rest of the Royal Family.” Yet, the voiceover claimed, “Diana was out for vengeance”, leading her to secretly

record her own BBC interview in Kensington Palace. Mr Jephson was aghast when he found out, and said: “I would have done anything to get that interview pulled because I felt it was so

damaging to her own future interests. READ MORE:  DIANA REPEATEDLY ‘VOTED FOR ABOLITION OF MONARCHY’ IN FRONT OF WILLIAM Then, in the divorce settlement, the Queen was sure to include a

confidentiality agreement — meaning neither Diana nor Charles could speak about their marriage afterwards. Many of Diana’s staff quit their roles including press secretary Geoffrey Crawford,

as well, after the interview. The Princess of Wales reportedly came to regret the interview in the years after. Speaking to Sky News, royal commentator Jennie Bond claimed: “I asked her

years after the interview whether she regretted it.   “She told me she didn’t regret the interview but she regretted some of the phrases she used.” Diana reportedly told her friends that she

also regretted the interview because of the effect it had on her children — Prince William is said to have stopped talking to his mother for a period after the programme aired. The results

of the BBC investigation into the interview are yet to be revealed.