- Although some have been critical of Prince Harry's decision to write a memoir, a close friend of Princess Diana's say she would have completed supported the move.
- In fact, according to her voice coach and longtime confidant Stewart Pearce, Diana would have written an autobiography or memoir of her own if she hadn't died at such a young age.
- Pearce sees Harry's memoir as an extension of the legacy of transparency Diana started with her revealing and candid BBC Panorama interview in 1995.
Prince Harry's decision to write a memoir has been the subject of some criticism, but a close confidant of his late mother, Princess Diana, is sure she wouldn't have a problem with it. In fact, according to her friend and voice coach, Stewart Pearce, Diana would have done the same thing eventually if she hadn't died at such a young age.
In 1995, in the midst of her separation from Prince Charles, Diana bucked royal tradition by granting an in-depth, candid interview about her negative experiences in the marriage to BBC journalist Martin Bashir (the interview has been the subject of ongoing controversy, with allegations that Bashir may have coerced Diana into participating).
“During the Martin Bashir interview she said she won't go quietly, 'I will fight to the end because I believe I have a role to fulfill,'" Pearce said of the now-infamous Panorama interview. "Which suggests the public disclosure of treachery, perfidy and dishonesty."
Pearce says the same need to share her truth would have eventually led Diana to write her own story, just as Harry is doing now.
"Diana's life and purpose were committed to complete transparency, and so I'm sure she would have written her autobiography full of all the many things she learned from her experiences within the Royal Family, and beyond," he said, according to The Sun. "Diana loved to write personal correspondence, which for her added the personal touch, added love to the people she cared for."
Harry's decision to speak out about his own experiences and struggles as a royal follows the legacy Diana set out during her own exit from the royal family, Pearce says.
"I feel that what Diana was doing was providing transparency about what she was experiencing at that time, which shocked the world, you know there were three people in this marriage, and the changes that she was trying to bring to monarchy, which indeed is something that she really did both when she was alive and also now when she is in death," he said. "What Harry is doing is going on a stage further and not just revealing what took place, but providing causative information about why treachery took place."
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