Princess Diana Documentary Makers Defend Their Inclusion of Her 'Panorama' Interview Despite Prince William's Disapproval
![Martin Bashir interviews Princess Diana in Kensington Palace for the television program Panorama](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/vqeudgaykMRhE3CbWz9MUK-415-80.jpg)
A whopping 27 years after it first aired, Princess Diana's BBC Panorama interview with Martin Bashir is still causing grief.
The recently released HBO documentary The Princess chose to include a couple of clips from the controversial sit-down, which notably showed Diana delivering her heartbreaking, now-cult line, "There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded," in reference to Prince Charles' affair with his now-wife Camilla.
In the years since the interview, many Royal Family members and friends have expressed their disappointment with the BBC for airing the interview, which Bashir has been said to have secured through manipulative means.
But the creators behind The Princess continue to feel justified in their inclusion of the Panorama clips. "This feature documentary tells the story of Princess Diana exclusively through archive footage from the time, without commentary from today," a spokesperson for the documentary told Us Weekly. "This interview is shown briefly, in context, as a moment of historical record."
The Princess includes these clips despite previous comments from Prince William, who expressed his wish that the interview no longer be aired.
He said in May 2021, "what saddens me most is that if the BBC had properly investigated the complaints and concerns first raised in 1995, my mother would have known that she had been deceived. She was failed not just by a rogue reporter, but by leaders at the BBC who looked the other way rather than asking the tough questions."
He added, "It is my firm view that this Panorama program holds no legitimacy and should never be aired again. It effectively established a false narrative which, for over a quarter of a century, has been commercialized by the BBC and others."
Stay In The Know
Marie Claire email subscribers get intel on fashion and beauty trends, hot-off-the-press celebrity news, and more. Sign up here.
Documentary makers have to make tough decisions: Do they exclude elements that may upset people, or do they privilege the narrative they're trying to tell? In the case of Princess Diana, as difficult as it is, it would very possibly feel like a strange omission to gloss over her tell-all interview, which was and continues to be so central to her story.
Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of British Vogue, InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Refinery29 and SELF. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.
-
Meghan Markle "Fears" Being "Heckled" If She Returns to U.K.
"The last thing she needs is the stress of going back."
By Amy Mackelden Published
-
Jenny Is Back on the Block—and Carrying a Birkin
The singer returned to New York City with a loud luxury outfit to match.
By India Roby Published
-
Serena Williams's Post-Retirement Style Pivot Is Complete
The tennis star's fashion era is taking a turn.
By Julia Gray Published
-
Lady Diana Spencer Made This Telling Change to Her Wedding Vows to Prince Charles After Discovering He Was Still Carrying On an Emotional Affair with Camilla Parker-Bowles
Diana wanted to cancel the wedding entirely, but her sisters talked her out of it.
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Could You Imagine Prince William and Prince Harry As Prince Arthur and Prince Albert? Had King Charles Had His Way, That’d Be the Reality
For better or worse, Princess Diana won out when it came to naming her sons.
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Royals, Paul McCartney, Nicola Coughlan, Salma Hayek... Was Taylor Swift's London Eras Tour Her Most Star-Studded Yet?
Imagine all the people........
By Iris Goldsztajn Published
-
Kate Middleton Confirms She Will Attend Trooping the Colour in a Heartfelt Update on Her Cancer Treatment
"I am making good progress."
By Halie LeSavage Last updated
-
Queen Elizabeth Apparently Gave Camilla Parker-Bowles Sage Advice on Her Wedding Day to Prince Charles, Which Camilla Ignored—and Later Regretted
Though the subject matter at hand may be surprising, according to lip readers, Camilla said not heeding her mother-in-law’s advice “really wasn’t a very good idea.”
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Lip Readers Decode the Advice Queen Elizabeth Gave Princess Diana on the Buckingham Palace Balcony the Day Diana Married Prince Charles
Lip readers have also deduced what Charles said to his bride while at the altar at St. Paul’s Cathedral 43 years ago this summer.
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Princess Diana Revealed to a Royal Author the Real Reason Why Her Marriage to Prince Charles Ended Not Long Before She Died in 1997
And no, it apparently wasn’t Camilla Parker-Bowles.
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Princess Diana Told Queen Elizabeth Through Tears That Her Then-Husband Prince Charles Was “A Nightmare” and That She “Hated” Him, Royal Author Claims
Ingrid Seward’s new book examines the relationship between mother and son, Her late Majesty and her heir, Charles.
By Rachel Burchfield Published