Exclusive: Princess Diana’s Former Bodyguard Shares How It Was “Quite Difficult” Drawing a Line Between Security and Friendship

August 31 marked the anniversary of Princess Diana's death, and 29 years later, her former royal protection officer, Ken Wharfe, is reflecting on the special relationship she had with her team.

Wharfe, who stepped down as Diana’s bodyguard four years before her 1997 death, shared that it could be tough to forget you weren't "part of the party" because of the late princess’s warm personality.

Speaking on behalf of Casino.org, Wharfe tells Marie Claire that he found it “sometimes difficult balancing security because you could very easily be drawn into a private gathering or family occasion and begin to feel as though you were part of the party.”

“And I'll tell you why that was difficult,” he continues. “Because Diana herself would often draw you into it.”

Wharfe shares that Princess Diana always made sure to acknowledge people with gifts and handwritten notes, and praised her “wonderfully entertaining, wicked sense of humor.”

“She loved telling jokes, and listening to them—in fact, the riskier the joke, the better,” he says. “But that was part of who she was. Diana lived very much in the real world, like it or not. Many people would argue she didn't, but she always had this desire to be normal.”

Because of her warmth, Wharfe admits there “were times when it was quite difficult to remove yourself from what had become a very personal and very private occasion.” However, he says that being so close to Diana meant that he was able to be even better at his job.

The former royal protection officer said that being “drawn in” by Diana “actually worked in your favor because, if you were accepted as part of that environment, you were in the best possible position to provide effective protection.”

He notes that sometimes he sees protection officers "positioned on a street corner, some distance away," and explains that even if there are "good operational reasons for that," he finds that being in the mix with Diana was always the best for her protection.

“If, in Diana's case, she said, ‘Come and eat with us, Ken,’ or, ‘Come and sit in here and join the conversation,’ then that's exactly what I, and my colleagues, would do,” Wharfe adds.

Reflecting on the anniversary of Diana's death, Wharfe says that he feels her lack of royal security "led to the appalling accident in Paris."

The princess gave up her 24-7 police protection in December 1993, a year after her separation from Prince Charles. Fearing that her team members were leaking information about her to the Royal Family, she relied on private security when necessary and only allowed police protection when she was traveling with Prince William and Prince Harry.

"She was then relying on security which, in my view, was unprofessional and lacked the level of planning, coordination and communication that would have provided the best possible protection," Wharfe says of her 1997 accident. "Sadly, it simply wasn't there."