Princess Diana was lied to about her husband before a legendary TV interview

"There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a little tight." Princess Diana's statements in a BBC interview in 1995 about her husband Prince Charles' infidelity are among the most famous sentences in British television history. But the conversation that reporter Martin Bashir had at the time, and which 200 million people around the world followed spellbound, was a result of lies and deceit. An investigative report revealed that Bashir deceived the princess and her brother Charles Spencer with forged papers.

Diana's revelations broke a taboo for the palace - with serious consequences. Reports of Charles' supposedly years-long affair with his now wife, Duchess Camilla, severely damaged the royal family's image. Although the former dream marriage had been broken for a long time, heir to the throne Charles only now filed for divorce. As a result, Diana lost the salutation Her Royal Highness – and thus personal protection. That was one reason for her accidental death in 1997, Diana's ex-private secretary Patrick Jephson claimed: "Di" and her boyfriend Dodi Al-Fayed could not have been shielded from paparazzi on the tragic evening in Paris.

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Bashir and BBC apologize

The investigative report raises the question of whether Diana would have made the statements if she had not been tricked The BBC reported in mid-November 2020, referring to a handwritten note from the princess that the mother of Princes William and Harry maintained that forged documents played no role in her decision to interview. Bashir, who has now apologized, agrees. William, now 38, welcomed the review: "The independent investigation is a step in the right direction ."

The BBC apologized and fully acknowledged the findings of the investigation. Then-director-general John Birt said the BBC employed a "rogue reporter". "This is a shocking blot on the BBC's ongoing commitment to honest journalism and it is extremely unfortunate that it has taken 25 years for the full truth to emerge," Birt said. Chairman of the Supervisory Board Richard Sharp spoke of "unacceptable mistakes". It is no consolation that these are mistakes from the past.

Fakes and Cover-ups

It is primarily Diana's younger brother who initiated the trial. This is probably also due to the fact that Earl Spencer himself brought Bashir into contact with Lady Di in the first place. However, Bashir used dishonest methods to convince the siblings of the need for the interview. He produced fake bank statements that were intended to give the impression that people had been paid to reveal information about Diana. Spencer gave former judge Lord John Dyson, who was conducting the investigation, several handwritten notes he had made during Diana's preliminary interview with Bashir.

The report also criticizes senior BBC managers for trying to cover up the fraud. Both before and after the interview was published, numerous journalists were amazed at how Bashir, then a relatively unknown BBC reporter, had gotten the princess in front of the camera. The then BBC news chief Tony Hall, director general until last summer, had defended Bashir. The reporter just didn't think, wrote Hall to the board at the time. "I think he's honest and an honorable man despite his lapse. He's contrite." Now he's acknowledging mistakes.

Untimely publication

Bashir, now 58, also apologized. He deeply regrets his actions. For Bashir, the interview was a huge coup: he became a star reporter overnight, later switched to ITV and then worked for US broadcasters ABC and MSNBC as a presenter for years. In 2016 he returned to the BBC as a religious correspondent. A few days ago, however, he submitted his resignation for health reasons, as the BBC announced.

For the broadcaster, which is already under considerable pressure, the report comes at an inopportune time. Changing viewing habits, especially among younger people, are costing the BBC a lot of money. From 2017/18 to 2019/20, broadcasting fees, the most important source of income, fell by 310 million to 3.52 billion pounds (around 4 billion euros), as the Court of Auditors found. The Bashir case could now have serious consequences of its own.

So far there have been no criminal investigations against the reporter or the broadcaster. But the explosiveness is great, as the "princess of hearts" Diana is still popular in Great Britain. For her 60th birthday on July 1, her sons are to unveil a statue in London. The Telegraph newspaper quoted a senior source as comparing the report to the News of the World phone tapping scandal. The tabloid had been tapping the cellphone calls of thousands of crime victims and celebrities for years - and was shut down soon after the case was exposed.