Entertainment
Prince William ‘frustrated’ at ‘commercialisation’ of Princess Diana’s interview with Martin Bashir as it’s ‘set to feature in The Crown’
Prince WIlliam spoke out after the ruling about Martin Bashir’s interview with Princess Diana (Picture: Getty Images)
Prince William is reportedly ‘frustrated’ after it was reported that Princess Diana’s interview with Martin Bashir will be featured in The Crown.
It’s thought that a dramatisation of the bombshell interview will appear in series five of the Netflix show.
It was ruled this year that Bashir used ‘deceitful methods’ to secure the interview with Diana, with Prince William issuing a statement saying that it ‘should never air again’.
After the recent reports about The Crown, a royal source told The Telegraph: ‘His words still stand.’
A source previously told The Sun: ‘The Crown’s creators see the interview as the keystone moment in series five.
‘To the writers, the stormy marriage between Charles and Di led up to her outpouring on Panorama, and the aftermath of that decision defined her final months.’
They added: ‘They are making a huge investment in that. The Crown has a track record of delving into areas of the Royal Family’s history they’d rather be left alone.’
20million people watched the bombshell interview (Picture: PA – AP)
More than 20million people watched Bashir’s Panorama interview with Princess Diana.
However, questions were then asked about how the interview was secured.
An official inquiry this year concluded that Bashir commissioned fake bank statements and used ‘deceitful behaviour’ in a ‘serious breach’ of the BBC’s producer guidelines to secure his bombshell interview with the Royal.
In the inquiry, he was criticised by Lord Dyson, who was appointed to look into the circumstances surrounding the infamous chat.
The Princess of Wales’ brother, Earl Spencer claimed that, before the programme aired, Bashir showed him forged bank statements that related to alleged payments made to his sister’s former private secretary and another former royal household member by the security services.
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The documents falsely suggested the individuals were being paid for keeping her under surveillance.
The inquiry determined that Bashir’s efforts to secure time with the late Royal in 1995 was a breach of BBC guidelines – something that the presenter said he ‘deeply regrets’.
In a statement shared after Lord Dyson’s findings were made public, he said: ‘This is the second time that I have willingly fully co-operated with an investigation into events more than 25 years ago.
‘I apologised then, and I do so again now, over the fact that I asked for bank statements to be mocked up. It was a stupid thing to do and was an action I deeply regret. But I absolutely stand by the evidence I gave a quarter of a century ago, and again more recently.
‘I also reiterate that the bank statements had no bearing whatsoever on the personal choice by Princess Diana to take part in the interview.
The interview is reportedly set to feature in series five of The Crown (Picture: AP)
‘Evidence handed to the inquiry in her own handwriting (and published alongside the report today) unequivocally confirms this, and other compelling evidence presented to Lord Dyson reinforces it.
‘In fact, despite his other findings, Lord Dyson himself in any event accepts that the Princess would probably have agreed to be interviewed without what he describes as my “intervention”.’
‘It is saddening that this single issue has been allowed to overshadow the Princess’ brave decision to tell her story, to courageously talk through the difficulties she faced, and, to help address the silence and stigma that surrounded mental health issues all those years ago,’ it concluded.
‘She led the way in addressing so many of these issues and that’s why I will always remain immensely proud of that interview.’
More: Prince William Duke of Cambridge
After Lord Dyson’s findings, Prince William criticised the BBC in a scathing video, claiming that his late mother’s ‘fear, paranoia and isolation’ were exacerbated’ by its failings.
The Duke of Cambridge also said the interview hurt ‘countless’ others, and called for it to never be aired again, alleging that it contributed to making the relationship between Princess Diana and Prince Charles ‘worse’.
Metro.co.uk has contacted Netflix for comment. Reps for The Duke of Cambridge declined to comment.
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