Princess Diana, Martin Bashir(BBC) - What happened in 1995?

Diana, Princess of Wales was undeniably the most loved and respected member of the Royal Family. Her strong passion for activism and social work gained a lot of media attention. The media celebrated her for her unconventional approach to charity work. As a very charismatic and friendly woman, she was very endearing to the public. She is also considered the fashion icon of the late 90s and is one of the most photographed women.

But her life wasn’t as royal and glamorous as it seemed. She was married to Charles,

Prince of Wales from 1981 to 1996. The princess’ marital life was full of controversy, deceit, and lies. So much so that her public image was marred as a result. Charles and Diana got married on 29 July 1981. However, 5 years into marriage was enough for the couple to realize that they were not compatible, owing to their 12-year age difference.

From 1987 to 1995, the media consistently published about the failing marriage of the royal couple and the extramarital affairs that both Charles and Diana had. In 1995, Princess Diana was interviewed by Martin Bashir from BBC, for the current affairs show Panorama. In this infamous tell-all interview, the princess talked about her marriage and extramarital affairs.

This interview was a ‘ huge scoop’ for BBC because no other Royal had ever spoken in such a candid and open manner about their personal life. In the infamous interview, Princess Diana admitted to having an extramarital affair and indicated that Prince Charles’ affair with Camila Bowles (his current wife and the Duchess of Cornwall), had made her feel worthless. Furthermore, while referring to the Prince’s affair, she said ‘ Well, there were three of us in the marriage, so it was a bit crowded’. Consequently, this interview which was viewed by approximately 20 million people, sparked a lot of controversy and speculation around the Princes' image.

Moreover, the interview also provoked the Queen to send letters to the Prince and Princess in which she advised them to get a divorce. The divorce was finalized on 28 August 1996. However, Princess Diana’s life was very short as she died on 31 August 1997, at the mere age of 36.

The interview was hardly brought to light after Diana’s death. However, this interview has been in the headlines once again but this time, the controversy is around the interviewer, Martin Bashir. There was a lot of speculation as to how a then up and coming reporter, Martin Bashir had managed to secure such a coveted interview with the Princess of Wales itself. John Dyson, a former British supreme court judge looked into this matter for a period of six months and published a report on 20 May 2021.

This report published by John Dyson states that Martin Bashir secured the interview in a subterfuge way. Furthermore, the report states that Bashir ‘ forged bank statements appearing to show payments by a newspaper group to a member of Diana’s brother’s ( Charles Spencer ) staff.’ These forged documents were shown to Charles Spencer in order to gain his confidence so that he would introduce Princess Diana to Bashir. The report says Mr. Bashir "lied and maintained the lie until he realized that it was no longer sustainable. This was most reprehensible behavior which casts considerable doubt on his credibility generally".

While Bashir has now admitted to showing the forged documents, he consistently denied doing so back in 1996, when an internal inquiry (within BBC) was conducted. This internal inquiry was conducted by Lord Hall and him after the inquiry, cleared Martin’s and BBC’s names of any wrongdoing. However, John Dyson has now criticized Lord Hall’s report and has indicated that the report fell short of its expectations and was inadequate because BBC failed to interview Earl Spencer. The report has also accused BBC of covering up the facts about how Martin Bashir secured the interview. In addition to this, the report states that “without justification, the BBC fell short of the high standards of integrity and transparency which are its hallmark".

The BBC has hence responded to this and has issued a public statement stating “The BBC should have made greater effort to get to the bottom of what happened at the time and been more transparent about what it knew." Moreover, the BBC has sent letters to both Prince William and Harry apologizing about the incident.

Diana’s sons Princes Harry and William have both responded harshly to this controversy. Prince William said that his mother "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". Prince Harry said the "ripple effect of a culture of exploitation and unethical practices" ultimately took his mother's life.

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