All royal fans remember Princess Diana’s famous Panorama BBC interview.
First, it was Diana’s brother, Earl Charles Spencer, who claimed his sister was “tricked” into the revealing chat. Now, the princess’ ex-partner, Hasnat Khan, has also suggested Diana was “manipulated” into revealing more than she intended to.
WATCH: Princess Diana discusses Camilla and Charles’ affair with the BBC
We will never forget the iconic moment that Diana looked at the BBC’s Martin Bashir and said, “there were three of us in the marriage so, you see, it was a bit crowded.”
While the viewers at home heralded Diana as a hero for her candidness, apparently the princess would have preferred to have kept her now historical confessions to herself.
Diana’s former partner and heart surgeon, Hasnat Khan, has slammed the BBC interviewer in charge of the royal’s revealing chat, Martin Bashir, for exploiting Diana’s vulnerabilities.
“One of her most attractive qualities was her vulnerability,” Khan told the Daily Mail, “it was what endeared her to the public. I later realised that Martin picked on those vulnerabilities and exploited them.”
The 62-year-old surgeon went on, “He was very persuasive with Diana. It was all about him being from the BBC, being respectable and very pious even. But he filled her head with rubbish.”
Diana was 35 when she met 37-year-old heart surgeon Hasnat Khan in 1995 and would have a secretive relationship that would span two years.
At that time of her life, Diana’s divorce proceedings with Prince Charles were nearing the end. They had separated in 1992, bringing to an end a fairy-tale union that had captivated the world, and Diana was living alone in Kensington Palace. She had shared custody of her and Charles’s sons, William, then 13, and Harry, 11.
Khan’s revelations come not two months after Diana’s brother, Earl Charles Spencer, claimed that his sister was “tricked” into the vulnerable situation after Bashir falsified bank statements to procure the interview.
Back in November last year, the Earl confessed he was “not at all satisfied” with the 1996 enquiry into the BBC and wanted further action to take place. As a result, a further independent investigation was launched to determine the circumstances surrounding the interview.
One royal firmly in support of Earl Spencer’s quest for justice is his nephew, Prince William.
When news broke that a second investigation into his mother’s interview was to take place, the Duke of Cambridge was quick to voice his support for the endeavour.
“The independent investigation is a step in the right direction,” William wrote in a statement. “It should help establish the truth behind the actions that led to the Panorama interview and subsequent decisions taken by those in the BBC at the time.
The broadcasting corporation appointed retired Supreme Court judge, Lord Dyson, to conduct the investigation back in November 2020 with an expectation that the inquiry will take around six months to complete.
It looks like we will have to wait another four months for the final verdict.
