As The Crown season 5 approaches, which will address Princess Diana‘s turn against the oppressive system of the Royal Family, as well as her tragic death, which will turn 25 in just over a month, tensions rise over a crucial point. : the interview was given to the BBC, in 1995. The confirmation that the series will include one of the most delicate moments for the Windsors generates reactions from all sides, each day more.

The interview was the subject of posts here more than once. When in 2020 I highlighted the relevance of the fact, then in 2021 I confirmed the showrunners’ decision to include it, and other posts about when it was recognized and publicized that reporter Martin Bashir lied and forged documents to convince Diana to speak publicly about her divorce. . At the request of Princes William and Harry, as well as Diana’s brother, Earl Charles Spencer, the interview will never be re-aired in full, but there is no way to erase it from history.

In his statement about the BBC, William considers that the interview has no legitimacy, since it only happened on top of slander and lies, establishing “a false narrative” in which, in his view, it came to be treated as a commercial product. It’s true, which, in terms of content for The Crown, only reinforces the historical relevance of including the fact in the series. Because Diana was ready to kick the bucket and had the perfect opportunity to make history with the interview.

Another interview will be in season 5 and is linked to the one from Panorama, in which Prince Charles gave “his version of events” in a long conversation with journalist Jonathan Dimbleby, also on the BBC. In that conversation, Charles admits his love for Camilla Parker Bowles. That same night, Diana went to an event in the “revenge dress”, which we know has already been seen on film.

And what has changed about Diana’s interview in historical terms? The princess’ main motivation, was not just jealousy of Camilla, but of Harry’s former nanny, Alexandra Pettifer, better known as Tiggy Legge-Bourke. According to the mother of the future King, Charles and Tiggy would be living a torrid love story, with the then young woman opting for an abortion to avoid scandals. One of the documents that would have convinced Diana was a forgery of medical tests that would prove the gossip.

The British court ruled this week that Tiggy will be compensated for defamation by the BBC,
precisely because ‘false and malicious allegations about her were the basis for Martin Bashir getting the interview in 1995.

Diana’s psychic Simone Simmons lamented in an interview with The Sun that Diana died believing the lies that reached her. “Diana was very angry with Charles and told the boys not to talk to Tiggy,” she recalled. “Diana died believing it was true. If she were around right now, she would be terribly apologetic. But Bashir made her paranoid about everything and everyone. It was one of the greatest tricks ever played”, he added, echoing what William considers, that Diana’s last moments were of stress, paranoia, and a lot of insecurity.

These elements were used in the films Spencer and Diana, and they are still fed as truth by what we perceive by the statements of Prince Harry when he compares them to Meghan Markle. The apparent truth between the two stories is the Royal Family is manipulated and affected by third parties, who know how to find the wounds to provoke dramas that sell newspapers and feed algorithms. Not even 25 years after Diana’s death has the news factory changed. This is the main drama to be addressed in The Crown.