The Duke of Cambridge has lent his support to the inquiry into Martin Bashir’s Panorama interview with Princess Diana, saying in an extraordinary statement that the investigation was welcome and “a step in the right direction.”
According to a statement issued Wednesday by Kensington Palace, William tentatively welcomed the investigation: “The independent investigation is a step in the right direction. 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 BBC has announced that Lord Dyson will lead an independent investigation into the circumstances around the infamous 1995 Panorama interview, in which Diana lifted the lid on Prince Charles’s adulterous relationship with Camilla Parker-Bowles with the immortal line, “There were three of us in this marriage so it was a bit crowded.” Diana also told Bashir that she didn’t think Charles was up to the job of being King, and revealed she too had an affair, with James Hewitt.
The interview was so explosive it led to the Queen writing to Charles and Diana, who were separated at the time, and telling them to get a divorce. Almost immediately after, however, there was word that Bashir had forged bank statements that made it seem that members of the royal family security team were being paid by tabloids to betray Diana’s secrets. After a brief internal investigation Bashir was cleared of wrongdoing, but her brother Charles Spencer is now leading the call for the new investigation.
On Wednesday Lord Dyson said, “This is an important investigation which I will start straight away. I will ensure it is both thorough and fair.”
Bashir scooped the world when he sat down with Diana in 1995 for the infamous interview. But, as Vanity Fair reported last week, the interview led to a major falling out between William, who watched the interview at school, and Diana, who according to her friend Simone Simmons regretted her decision to speak out.
Lord Dyson will be investigating whether the steps the BBC and Bashir, in particular, took were appropriate. In addition to having fake bank statements drawn up to supposedly show payments to a former employee of Earl Spencer from News International, Charles Spencer has alleged that Bashir told Diana wild claims that she was being spied on by Charles, MI5, a her own bodyguards and staff.
BBC director general Tim Davie has promised “a robust and independent investigation” into how Bashir got the interview, saying “the BBC is determined to get to the truth about these events.”
More Great Stories From Vanity Fair
— Why Princess Diana’s Controversial 1995 Interview Still Stings
— Inside Britney Spears’s Fight for Legal Control Over Her Life
— Prince Charles Will Wear the Same Royal Wedding Suit As Long As It Fits
— Internet It Girl Poppy Is Burning Down 2020 and Starting Again
— Curious Duchess Camilla Will Watch Herself on The Crown
— Can Princess Märtha Louise of Norway and Shaman Durek Live Happily Ever After?
— Prince William’s COVID Diagnosis Was “No Secret” Among the Royals
— From the Archive: Tina Brown on Princess Diana, the Mouse That Roared
— Not a subscriber? Join Vanity Fair to receive full access to VF.com and the complete online archive now.