The interview contributed to Queen Elizabeth II’s decision to order a formal divorce. Diana lost key royal privileges and felt further abandoned. Two years later, in 1997, she died in a Paris car crash while being chased by paparazzi.
A Legacy of Pain for William
“It’s hard for William to realize that things might have been different,” Webb said. The interview haunted him through adolescence — he was just 13 at the time.
“What teenager wants to see his mother asked on TV, ‘Did you have sex with this boyfriend?’” Webb noted. Diana even suggested Charles might not be fit for kingship, leaving William to face schoolmates the next day under the weight of global scandal.
In 2020, new evidence of Bashir’s tactics prompted the BBC to launch an independent inquiry led by Lord Dyson. The 2021 report found Bashir breached BBC rules by using fabricated documents to gain access to Diana and criticized the corporation for failing to act with integrity.
William responded:
“The interview was a major contribution to making my parents’ relationship worse… It brings indescribable sadness to know that the BBC’s failures contributed significantly to her fear, paranoia and isolation.”