The Panorama Interview: November 20, 1995

[cde]

I don't think Charles is very often right about things. Actually one thing Charles and Diana both agreed on was the boys schooling and in Harry's case I think they both got it wrong. They both wanted the boys to avoid the heartaches that Charles had experience in the rough and tumble school Gordonstoun and avoided sending the boys to anywhere like that at all costs. What they failed to realize that a very physical but less intellectually gifted boy like Harry would likely thrive in an atmosphere like Gordonstoun much better than where he did end up and where his cousins Peter and Zara actually did end up and enjoy it immensely. For Harry I think Eton was a big mistake.

I agree Eton was a mistake for Harry academically but I don't think that was Charles first consideration. I think the main reasons Harry went to Eton was that Diana died and I don't think the princes wanted to be separated. IIRC I think they were talking about putting him at Rugby although Gordonstoun probably would have been perfect for him. IMO if Diana hadn't died, Harry would have gone to school elsewhere.

 

[ysbel]

Was the problem with the nanny that she was lacking in discipline of William? I'd not read that the Queen stepped in on the nanny issue, and so that's news to me.

Yes, she had previously been nanny in a noble household with two girls and hadn't much experience with boys. People that knew her said her style of childrearing after a child misbehaved was to give them a hug rather than a discipline whereas the Royals had been brought up that if they misbehaved they'd get a spanking. She came with very good references and apparently the girls and her parents loved her but her style of childraising wasn't suited for two active and sometimes quite misbehaving boys. I remember reading about the time it happened that the Queen privately pushed the couple to let the nanny go.

There were some other issues too. Apparently this nanny was used to being treated like part of the family in her previous household and at the Waleses she felt like she was being treated as the help. So perhaps she left by mutual consent. If she was used to rather placid children, I'm afraid she had her hands full with William and Harry.

 

[ysbel]

I agree Eton was a mistake for Harry academically but I don't think that was Charles first consideration. I think the main reasons Harry went to Eton was that Diana died and I don't think the princes wanted to be separated. IIRC I think they were talking about putting him at Rugby although Gordonstoun probably would have been perfect for him. IMO if Diana hadn't died, Harry would have gone to school elsewhere.

I think Diana and Charles made the decision together for both sons to go to Eton. Its true that Diana was more of an advocate that they go to Eton since her brother had gone but Charles really had an aversion to the more physically disciplined schools that Harry would have excelled at and I don't think he would have approved one for Harry with or without Diana.

By the time they were grown and could sign up for the Army, that was different. I rather think Charles enjoyed his own Navy career and rather liked the thought that his son would go into the military but he seemed to be particularly adverse to them seeing any rough stuff when they were still pre-teens. I can understand the hesitation but I just don't think it worked for Harry.

 

[Mermaid1962]

I see. Thank you for your detailed answer, Ysbel.

Yes, she had previously been nanny in a noble household with two girls and hadn't much experience with boys. People that knew her said her style of childrearing after a child misbehaved was to give them a hug rather than a discipline whereas the Royals had been brought up that if they misbehaved they'd get a spanking. She came with very good references and apparently the girls and her parents loved her but her style of childraising wasn't suited for two active and sometimes quite misbehaving boys. I remember reading about the time it happened that the Queen privately pushed the couple to let the nanny go.

There were some other issues too. Apparently this nanny was used to being treated like part of the family in her previous household and at the Waleses she felt like she was being treated as the help. So perhaps she left by mutual consent. If she was used to rather placid children, I'm afraid she had her hands full with William and Harry.

 

[anbrida]

For this question, actually Diana had already gave the answer herself. I think in the interview she was very honest of her mind. I didn't think she told a lie here.


BASHIR: Why have you decided to give this interview now? Why have you decided to speak at this time?
DIANA: Because we will have been separated three years this December, and the perception that has been given of me for the last three years has been very confusing, turbulent, and in some areas I'm sure many, many people doubt me.
And I want to reassure all those people who have loved me and supported me throughout the last 15 years that I'd never let them down. That is a priority to me, along with my children.
BASHIR: And so you feel that by speaking out in this way you'll be able to reassure the people?
DIANA: Uh,uh. The people that matter to me - the man on the street, yup, because that's what matters more than anything else.
BASHIR: Some people might think - some people might interpret this as you simply taking the opportunity to get your own back on your husband.
DIANA: I don't sit here with resentment: I sit here with sadness because a marriage hasn't worked. I sit here with hope because there's a future ahead, a future for my husband, a future for myself and a future for the monarchy.

 

[Lady Ann]

Yes , I love the younger pictures. she was so pure looking and natural she was always so stunning IMO. The only time I remember her not looking so well or should I say when i thought she did not look well was in that dreadful interview she did....you know "there were three of us in this marriage" " top job" she looked so drawn out and looked so much older then she was at the time. Other wise stunning!!!

 

[Grace Angel]

Yes , I love the younger pictures. she was so pure looking and natural she was always so stunning IMO. The only time I remember her not looking so well or should I say when i thought she did not look well was in that dreadful interview she did....you know "there were three of us in this marriage" " top job" she looked so drawn out and looked so much older then she was at the time. Other wise stunning!!!

I think her bad look in that interview ( if you want to consider it that) was due to the heavy mascara she was wearing, which was much too dramatic and heavy for her. She was also dressed all in black and was trying too look too dramatic I feel.

 

[Mermaid1962]

Perhaps she was trying to convey almost a widow-like image. "Here I am, in black and looking sad. Please have compassion on me."

I think her bad look in that interview ( if you want to consider it that) was due to the heavy mascara she was wearing, which was much too dramatic and heavy for her. She was also dressed all in black and was trying too look too dramatic I feel.

 

[Grace Angel]

Maybe. It ended up being too dramatic of a look. I've only seen still pictures as I've never watched the interview. Along with what she said in the interview, her physical image in the interview defintely had an impact.

 

[Incas]

I remember reading an interview with German ice-skater, Katerina Witt. She said she was so nervous before her first Olympic event, she was in the ladies locker room applying and reapplying makeup, over and over. When she finally performed her long program, she had thickly lined eyes. This can be a possible reason for Diana's overly done look at her interview. It was reported that she had dismissed all the staff in order to maintain secrecy of the actual taping. My guess is she would have done her own makeup as well.

BTW, I believe the full interview is available on Youtube, in segments.

 

[Mermaid1962]

Diana did her own make-up every day and would have seen herself on t.v. often, and so I think that she was going for a particular look. She probably knew the effect that the over-done liner was going to have. That seems to be a look that's in with a lot of people these days: long blonde hair and black eyeliner. I think that it's a "hard" look, but what do I know?

. It was reported that she had dismissed all the staff in order to maintain secrecy of the actual taping. My guess is she would have done her own makeup as well.

BTW, I believe the full interview is available on Youtube, in segments.

 

[Grace Angel]

Diana did her own make-up every day and would have seen herself on t.v. often, and so I think that she was going for a particular look. She probably knew the effect that the over-done liner was going to have. That seems to be a look that's in with a lot of people these days: long blonde hair and black eyeliner. I think that it's a "hard" look, but what do I know?

Was it a look that was popular back in the '90s though? But I agree you see it everywhere today. I think she did intend it, it was very dramatic, although nervousness could have had something to do with, that's an interesting theory. I don't know if the dramatic appearance she presented for the interview though had the effect it was intended to have.

 

[Grace Angel]

The Royals tend to be discreet and private and Diana's celebrity type fame and her going on Panorama and admitting to adultery didn't fit with the RF and their style of handling the public and being discreet and keeping the stiff upper lip. Then again, I'm sure that the RF didn't appreciate the interview that Prince Charles did in 1994 around the publication of the Dimbleby biography either.

 

[iowabelle]

I think Diana went way too far with Panorama. She should have had the sense to realize what impact this would have upon her sons, if nothing else. And she certainly lied to Martin Bashir, with her comment that there were 3 of us in the marriage. Wasn't it convenient for her to forget the fourth person, James H?

And I'm sure the senior royals were well aware of the participation of #4.

 

[scooter]

Well, I tend to doubt that Mr Hewitt was a player in the marriage before, during and after as the present wife of the Prince of Wales was, so perhaps that's what Diana meant...the then Mrs Parker Bowles was certainly a factor from before the engagement, through to the divorce and after. As far as the BRF being aware...they certainly knew that Charles was carrying on with Camilla, given how they were rendezvousing at friends houses all over the countryside. Then again, The Queen certainly turned a blind eye to all fo her husband's extracurricular activities, so maybe that's just how this particular family deals with infidelity..male or famale... But I must agree Iowabelle, she went too far with Panorama. I think at that point she just wanted everything out in the open, come hell or high water. And hell and high water is exactly what followed.

 

[Grace Angel]

I think Panorama was an error too, and certainly it didn't help her standing with RF any. I think she did it somewhat because Charles had done an interview a year earlier- it was a way to get back at the RF and/ or get the sympathy of the world, and this time, unlike with the Morton book, everyone knew that she was doing it. She did admit in the interview to adultery with Hewitt, and that she had been very in love with him, so she didn't leave that out, although she did put more emphasis on Camilla, obviously.

 

[ghost_night554]

Ya I agree I think she may have done Panorama not only to get more sympathy from the public as I recall back then there was alot of back and forth going on between the camps and I think she thought it was just reinstate what the Morton book had said, maybe this is more in retrospective but weren't people doubting it for some time, I think she wanted to show "hey this is all true what has been said and now your hearing it from me" type of scenario although now we know not everything she said in the Morton book was true and we now know she took part in the book unlike back then. I remember at the inquest she greatly regretted doing the Panorama during the last two years of her life so good to hear she somewhat came to that realization in the end.

 

[Grace Angel]

Diana and Charles both publicly admitted adultery on TV. I think she felt that if he had his say, she should have hers, in a more direct form than the Morton book- maybe if he hadn't done his interview, she wouldn't have done hers. Yes, she was defintely looking for sympathy too, dressed in black, looking tragic with a lot of mascara on Panorama. Diana's black dress at the Serpentine Gallery the night in June 1994 when Charles was interviewed on TV and admitted commiting adultery, was also a move to upstage Charles and the RF.

 

[ghost_night554]

Definitely, I actually sometimes wonder what would have happened if none of them did their interviews, wonder if things would have been different, I'm not sure in what way just curious.

 

[Grace Angel]

I think Diana may have done her interview even if Charles hadn't done his because after all she really cared how she was seen in the court of public opinion, whereas the RF have never sought publicity like that, but tend to have no comment. Certainly, the Queen I believe I've read wasn't too thrilled with either interview and after both the interviews really pushed for them to divorce so the whole thing could just be over with.

 

[ghost_night554]

I think to some degree the interview didn't reveal too much, I mean we knew the majority of what was said because of the Morton book. I still don't know how to interpret the whole Charles shouldn't be king comment a part of me thinks she didn't mean it in a bad way but then the other half of my head goes come on this is Diana she usually had a reason behind these types of comments. I dunno if Charles thought doing his interview would help cause it seems like it really didn't. I think in the long run the Panorama was a bad idea but I think the immediate response wasn't too bad. The first time I saw I didn't see what the big fuss was about.

 

[Grace Angel]

Both interviews did more bad than good, but the Panorama program did win Diana some sympathy and that's what she intended. She didn't neccesarily reveal a lot in the interview, but it was directly from her mouth, so people got more confirmation these things were true than if they read them in the Morton book- I think that was the power of the interview. I don't know what to make of the comment with regards to Charles either, although I can understand if she felt that way.

 

[COUNTESS]

Both interviews did more bad than good, but the Panorama program did win Diana some sympathy and that's what she intended. She didn't neccesarily reveal a lot in the interview, but it was directly from her mouth, so people got more confirmation these things were true than if they read them in the Morton book- I think that was the power of the interview. I don't know what to make of the comment with regards to Charles either, although I can understand if she felt that way.

How do you know what she intended? You can only surmise from your own thoughts. You have no idea what she intended. I think that from her standpoint she was furious and "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned". She was, certainly, the scorned woman. Perhaps, it was sheer anger.

 

[Grace Angel]

Well, the way she dressed in the interview makes you wonder if she wasn't trying to get sympathy.. or maybe to word it better, trying to project the image of herself as being the scorned woman, which she was. Certainly, she did the interview with an eye to the public, I guess that's all we can say. She was defintely trying to upstage Charles when she wore the black dress to the Serpentine gallery opening.

 

[sirhon11234]

When looking at the Panorama Interview I see a woman who was angry scorned and vindictive but also sad and hurt because her marriage had failed disastrously. The interview was one of the biggest mistakes she made in her life; and its good that the Princess realized it before she passed.

 

[marmi]

When looking at the Panorama Interview I see a woman who was angry scorned and vindictive but also sad and hurt because her marriage had failed disastrously.

I agree, you summed that up very well. So many emotions to handle, and this is the result.

 

[ghost_night554]

If Diana had lived I would have loved to known what she thought about the things she did in the past (IE: Morton Book, Panorama , the way she treated her friends etc) I hope she would have grown up and realized her mistakes. You know I just wanted to add that I kinda don't know why Diana did alot of the things she did was she hurt, angry was she doing it for attention but I wish she had been around longer I would have loved to seen what she would have been like now at a much wiser age.

 

[Grace Angel]

I read in the Judy Wade bio of Diana recently that Diana said to someone that she did the Panorama interview and admitted some of the things she admitted in it ( as this person was wondering why she admitted some of these things), because she thought people could relate to it. Thus, since she was admitting it, it was easier for people coping with things like that in their own life, if they also knew that Diana dealt with things like that too. Certainly that's true. The Morton book although not officially endorsed by Diana kind of served the same purpose though.

 

[spencerdiana1961]

Diana and the Panorama Interview

Hello,all ! Here is a thread about the exclusive interview that had the effect of a bomb,being a shock for the Royal House,but also created a close relation between Diana and the people.Lady Diana was the first and the last member of the Royal Family who spoke publicly,without any secrets,in front of the public,I admire a lot her brave and honestly,this is a true example for everybody.
100% LOVE THE PANORAMA INTERVIEW

Here are the links of the Panorama Interview:
YouTube - princess diana panorama interview part 1.wmv
YouTube - princess diana panorama interview part 2.wmv
YouTube - princess diana panorama interview part 3.wmv
YouTube - princess diana panorama interview part 4.wmv
YouTube - princess diana panorama interview part 5.wmv
YouTube - princess diana panorama interview part 6.wmv
YouTube - princess diana panorama part 7.wmv

HERE IS THE LINK OF MY VIDEO TRIBUTE TO DIANA'S PANORAMA INTERVIEW,ENJOY IT !!
YouTube - ♥.........♥ Lady Diana's brave in the Panorama Interview ♥.........♥

 

[Duchessmary]

Well, I understood her reasoning behind it, especially after Charles went public with his adultery. BUT...it was suicide for her. How could her sons watch it without squirming? How could anyone?!? If you remember, after this, the Queen had enough and told them to get it over with, and quickly.