Princess Diana expressed a private regret days before her death \u2013 and it had to do with her two sons.<\/p>\n
Rosa Monckton, Diana\u2019s close friend and confidant, has revealed that the late royal regretted sitting for her now-infamous \u201cPanorama\u201d interview<\/a> because she was worried that it had hurt Prince William and Prince Harry.<\/p>\n \u201cShe told me she regretted doing it because of the harm she thought it had done to her boys,\u201d Monckton, 72, told People<\/a> in a story published Monday.<\/p>\n Princess Diana attends a dinner at the British Embassy in Washington, DC, in November 1985. Getty Images<\/p>\n Prince William and Prince Harry in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace on July 1, 2021. Getty Images<\/p>\n Diana reportedly made the admission during a summer holiday with Monckton in Greece just 10 days before she tragically died at 36 following a high-speed car crash in the Pont de l\u2019Alma tunnel in Paris, France, on August 31, 1997.<\/p>\n The \u201cPanorama\u201d interview, meanwhile, took place in 1995 when William was 15 years old and Harry was 12. It marked a landmark moment<\/a> for the then-Princess of Wales.<\/p>\n Diana spoke openly about her struggles with bulimia, the difficulties in her marriage to then-Prince Charles and the loneliness she felt within the royal family during the televised sit-down.<\/p>\n Princess Diana arriving at the Serpentine Gallery in London, England, in June 1994. Getty Images<\/p>\n Prince Harry and Prince William at Clarence House in London, England, on Dec. 12, 2006. FilmMagic<\/p>\n Millions of people around the world watched, and it became one of the most famous royal interviews in history. <\/p>\n But in her private conversation with Monckton, Diana was focused less on the public reaction and more on the possible emotional toll on her children.<\/p>\n Elsewhere during her chat with People, Monckton claimed that Diana had been emotionally vulnerable when she agreed to the interview. Although Diana and Charles had separated in 1992, they wouldn\u2019t divorce until 1996.<\/p>\n Prince Charles and Princess Diana pose with Prince William and Prince Harry at Highgrove in Tetbury, England, on July 14, 1986. Getty Images<\/p>\n Princess Diana with Prince William and Prince Harry in Hyde Park in London, England, on May 7, 1995. Getty Images<\/p>\n Monckton described Diana as \u201cfrail\u201d and suggested that this made her more likely to trust Martin Bashir, the BBC journalist who conducted the sit-down. <\/p>\n Then, after the interview, Diana was said to have become more guarded with friends and family. <\/p>\n \u201cShe kept it all in,\u201d Monckton told the outlet. \u201c[Bashir] told her she couldn\u2019t talk about it. She cut people out because of that.\u201d<\/p>\n Princess Diana in Washington, DC, on Sept. 24, 1996. Corbis via Getty Images<\/p>\n Years later, a formal investigation known as the Dyson report<\/a> revealed that Bashir had used forged documents and other deceptive methods to gain Diana\u2019s trust<\/a> and secure the 1995 \u201cPanorama\u201d interview. <\/p>\n The report, which was released in May 2021, concluded that Bashir\u2019s conduct was a serious breach of BBC editorial standards and that the organization failed to properly investigate concerns at the time.<\/p>\n Although Diana died long before learning the full truth about how she had been manipulated, both of her sons have since spoken about the impact of the interview<\/a> and the surrounding circumstances. <\/p>\n Princess Diana, Prince Harry and Prince William in Berkshire, England, in September 1995. WireImage<\/p>\n Prince William said the deception behind the interview contributed to his mother\u2019s \u201cfear, paranoia and isolation,\u201d adding that it was not just Bashir but also BBC leaders who had let her down. <\/p>\n \u201cShe was failed not just by a rogue reporter but by leaders at the BBC who looked the other way rather than asking the tough questions,\u201d the Prince of Wales, 43, said in a video<\/a> following the Dyson Report\u2019s release.<\/p>\n \u201cThese failings not only let my mother down and my family down,\u201d he added, \u201cthey let the public down too.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Prince William and Prince Harry at Westminster Abbey in London, England, on April 25, 2018. Getty Images<\/p>\n Princess Diana, Prince William and Prince Harry visit Niagara Falls on Oct. 25, 1991. UK Press via Getty Images<\/p>\n Prince Harry, 41, was even more direct. He argued that the events surrounding the \u201cPanorama\u201d interview contributed to the circumstances that ultimately led to Diana\u2019s death.<\/p>\n \u201cOur mother lost her life because of this, and nothing has changed,\u201d the Duke of Sussex said in a statement<\/a> in 2021. <\/p>\n \u201cBy protecting her legacy, we protect everyone, and uphold the dignity with which she lived her life,\u201d he added. \u201cLet\u2019s remember who she was and what she stood for.\u201d<\/p>\n Martin Bashir in Washington, DC, on Jan. 22, 2013. Nick Wass\/Invision\/AP<\/p>\n