Prince William has broken his silence about BBC's independent inquiry into the 1995 interview of his mother, Princess Diana, on the program Panorama with Martin Bashir. The Duke of Cambridge said that the move is a "step in the right direction" to know the real story of how the controversial interview came together.
Kensington Palace released Prince William's statement following BBC's confirmation that Lord John Dyson, a retired Supreme Court judge, will lead the investigations. BBC director general Tim Davie also said in a statement that the corporation is "determined to get to the truth" about Princess Diana's interview from the independent panel.
BBC decided to re-open the investigation into Panorama and Bashir after new information emerged that Bashir falsified bank documents. Allegedly, Bashir showed these fake documents to the Spencers, Princess Diana's family, to convince her to talk under the premise that someone was paying off members of the royal staff to spill about the princess' life to the media.
Princess Diana's brother, Earl Charles Spencer, attested that he would not have introduced Bashir to his sister if he was not misled with the fake documents. He believes that his sister would not have done the interview, which significantly affected her relationship with the royal family.
Daily Mail also published Earl Spencer's notes during their meeting with Bashir. It implied that Earl Spencer had his apprehensions about Bashir, alleging that the journalist seemed to be making up stories about the royal family and their staff to gain Princess Diana's trust. If these allegations are proven true, Earl Spencer said that he expects BBC to make a posthumous apology to his sister, as well as make a substantial donation to her charities.
In light of these developments, BBC released a statement to The Telegraph in October stating that the corporation doesn't have the original, physical handwritten note from the princess. This note allegedly indicated that her decision to talk to Bashir had nothing to do with the bank documents. But, BBC recently walked back on its first statement and said that they had relocated the missing original handwritten note from the princess.
Princess Diana's Panorama interview aired in November 1995 with 23 million viewers. The show made headlines all over the world after she confirmed Prince Charles' affair with Camilla Parker-Bowles.
Royal experts said that the interview was the tipping point for Queen Elizabeth, who didn't want Princess Diana and Prince Charles to divorce. However, upon watching Panorama, Her Majesty told her son and his wife to go ahead and file for the dissolution of their marriage.
Sources in the Palace said that Prince William and Prince Harry had been closely keeping tabs of the BBC developments. Meanwhile, Bashir hasn't made any statements as he is apparently not in good health.
