Prince Harry welcomes inquiry into BBC’s Diana interview as ‘drive for truth’
Parts of press using probe as opportunity to ‘try to drive a wedge’ between Diana’s sons, says source close to Duke of Sussex
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Prince Harry has welcomed the investigation into a BBC Panorama interview with his mother Princess Diana, with a close source describing it as a “drive for truth”.
The Duke of Sussex had faced criticism from some newspapers for not issuing a joint statement with his brother William, who said earlier this week that the probe was “a step in the right direction”.
However a source close to Harry has now said that the prince “is getting regular updates and is aware of everything that is happening”.
“Sadly, some people are not just seeing this as a drive for truth, but also trying to use this as an opportunity to try to drive a wedge between the brothers,” the person said.
The investigation was launched after Diana’s brother Earl Spencer claimed Martin Bashir used “false bank statements” to gain access to the princess.
The BBC has appointed Lord Dyson, a former Supreme Court judge, to lead a new inquiry into how the interview was obtained and whether executives covered up any wrongdoing.
Prince William said on Wednesday that the investigation “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”.
Mr Bashir has not commented on the investigation and is currently on sick leave recovering from heart surgery and from contracting Covid-19.
His interview with Diana in 1995 was watched by more than 20 million viewers in the UK and became one of the defining moments of her failed marriage to Prince Charles.
It included the famous line that there “were three of us in this marriage”, referring to Charles’s relationship with his now second wife, Camilla Parker-Bowles. Diana also questioned Charles’s suitability as king.
A month later, the Queen urged the separated couple to divorce, which they did in 1996. The princess died in 1997 in a car crash in Paris.
Additional reporting by agencies
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