A clip of Princess Diana’s controversial “Panorama” interview is included in Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s new show — despite his brother, Prince William, saying it should never air again.
Now-disgraced journalist conned Diana into giving the November 1995 BBC interview, in which she famously spoke out about her husband Prince Charles’ affair with Camilla Parker Bowles.
William, 40, said last year that the interview should never be aired again after a BBC inquiry found that it had been secured through deception and only added to the late princess’ fear and paranoia in the wake of her divorce from Charles.
But in the first episode of “Harry & Meghan,” which started streaming on Netflix in the early hours of Thursday morning, Harry, 38, talks about media intrusion on the royal family before an extract from the interview is shown.
Following a clip of Diana telling a photographer to stop recording her and her sons during a holiday in Switzerland, Harry says, “I think she had a lived experience of how she was struggling living that life. She felt compelled to talk about it.”
As the “Panorama” intro is shown, Harry adds: “Especially that ‘Panorama’ interview. I think we all now know she was deceived into giving the interview, but at the same time she spoke the truth of her experience.”
The segment from the interview shows Diana talking about the “daunting and phenomenal” press interest in her life and her family.
An official BBC inquiry in 2021 found Bashir, 59, had acted in a “deceitful” way and forged documents to secure the interview with Diana, in which she also made the now-infamous comment there were “three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.”
In response, William said, “It is my view that the deceitful way the interview was obtained substantially influenced what my mother said. The interview was a major contribution to making my parents’ relationship worse and has since hurt countless others.
“It brings indescribable sadness to know that the BBC’s failures contributed significantly to her fear, paranoia and isolation that I remember from those final years with her.”
The Prince of Wales added, “It is my firm view that this ‘Panorama’ program holds no legitimacy and should never be aired again. It effectively established a false narrative which, for over a quarter of a century, has been commercialized by the BBC and others.”
The BBC decreed that it would never again air the interview, but Netflix has already gone against William’s wishes by recreating it in the new season of “The Crown.”
Page Six previously revealed that Harry and William have different views on how the “Panorama” interview should be used, with sources saying the Duke of Sussex feels it can be shown because it did include his mother’s thoughts and feelings.
The first three episodes of “Harry & Meghan” dropped Thursday, with three more due next Thursday.
Netflix issued a statement at the beginning of the series, saying the royal family declined to comment.
