Prince William was ‘absolutely livid’ at Princess Diana after being ‘teased at school’ over her Panorama interview -and he and Prince Harry are ‘closely following developments in Martin Bashir story’, sources tell Vanity Fair
- Prince William, 38, was ‘absolutely livid’ with Princess Diana over Panorama
- Diana’s friend Simone Simmons said Duke was ‘teased at school’ after interview
- She told Vanity Fair: ‘People at [his] school were calling her all sorts of names’
- Sources said Prince William and Prince Harry, 36, are ‘following developments’
- Questions have been raised about Martin Bashir’s methods to win Diana’s trust
Prince William was ‘absolutely livid’ at Princess Diana after the BBC’s Panorama interview left him being ‘teased at school’, a family friend has told Vanity Fair.
Diana’s friend Simone Simmons claimed the late royal’s choice to speak to the BBC about her marriage had left then 13-year-old Prince William ‘furious’, explaining: ‘People at [his] school were calling her all sorts of names.’
It’s been alleged that the reporter who delivered the scoop of the century won the trust of the Princess by producing fake bank statements showing payments of thousands of pounds from newspapers to ‘traitors’ allegedly ‘spying’ on the Spencer family.
Sources went on to tell royal editor Katie Nicholl that Prince William, 38, and Prince Harry, 36, are ‘following developments in the story closely’.
Prince William, 38, was ‘absolutely livid’ at Princess Diana after the BBC’s Panorama interview left him being ‘teased at school’, a family friend has told Vanity Fair
Simone claimed that Prince William was ‘livid’ after learning his mother had conducted an interview with the BBC and said it caused the royal’s first major argument with Princess Diana.
She explained: ‘Of course it was in all the papers and William told me he was teased at school because of it.’
Yesterday, the BBC’s new director-general Tim Davie promised to ‘get to the truth’ behind Princess Diana’s Panorama interview.
The corporation exonerated itself of any wrongdoing at an initial inquiry in 1996 – one year after the Panorama interview.
Sources went on to tell royal editor Katie Nicholl that Prince William and Prince Harry, 35, are now ‘following developments in the story closely’
The 1996 probe focused on the use of fake bank statements to gain Diana’s trust. It was effectively ended by a handwritten letter from the princess, which supposedly said she was happy with Mr Bashir’s conduct. This letter has since been lost.
The BBC says it has now apologised for the fake bank statements Bashir admitted showing to Earl Spencer.
It came as former chairman Lord Grade said there was ‘a very dark cloud’ hanging over the corporation.
Mr Davie said: ‘The BBC is taking this very seriously and we want to get to the truth. We are in the process of commissioning a robust and independent investigation.
Simone claimed that Prince William was ‘livid’ after learning his mother had conducted an interview with the BBC and said it caused the royal’s first major argument with Princess Diana (pictured, with Prince Harry in 1989)
‘The recent stories have highlighted some concerning issues. The BBC must hold ourselves to the gold standard of journalism.’
Last week, Diana’s brother Earl Spencer gave the Mail an extraordinary insight into Mr Bashir’s methods, using notes he kept of a meeting with him and Diana in September 1995.
Mr Bashir had reeled off a string of lies about people betraying her, the earl said.
He dismissed Mr Bashir as a fantasist – but Diana stayed in touch with the journalist, leading to the historic Panorama interview two months later.
The earl chose to speak out, having learned just two weeks ago that there had been a cover-up at the BBC.
After years of rejecting demands for documents under the Freedom of Information Act, claiming they did not exist, the corporation suddenly stumbled across 67 pages following a request from a Channel 4 reporter.