It was 1995. Fifty-four countries. Twenty-three million viewers in the UK alone. When Princess Diana sat down in a dimly lit room at Kensington Palace to speak with the BBC’s Martin Bashir, the world basically stopped spinning for an hour. People remember the kohl-rimmed eyes. They remember the head tilt. But mostly, they remember what Princess Diana said because it didn't just rattle the windows of Buckingham Palace—it blew the doors off the entire institution.
She was honest.
Maybe too honest for some.
If you look back at the Princess Diana Martin Bashir interview now, through the lens of everything we’ve learned since 1995, it’s a completely different experience. We aren't just looking at a "scorned woman" anymore, which is how some of the more cynical tabloids tried to paint her back then. Instead, we’re looking at a whistle-blower. She was someone who decided that the cost of silence had finally become higher than the cost of speaking her truth, even if that truth was messy and complicated and, frankly, terrifying for the people in charge of the Monarchy.
The Three People in This Marriage
You can’t talk about what she said without starting with the line that everyone knows. "Well, there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded."
It’s a masterclass in understatement.
She was referring to Camilla Parker Bowles, of course. But honestly, it wasn't just about an affair. It was about the structural reality of her life. Imagine being twenty years old, marrying the most eligible bachelor on the planet, and realizing that the ghost of his former—and current—flame is essentially a permanent guest at the dinner table. Diana spoke about the "desperate" need for support that she just wasn't getting. When she mentioned the crowds and the public’s affection for her, she noted that it caused a lot of jealousy. Not from the public, but from within the firm.
Prince Charles was struggling with being the "second" person in the room. Diana was the star. She didn't mean to be, at first, but she had this magnetism that couldn't be taught. In the interview, she basically admitted that her popularity was a problem. It made things difficult. It made her a target.
Bulimia, Self-Harm, and the Lack of Help
This is where the interview gets heavy. And it’s where she did something truly revolutionary for the mid-90s. She talked about her "secret disease."
Bulimia.
She described it as a "symptom of what was going on in my marriage" and a "pattern of repetition" that happened because she was crying out for help. She didn't hold back. She explained how she would eat everything she could and then be sick, which gave her a momentary sense of release, followed by intense shame.
It’s easy to forget how taboo this was in 1995.
Mental health wasn't a "brave" topic on Instagram back then. It was a reason to call someone "unstable." Diana knew that. She even mentioned that the Palace used her struggle with bulimia to label her as "unwell" or "mentally unbalanced" to discredit her. "It gave them a wonderful new label—Diana's unstable," she said. By speaking about it, she took the weapon out of their hands. She owned the narrative. She also touched on self-harm, admitting she had "depressed" herself and didn't like who she was. She was under pressure. She felt she wasn't good enough.
The Question of Being Queen
Bashir asked her if she thought she’d ever be Queen.
Her answer? "No, I don't, no."
She didn't say it with bitterness. It was more like a calm realization. She said she’d rather be a "queen of people's hearts," which sounds like a Hallmark card now, but at the time, it was a declaration of independence. She was saying she didn't need the crown to have power. She had the people.
She also openly questioned Prince Charles’s ability to adapt to the "top job." She suggested that the constraints of being King might be too much for him. That was a bombshell. You don't just go on national television and suggest the heir to the throne might not be up for it. But she did. She was worried about the "suffocation" of the role.
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The Deception Behind the Scenes
We have to talk about the elephant in the room. The Princess Diana Martin Bashir interview is now inseparable from the 2021 Dyson Report.
Lord Dyson’s investigation proved what many had suspected for years: Martin Bashir used "deceitful behavior" to land the interview. He showed Diana’s brother, Earl Spencer, forged bank statements. These fake documents were designed to make it look like people in Diana’s inner circle were being paid to spy on her.
It worked.
It played into her existing (and often justified) paranoia. It made her feel cornered. Prince William has since stated that the interview "was a major contribution to making my parents’ relationship worse and has since hurt countless others." He’s also been very clear that the interview should never be aired again.
Does the deception change the truth of what she said? That’s the big debate. Most experts agree that while the way Bashir got the interview was unethical and wrong, the things Diana said were things she had been feeling for a long time. She wanted to speak. She just might have chosen a different way if she hadn't been manipulated into thinking everyone was out to get her.
The Aftermath and the Divorce
Before the interview, the Prince and Princess of Wales were separated but still technically a "unit" in the eyes of the Church and the State. After it aired? The Queen had seen enough.
A few weeks later, Diana received a letter from the Queen "strongly" advising a divorce.
It was the end of the line. The interview stripped away the last bits of the "fairytale" facade. It forced the Monarchy to modernize, even if they didn't want to. It showed that the "stiff upper lip" approach was failing in the face of real human suffering.
Why This Still Hits Different in 2026
If you watch the footage now, you see a woman who was effectively trapped. Whether you think she was a calculating "manipulator" (as some of Charles's friends claimed) or a "victim of the system," you can't deny the impact. She paved the way for Harry and Meghan’s modern-day exit. She showed that the Royal Family is, at its core, a family—with all the mess, jealousy, and trauma that comes with it.
Actionable Insights from the Legacy of the Interview
- Trust Your Gut, But Verify: The Dyson Report proves that even those seeking the truth can be manipulated. If you feel like everyone is against you, step back and look for objective evidence before making massive life decisions.
- Mental Health Ownership: Diana taught us that naming your struggle (like her bulimia) takes away the power of others to use it against you. If you’re struggling, speaking your truth on your own terms is a form of agency.
- The Power of Vulnerability: The "Queen of Hearts" legacy exists because she was willing to be "human" rather than "perfect." In any leadership role, relatability often trumps prestige.
- Legacy Management: Understand that how you tell your story matters as much as the story itself. Diana’s words were hers, but the platform was built on a lie, which has complicated her legacy for her children.
The interview remains a haunting piece of television history. It’s a reminder that even in a palace, you can be lonely. It’s a reminder that silence isn't always peace; sometimes, it’s just a pressure cooker waiting to blow. Diana spoke because she felt she had no other choice. And thirty years later, we’re still listening.