Editing Diana, Princess of Wales (section)

===Divorce===
[[File:Kensington Palace2.jpg|thumb|Kensington Palace (pictured in 2018), Diana's home and the site of her 1995 ''Panorama'' interview]]
The journalist [[Martin Bashir]] [[An Interview with HRH The Princess of Wales|interviewed Diana]] for the BBC current affairs show ''[[Panorama (British TV programme)|Panorama]]''. The interview was broadcast on 20 November 1995.<ref name="Panorama" /> Diana discussed her own and her husband's extramarital affairs.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/20/newsid_4341000/4341436.stm|title=1995: Diana admits adultery in TV interview|work=BBC News|access-date=1 August 2018|archive-date=26 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126055307/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/20/newsid_4341000/4341436.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> Referring to Charles's relationship with Parker Bowles, she said: "Well, there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded." She also expressed doubt about her husband's suitability for kingship.<ref name="Panorama" /> The authors [[Tina Brown]], [[Sally Bedell Smith]], and [[Sarah Bradford]] support Diana's admission in the interview that she had suffered from [[Major depressive disorder|depression]], [[bulimia]] and had engaged numerous times in the act of [[self-harm]]; the show's transcript records Diana confirming many of her mental health problems.<ref name="Panorama">{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/politics97/diana/panorama.html |title=The Panorama Interview with the Princess of Wales |work=BBC News |date=20 November 1995 |access-date=8 January 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110304163240/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/politics97/diana/panorama.html |archive-date=4 March 2011 }}</ref> The combination of illnesses from which Diana herself said she suffered resulted in some of her biographers opining that she had [[borderline personality disorder]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Cohen|first1=David|title=Diana: Death of a Goddess |title-link=Diana: Death of a Goddess |publisher=Random House|year=2005|page=18|quote=Jonathan Dimbleby and{{nbsp}}... Penny Junor{{nbsp}}... said that there were several people who had mentioned Borderline Personality Disorder. Psychiatrists had provided learned opinions that sadly (Diana) had suffered form Borderline Personality Disorder as well as eating disorders|isbn=9780099471349}}</ref><ref name="NYT-Critics"/> It was later revealed that Bashir had used [[forgery|forged]] bank statements to win Diana and her brother's trust to secure the interview, falsely indicating people close to her had been paid for spying.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/bbc-says-sorry-to-dianas-brother-earl-spencer-for-interview-deceit-ghfjqbbbx|title=BBC says sorry to Diana's brother Earl Spencer for interview 'deceit'|work=The Sunday Times|last=Urwin|first=Rosamund|date=1 November 2020|access-date=7 November 2020|quote=Spencer is understood to have told Davie that he has records of all his meetings and conversations with Bashir. These are alleged to show that Bashir told Diana fantastical stories to win her trust and that he used the fake bank statements to garner his first meeting with her.|archive-date=6 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506005808/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/bbc-says-sorry-to-dianas-brother-earl-spencer-for-interview-deceit-ghfjqbbbx|url-status=live}} {{subscription required}}</ref> [[Lord Dyson]] conducted an independent inquiry into the issue and concluded that Bashir had "little difficulty in playing on [Diana's] fears and [[paranoia]]", a sentiment that was shared by Diana's son William.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.vogue.com/article/the-dark-true-story-behind-princess-dianas-explosive-bbc-interview|title=The Dark True Story Behind Princess Diana's Explosive BBC Interview|magazine=Vogue|first=Elise|last=Taylor|date=11 November 2022|accessdate=31 March 2023|archive-date=26 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326030604/https://www.vogue.com/article/the-dark-true-story-behind-princess-dianas-explosive-bbc-interview|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2021/05/20/998807375/prince-william-says-deceitful-bbc-interview-fueled-princess-dianas-paranoia|title=Princes William And Harry Say BBC Interview Led To Princess Diana's Divorce And Death|work=NPR|first=Vanessa|last=Romo|date=20 May 2021|accessdate=31 March 2023|archive-date=18 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230418122159/https://www.npr.org/2021/05/20/998807375/prince-william-says-deceitful-bbc-interview-fueled-princess-dianas-paranoia|url-status=live}}</ref>

The interview proved to be the tipping point. On 20 December, Buckingham Palace announced that the Queen had sent letters to Charles and Diana, advising them to divorce.<ref name=lat1995mon>{{cite news|last=Montalbano|first=D.|title=Queen Orders Charles, Diana to Divorce|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-12-21-mn-16515-story.html|access-date=23 July 2013|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=21 December 1995|location=London|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140308022819/http://articles.latimes.com/1995-12-21/news/mn-16515_1_queen-orders|archive-date=8 March 2014}}</ref><ref name=ap23july>{{cite news|title=Charles and Diana to divorce|url=https://newsroom.ap.org/editorial-photos-videos/detail?itemid=85e31961323ecc3686d0e7324b12170b&mediatype=video&query=UK+ROYALS%C2%A4t=8&orderBy=Relevance&hits=147&search=%2Fsearch%3Fquery%3DUK%2520ROYALS%26allFilters%3DMedia%2520and%2520entertainment%3ASubject&allFilters=Media+and+entertainment%3ASubject&productType=IncludedProducts&page=1|access-date=23 July 2013|agency=Associated Press|date=21 December 1995|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402160109/http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/UK-Various-Queen-Orders-Charles-amp-Diana-To-Divorce/85e31961323ecc3686d0e7324b12170b?query=UK+ROYALS&current=8&orderBy=Relevance&hits=147&search=%2Fsearch%3Fquery%3DUK%2520ROYALS%26allFilters%3DMedia%2520and%2520entertainment%3ASubject&allFilters=Media+and+entertainment%3ASubject&productType=IncludedProducts&page=1|archive-date=2 April 2015}}</ref> The Queen's move was backed by Prime Minister John Major and by senior [[Privy Council (United Kingdom)|privy counsellors]], and, according to the BBC, was decided after two weeks of talks.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/december/20/newsid_2538000/2538985.stm|title={{-'}}Divorce': Queen to Charles and Diana|work=BBC News|date=20 December 1995|access-date=2 November 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307140359/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/december/20/newsid_2538000/2538985.stm|archive-date=7 March 2008}}</ref> Charles formally agreed to the divorce in a written statement soon after.<ref name=lat1995mon/> In February 1996, Diana announced her agreement after negotiations with Charles and representatives of the Queen,<ref>{{cite news|title=Princess Diana agrees to divorce|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1891&dat=19960228&id=LrgfAAAAIBAJ&pg=1484,3038265|access-date=23 July 2013|newspaper=The Gadsden Times|date=28 February 1996|agency=AP|location=London|archive-date=13 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210813044236/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1891&dat=19960228&id=LrgfAAAAIBAJ&pg=1484,3038265|url-status=live}}</ref> irritating Buckingham Palace by issuing her own announcement of the divorce agreement and its terms. In July 1996, the couple agreed on the terms of their divorce.<ref name="NYT-Divorce"/> This followed shortly after Diana's accusation that Charles's personal assistant Tiggy Legge-Bourke had aborted his child, after which Legge-Bourke instructed her solicitor [[Peter Carter-Ruck]] to demand an apology.<ref name="Time-Bio">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/daily/special/diana/readingroom/9697/21296.html|title=Special: Princess Diana, 1961–1997|magazine=Time|date=12 February 1996|access-date=24 April 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100406235031/http://www.time.com/time/daily/special/diana/readingroom/9697/21296.html|archive-date=6 April 2010}}</ref><ref name="Charles-Spencer">{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1444845/Diana-wept-as-she-read-brothers-cruel-words.html|title=Diana 'wept as she read brother's cruel words'|work=The Telegraph|access-date=10 April 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110503071256/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1444845/Diana-wept-as-she-read-brothers-cruel-words.html|archive-date=3 May 2011|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Diana's private secretary [[Patrick Jephson]] resigned shortly before the story broke, later writing that Diana had "exulted in accusing Legge-Bourke of having had an abortion".<ref name="jephson1">{{cite book|last=Jephson|first=P.D.|title=Shadows of a Princess: An Intimate Account by Her Private Secretary|publisher=HarperCollins|year=2001|isbn=978-0-38-082046-7|url=https://archive.org/details/shadowsofprinces00jeph|url-access=registration|access-date=2 November 2010|quote=extract published in ''[[The Sunday Times]]'' newspaper on 24 September 2000}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/sep/25/monarchy.stephenbates|title=Dark side of Diana described by ex-aide|work=The Guardian|date=24 September 2000|access-date=7 January 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170108003642/https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/sep/25/monarchy.stephenbates|archive-date=8 January 2017}}</ref> The rumours of Legge-Bourke's alleged abortion were apparently spread by Martin Bashir as a means to gain his ''Panorama'' interview with Diana.<ref>{{cite news|last=Mendick|first=Robert|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-family/2021/09/17/former-royal-nanny-offered-significant-damages-bbc-martin-bashir/|title=BBC to pay Tiggy Legge-Bourke 'significant' damages over Martin Bashir smears|work=The Telegraph|date=17 September 2021|access-date=21 October 2021|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210918003823/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-family/2021/09/17/former-royal-nanny-offered-significant-damages-bbc-martin-bashir/|archivedate=18 September 2021|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

The [[decree nisi]] was granted on 15 July 1996 and the divorce was finalised on 28 August 1996.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9608/28/royal.divorce/decree/|title=Text of Charles and Diana's divorce decree|work=CNN|date=28 August 1996|access-date=11 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050306005432/https://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9608/28/royal.divorce/decree/|archive-date=6 March 2005}}</ref><ref name="timeline">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3868403.stm|title=Timeline: Diana, Princess of Wales|work=BBC News|date=5 July 2004|access-date=13 October 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081208110008/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3868403.stm|archive-date=8 December 2008}}</ref> Diana was represented by [[Anthony Julius]] in the case.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/tribunal-slams-academic-for-bringing-anti-semitism-case/2002841.article|title=Tribunal slams academic for bringing anti-Semitism case|date=27 March 2013|access-date=16 March 2020|first=Jack|last=Grove|work=Times Higher Education|archive-date=23 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230523005807/https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/tribunal-slams-academic-for-bringing-anti-semitism-case/2002841.article|url-status=live}}</ref> The couple shared custody of their children.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1996/07/13/charles-and-diana-agree-to-terms-of-divorce/9e3bbdab-5f04-4edc-a395-1b64f6ea888d/|title=Charles and Diana Agree to Terms of Divorce|newspaper=The Washington Post|first=Sarah|last=Neville|date=13 July 1996|accessdate=12 November 2022|url-access=subscription|archive-date=26 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326033200/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1996/07/13/charles-and-diana-agree-to-terms-of-divorce/9e3bbdab-5f04-4edc-a395-1b64f6ea888d/|url-status=live}}</ref> She received a lump sum settlement of £17{{nbsp}}million (equivalent to £{{Inflation|UK|17|1996|r=0|cursign=£}}{{nbsp}}million in {{Inflation/year|UK}}) as well as £400,000 per year. The couple signed a confidentiality agreement that prohibited them from discussing the details of the divorce or of their married life.{{sfn|Bradford|2006|p=306}}<ref name="NYT-Divorce"/> Days before, [[letters patent]] were issued with general rules to regulate royal titles after divorce. Diana lost the style "[[Her Royal Highness]]" and instead was styled ''Diana, Princess of Wales''. As the mother of the prince expected to one day ascend to the throne, she was still considered to be a member of the royal family and was accorded the same precedence she enjoyed during her marriage.<ref name="RoyalMembership">{{cite press release|url=http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/cgi/news/release?id=56219|title=Divorce: Status And Role of The Princess of Wales|via=PR Newswire|publisher=Buckingham Palace|date=12 July 1996|access-date=24 April 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120603182714/http://www2.prnewswire.co.uk/cgi/news/release?id=56219|archive-date=3 June 2012}}</ref> The Queen reportedly wanted to let Diana continue to use the style of Royal Highness after her divorce, but Charles had insisted on removing it.<ref name="NYT-Divorce"/> Prince William was reported to have reassured his mother: "Don't worry, Mummy, I will give it back to you one day when I am king".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/royal-wedding/8465738/Royal-wedding-Dianas-ghost-will-be-everywhere-on-Prince-Williams-big-day.html|title=Royal wedding: Diana's ghost will be everywhere on Prince William's big day|newspaper=The Telegraph|location=UK|date=23 April 2011|first=Allison|last=Pearson|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120630111342/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/royal-wedding/8465738/Royal-wedding-Dianas-ghost-will-be-everywhere-on-Prince-Williams-big-day.html|archive-date=30 June 2012|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Almost a year before, according to Tina Brown, Philip had warned Diana: "If you don't behave, my girl, we'll take your title away." She is said to have replied: "My title is a lot older than yours, Philip."{{sfn|Brown|2007|p=392}}