BBC SHAME: Princess Diana died believing Martin Bashir's LIES about Prince Charles's 'affair with nanny'
Tiggy Legge-Bourke, the former royal nanny and companion to Prince William and Prince Harry, received a "substantial sum" from the BBC over rumours spread, in 1995, by the national broadcaster "to obtain an interview with Princess Diana". Reportedly, the Princess of Wales had burst into tears when she came to know of the "wholly baseless" claims about the then-nanny Tiggy having an affair with the Princess's husband, Prince Charles.
Simone Simmons, 61, in an exclusive with The Sun, talked about how the BBC interview had destroyed Princess Diana's mental health. The interviewer, Martin Bashir, had forged documents to make Diana believe that her husband was, in fact, involved with Tiggy, the nanny, who was also called Mrs Alexandra Pettifer.
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"We nicknamed Martin Bashir the 'Poison Dwarf'. The interview led to her divorce and losing her HRH titles. There is no doubt in my mind that Diana would still be alive today if she hadn't spoken to Bashir," added Simone. Many believe that Diana was "conned" into speaking with Bashir and that particular interview impacted the lives of the royals severely. It was described to have annihilated the "contented, caring and united" image of the Royal Family.
The BBC, in a statement, apologized for the claims Bashir made before asking Diana to appear in the Panorama interview, saying they were "wholly baseless, should never have been made, and that the BBC did not, at the time, adequately investigate serious concerns." In May 2021, retired Lord Dyson published his findings about "how Martin Bashir obtained his Princess Diana scoop." The court proceedings also recorded more detailed statements about how Princess Diana was baited while securing her interview.
The Princess had told her lawyer that she had been told Mrs Pettifer aka Tiggy "had been operated on for an abortion" and that she would "shortly be in receipt of a certificate". She did receive a fake "letter" as proof of the alleged relationship. The interview was Diana's first solo interview after her marriage, and after the controversial chat, the Queen had personally advised Charles and Diana to part ways.
The Princess had shelled out very specific details about her life as a royal, and questions were raised about her conduct. Diana's brother, Earl Spencer, accused that Bashir had also forged bank documents to prove that the Royal Family was spying on his sister's whereabouts. No criminal investigation or charges were slapped against Bashir after the authorities came to know of the fake documents considering this happened almost two decades back. The BBC did, however, pay Tiggy a sum of £200,000 recently.
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They also had to pay £1.15million to a charity selected by the Royal Family over the scandal. After the private enquiry of senior retired Judge Lord Dyson concluded, he said that the BBC had not lived up to its integrity and transparency.