Princess Diana Leaked Royal Directory To UK Tabloid In Phone-Hacking Case
During court proceedings related to the ongoing phone-hacking investigation in the UK, the late Princess Diana was named as the person who leaked the royal directory to the now extinct Rupert Murdoch tabloid, News of the World.
Testimony presented to a jury on Thursday suggests that the late Princess not only handed her estranged husband’s phone number — among others — but personally called then editor, Clive Goodman, to recruit him as an ally against Prince Charles.
During testimony in the phone-hacking case — which has gripped headlines in the UK — the jury heard how when Goodman was arrested in 2006, police found 15 royal directories at his home, three of which he is accused of obtaining illegally by bribing an official.
Goodman told jurors that one of them arrived in the mail, addressed to him, and shortly thereafter he received a phone call from Princess Diana asking if he had received the package.
The former editor also said he was not the only journalist the Princess of Wales contacted. According to Goodman, he was “very close” to Richard Kay, who at the time worked for the Daily Mail and Andrew Morton who penned her biography.
In part of the former Rupert Murdoch employee’s testimony he said:
“She was at the time going through a very, very tough time. She told me she wanted me to see this document to see the scale of her husband’s staff and household compared to the scale of hers. She was in a very bitter situation with the Prince of Wales at the time.”
“She felt she was being swamped by the people close to him in the household. She was looking for an ally to take him on, to show just the kind of forces that were ranged against her, to put the press on her side. We were quite a powerful organisation.”
Princess Diana was fun-loving, beautiful on the inside and out, and a reminder of the good in the world. pic.twitter.com/dA3rl9vnMz
— Beauty in Pictures (@BeautyInPics) January 28, 2014
Goodman has been accused of hacking into royal aides’ voice mails and faces two counts of alleged conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office, which he is fighting in court.
Princess Diana and Prince Charles were married in front of 750 million television viewers around the world on July 29, 1981 and ended in divorce on August 28, 1996.
The royal couple had a tumultuous relationship during which she was an obsession of the media, and paparazzi followed her every move.
Princess Diana became involved with several causes after her marriage ended and was beloved by her subjects and admired all around the globe. She was killed in a car crash in Paris on August 31, 1997 at the age of 36.
[Image via The Inquisitr]
