When Princess Diana's 'Bit More Suffocating' Comment About Future King Charles Ignited Controversy

Princess Diana's popular interview with journalist Martin Bashir on BBC's Panorama is still remembered by many. During the interview, Diana opened up about her battle with mental health and the troubles that she faced in her marriage to now-King Charles. She also revealed the pressure of raising her kids Prince William and Prince Harry amidst personal struggles. Filmed in her sitting room at Kensington Palace, the interview also made waves for Diana's unfiltered revelations about her husband's future aspirations of being the King, according to History.

Diana was asked if Charles wanted to be king in the future. She said, "There was always conflict on that subject with him when we discussed it.” She added, “Being King would be a little bit more suffocating. And because I know the character, I would think that the top job, as I call it, would bring enormous limitations to him, and I don't know whether he could adapt to that." 

Katie Nicholl, author of The New Royals Queen Elizabeth’s Legacy and the Future of The Crown, also reacted to this statement by Diana: “Her casting doubt on Charles’s ability to be a good king was hugely damaging to the institution." Nicholl added, “There is a fine balance between using TV as a medium to royal advantage and not letting too much daylight into the mystique of monarchy.” 

In the same interview, Diana called Camilla Parker Bowles the 'third person' in her marriage. The princess had said, "There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.” Reacting to this, Nicholl said, “It was shocking because this was Diana in her own words and what she was saying was incredibly explosive. It was Diana taking control of the narrative in front of the camera for the very first time.”

Furthermore, speaking about her mental health Diana had said, "Well maybe I was the first person ever to be in this family who ever had a depression or was ever openly tearful. And obviously, that was daunting, because if you've never seen it before how do you support it?" She added, "It gave everybody a wonderful new label: Diana's unstable and Diana's mentally unbalanced. And unfortunately, that seems to have stuck.” 

Diana also admitted to self-harm while openly discussing her bulimia. She said, "It was a symptom of what was going on in my marriage." She added, "I was crying out for help, but giving the wrong signals, and people were using my bulimia as a coat on a hanger: They decided that was the problem—Diana was unstable."

Meanwhile, as shown in The Crown, the interview also created a lot of conflict in the BBC since the interview was conducted without the awareness of chairman Marmaduke Hussey, according to Cosmopolitan. The controversy eventually faded, with Bashir even winning a BAFTA for his work. Bashir later left the BBC but expressed immense pride in the interview.