Nearly two decades ago, millions of people around the world watched Princess Diana‘s raw, tell-all Panorama interview.
Diana’s sit-down with journalist Martin Bashir took place inside Kensington Palace in 1995, one year after she and then-Prince Charles separated. The princess was candid about her struggles as a member of the royal family, her marital troubles with her husband, and the affairs that she engaged in during her marriage.
The princess’s decision to speak so openly about her life stunned fans, members of the royal household, and the man she admitted to having a relationship with while she was married to the future king. Here’s what that man, James Hewitt, has to say today about that and being labeled as “the world’s most-hated man.”
Princess Diana’s ex lashed out at the BBC journalist who conducted the interview
Princess Diana speaking during her ‘Panorama’ interview with Martin Bashir | © Pool Photograph/Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images
During her bombshell interview, which was watched by more than 20 million people in the U.K. and 200 million worldwide, Diana talked about her husband’s extramarital affair with then-Camilla Parker Bowles when she uttered the line: “Well, there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.”
The princess also answered questions about her affair with Hewitt, a former Cavalry officer. They carried on their relationship from 1986 to 1991 and Diana confessed that she “was in love” with him “but was very let down.”
Years after that interview, an inquiry found that Bashir used “deceitful means” to gain access to Diana including feeding the princess false information about her inner circle in order to get her to speak freely about everything.
James Hewitt speaks on his phone while sitting on a bench in London’s Hyde Park | Steve Finn/Getty Images
Hewitt recently bashed Bashir for “taking advantage” of the princess, telling The Sun: “I think the chap needs to seriously search his conscience. To do it by deception is unforgivable and there is very little road back from that. I don’t know him personally, but I think any underhandedness — and particularly if it’s taking advantage of someone’s weakness and being a toad — is wrong. It did affect me and it had a huge effect.
“I hope people realize that the whole of the program should be seen for what it was — and that was to deceive somebody into saying things and doing things that they may not necessarily have been willing to say had all the facts been known. It was not good for anybody except BBC figures and Martin Bashir’s career. It wasn’t exposing anything, it was just using lies and half-truths.”
When asked why he chose to remain single all these years Hewitt replied: “I think it’s pretty obvious given my history, and the difficulties thereafter, and having been the most hated person in the world.”
Prince William also slammed Bashir and how he pushed his mother to do the interview
In 2021, Prince William posted a statement on social media after he learned about the findings of the inquiry into his mother’s Panorama interview.
William did not mince words describing Bashir as “rogue.” He also hit out at the BBC news organization saying the outlet was “invasive” in its reporting and the way in which the interview with his late mother was obtained.
The prince then said the BBC’s “failures contributed significantly to [Princess Diana’s] fear, paranoia, and isolation that [he] remember[s] from those final years with her.”
