Broadcast of Princess Diana's confessional tapes branded 'exploitative'

A decision to broadcast video recordings of Diana, Princess of Wales discussing intimate details of her marriage to Prince Charles has been condemned as “exploitative” and “hurtful”.

Channel Four announced it is to show controversial tapes of the Princess made by her former voice coach Peter Settelen in a documentary marking the 20th anniversary of her death in Paris.

The tapes were never intended for public broadcast and have been the subject of lengthy legal battles since the princess’s death in 1997.

The broadcaster took the decision to air them after negotiating a deal with Mr Settelen, who recorded his conversations with the princess in 1993, ostensibly to improve her public speaking.

In them an emotional Diana bared her soul at a time when her marriage was in crisis, talking in detail about her relationship with Prince Charles, their sex life and his affair with the then Camilla Parker Bowles.

But Channel 4’s decision to include the intimate recordings in its documentary Diana: In Her Own Words next month has been strongly condemned by people close to the Royal family and the Princess’ own family.

Royal biographer Penny Junor, who has written studies of Prince Charles, Camilla and both Prince William and Prince Harry, said: “This is just another way of exploiting Diana. It’s not what Charles would want and it’s clearly not what the boys would want. It will be deeply hurtful to them.”

Ms Junor added: “It seems to me a very bad idea to broadcast these tapes, especially at this difficult time for the family.”

The right to broadcast a few minutes of the footage was bought by the BBC in 2007 for a reputed £30,000 and formed the basis of a documentary, called Diana, In Her Own Words, that was due to mark the tenth anniversary of her death.

But the project was shelved, despite filming and production said to have cost upwards of £100,000, amid claims that it would be deemed in bad taste.

Freelance producer and director Kevin Sim, who oversaw the BBC film, was commissioned by Channel 4 to make the new film, also called Diana: In Her Own Words.

The princess is said to have been recommended Mr Settelen by one of his former clients at a time when she was keen to present her own account of events following her separation from Prince Charles.

The process began with her recording answers to questions from Andrew Morton’s for his 1991 book and culminated in her infamous Panorama interview with Martin Bashir in 1995.

In the tape she tells how she and Prince Charles only met 13 times before they married and how, as her marriage reached a crisis point, she went to the Queen for advice.

Earl Spencer, Diana’s younger brother, who tried unsuccessfully to sue Mr Settelen over ownership of the tapes, is understood to be furious at Channel 4’s decision to press ahead with the broadcast.

But Mr Settelen has said Diana would have wanted the tapes aired in the face of what she regarded as continued attempts by both Earl Spencer and the Royal family to silence her before her death.

Marcus Rutherford, Mr Settelen’s solicitor, said: “For the past 15 years Peter has been reluctant  to show the tapes. But now, coming up to the 20th anniversary, with everyone, including her own children, discussing Diana and revisiting her life, he wants Diana to be able to speak for herself. It’s about giving her a voice.

“Diana plainly wanted the world to know what she was going through at the time, but it was understandably deeply distressing to the Royal family and her own family to see her open up her life to public scrutiny, and they tried very hard to silence her. Whatever one’s views now about her place in history, it cannot reasonably be argued that her own voice should continue to be suppressed.”      

“We’ve seen the Channel 4 documentary and it treats the material with sensitivity and puts the tapes in their historical context.”

Ralph Lee, Channel 4’s deputy chief creative officer & head of factual, said: “This film provides a nuanced, multi-layered portrait of the most famous woman in the world and a mother who has shaped the future line of the royal family."