How Princess Diana's Aide Used Settlement from 'Panorama' Interview to Continue Her Legacy

A children's hospice in Wales is benefitting from a donation from Patrick Jephson after a payout from the BBC

Princess Diana’s legacy lives on in a children’s hospice in Wales.

At Tŷ Hafan in South Wales, a space for reflection is being remodeled, renovated and modernized thanks to her former chief of staff Patrick Jephson. The late Princess of Wales' private secretary has donated $122,000 (around £100,000) from the damages he received last year from the BBC following the fallout of the controversial Panorama program in 1995.

The damages followed an inquiry that determined Jephson had been wronged by the infamous interview by journalist Martin Bashir who, it was found in May 2021, secured the conversation with Diana by “deceitful methods.” In March 2022, the BBC apologized to Jephson for the "serious harm" caused.

Now, the money is being used to remodel the Sanctuary, a non-denominational space for children, families and staff to take a quiet moment. Princess Diana was the first patron of the children's hospice and a critical campaigner in fundraising for its construction.

"Tŷ Hafan was the final patronage that I helped arrange for Princess Diana. Even before the first brick was laid, she was already a committed supporter, working hard to raise awareness and attract funding,” Jephson exclusively tells PEOPLE. “So when considering the best recipient for my BBC damages, Tŷ Hafan was the obvious choice.”

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“Thanks to his generous donation in our founding patron, Princess Diana’s memory, our plans are to enhance the place where children and young people, their parents/guardians, siblings, and families in our care, as well as those who have been bereaved, can enjoy a peaceful reflective environment,” Tŷ Hafan Chief Executive Maria Timon Samra tells PEOPLE. "It seemed like a very fitting legacy given all Princess Diana had done for us as our founding patron. She was so passionate about Tŷ Hafan and Patrick is too.”

Timon Samra adds that it was her “automatic instinct” to put the donation towards the Sanctuary. “The late Princess was somebody who did so much work with children, I just felt that there was a natural connection between her and our hospice. It would be something really nice to create something to remember her by," she says.

Though Tŷ Hafan (Welsh for "Haven House") opened in 1999, two years after Diana's tragic death in Paris, the launch of the hospice would not have been possible without her. The charity was created in 1990, and Diana became patron in 1994. The following year, the Princess of Wales asked her friend Luciano Pavarotti to perform in concert in Cardiff to help fundraise to build a care center, which proved to be a turning point.

“That helped to get over the line of building the hospice,” Timon Samra says of the support.

After Diana died in 1997, then-Prince Charles took over the patronage.

RELATED: Princess Diana's Private Secretary Receives 'Substantial' Damages From BBC Over 1995 Panorama Interview

In January 2024, the hospice will mark its 25th anniversary. Timon Samra and her team hope to have the Sanctuary renovations completed by then.

“It's such an important space for children and families, for families who are facing the unimaginable as well as well as families who have been long since bereaved," she explains. "Also for staff who want to escape and just reflect because they've dealt with very sad loss.”

Situated on a seven-acre site on the South Wales coast near Sully, Tŷ Hafan has ten bedrooms and serves 270 children and their families across South and West Wales, both at the hospice and in the community. Since 1999, it has supported over 1,100 children with life-shortening illnesses and their families.

“We pride ourselves in doing holistic work. We don't just look after the sick child. We look after all their siblings and the extended family — everything from sibling support work to play therapy, music therapy, and bereavement therapy,” Timon Samra says. “That can go on for many years – as long as the family might want the support.”

The organization does not operate under the banner of the publicly-funded NHS, so it has to raise the $18,000-a-day (£14,250) running costs for the ongoing operation through donations and via its charity shops. Jephson’s donation meant that Timon Samra and her team could modernize a space that hadn’t been updated for two decades. 

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In a break from past precedent, the Tŷ Hafa​n team is considering naming the Sanctuary in Princess Diana's honor after construction is complete.

“[Jephson] could have done anything with that donation, but for him to be so moved to want to make a difference for Tŷ Hafan was really powerful,” Timon Samra tells PEOPLE. “It will make a difference to children and families and leave a lasting legacy because it will take that building long into the future.”

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