'I spent 30 years working for Royal Family - this is how I found out I'd been betrayed'

Princess Diana’s former chauffeur has said he didn’t realise why he was let go from his job with the Royal Family until he watched The Crown.

Stephen Davies, 61, was Princess Diana’s chauffeur until March 1996 when he was told his services were no longer required. Steve, who believes she would still be alive today if he had been driving her on that fateful night in Paris, says he found out about why he was fired thanks to an episode of The Crown.

New Zealand’s Woman’s Weekly reported that Stephen found out after watching an episode of the iconic Netflix show that depicted how BBC journalist Martin Bashir secured his interview with Diana.

In the episode, Bashir is depicted as claiming that people in her inner circle were feeding the press information about her, including her driver Stephen. After finally finding out why he had been let go, Stephen told the Daily Mail about the impact Bashir’s actions had on his life.

He said: “The consequence for me was that I was forced out of a job I wanted to be my life’s work. Martin Bashir robbed me of mine by making those allegations to Diana.

“I’m not the kind of man who wastes time and energy being bitter or angry, but she died believing I had betrayed her and that’s something I can’t ever forget or forgive.”

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Following the revelation about Martin Bashir’s tactics to secure the interview with Diana, Stephen fought for compensation and won with the BBC accepting that the allegations against him was “fabricated” reported the Daily Express.

After his victory, Stephen’s solicitors Carter-Ruck issued a statement in which Stephen said: “I am relieved that I have been able to clear my name, and my professional reputation as a chauffeur, through this legal process.

"I was shocked to hear that these false allegations had been made about me almost 30 years ago and were very likely to be the cause of my sudden termination.”

Representing Stephen for Carter-Ruck, Persephone Bridgman Baker added: “The claimant was devastated by the termination of his employment with the Princess; he had maintained a close professional relationship with the Princess throughout the many years he had worked for her and he was given no reason for the termination.

"The Claimant was tormented by speculation about what possible reason there could be for the termination of his employment and was acutely embarrassed about his dismissal. It is a matter of profound regret to him that, as he now knows, the Princess believed that he had betrayed her, and he was unable to correct the position before her tragic death.”