‘DON’T SHOW THEM’ Earl Spencer Begs Channel 4 Not To Show Princess Diana’s Explosive Video Diaries –
The Earl says broadcasting the tapes betrays Diana’s memory (Source: Getty)
Original Article | Author: Chloe Kerr
Earl Spencer renewed his plea for Channel 4 not to broadcast Diana’s explosive private tapes.
The broadcaster has refused to back down, saying the tapes are a “important historical source” and it “gives [her] a voice.”
Friends of the Earl say he believes showing the tapes, which show the princess at her most vulnerable, is a betrayal of Diana’s memory, reports The Mail on Sunday.
In tapes, captured by her speech coach Peter Settelen, the Princess of Wales opens up about her failing marriage and criticises the Royal Family.
The 90 minute program – Diana: In Her Own Words – is due to be screened next Sunday, three weeks before the 20th anniversary of her death.
The Earl and Diana as children (Source: Press Association)
Earl Spencer thinks broadcasting the tapes will be distressing for the princes (Source: Press Association)
Diana opened up about her marriage to Charles in the private recordings (Source: Press Association)
Earl Spencer has tried to stop Channel 4 airing the tapes (Source: Press Association)
The Earl, acting on behalf of the Spencer family, has contacted Channel 4 saying that broadcasting the tapes could cause profound distress to Princes William and Harry.
However, the broadcaster is refusing to back down and issued a statement, saying: "The excerpts from the tapes ... are an important historical source.
"We carefully considered all the material used in the documentary and, though the recordings were made in private, the subjects covered are a matter of public record and provide a unique insight into the preparations Diana undertook to gain a public voice and tell her own personal story, which culminated in her later interview for Panorama.
"This unique portrait of Diana gives her a voice and places it front and centre at a time when the nation will be reflecting on her life and death."
The tapes have already been broadcast on American television network NBC in 2004, in a widely condemned decision, leading many to blast the network as a grave robber.
They show Diana reflecting on her early life, her relationship with Prince Charles and her time in the public eye.
This footage, due to be aired in the documentary Diana In Her Own Words on Channel 4, was recorded at Kensington Palace in the early 1990s.
Nothing made Diana happier than spending time with her boys (Source: News Group Newspapers LTD)
These tapes were never intended for public viewing, but part of coaching to prepare Diana to present her account of her life and marriage to Prince Charles.
It was also part of preparation for her famous Panorama interview with Martin Bashir in which she alluded to Charles' mistress and current wife Camilla Parker-Bowles by saying "there were three of us" in her marriage.
These controversial tapes show Princess Diana preparing for public speaking about her relationship with Prince Charles (Source: Splash News)
Charles, Earl Spencer recently claimed on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme last week and claimed he was deliberately misled about whether Prince William and Prince Harry wanted to walk behind their mother’s coffin at her funeral.
He said: "I was lied to and told they wanted to do it, which of course they didn’t but I didn’t realise that."
