On the 6th August 2017, Channel 4 aired their version of ‘Princess Diana: in her own words” with secret private tapes of the Princess by her then voice coach.
Before it aired, the documentary already caused controversy, but what it revealed was a watered down version compared to the NBC’s version aired 13 years before.
The US edition did not fall short of revealing secrets solely focused on what was in the tape, with a personal interview with Peter on why he chose to sell the tapes.
Considering the furore over old information shown in the channel 4 documentary, what would have become had these secrets been included?
1. Di witnessed dad slap mum
Princess Di’s parents John and Frances Spencer of Althorp often fought during their marriage, with the Princess once witnessing her dad slap her mum hard.
Frances eventually leaves John for another man and John wins custody of Princess Di, then aged 7 and her 3 siblings, which shaped her childhood
2. Prince Charles dated Diana’s sister before her
The Prince dated Diana’s older sister, Sarah, though they were never intimate, before moving on to her. Princess Di first set eyes on him when Sarah invited him to their estate for a weekend party.
3. Prince Phillip blessed Charles X Camilla’s affair
Princess Di claimed the Duke of Edinburgh gave Prince Charles and Camilla’s affair his blessings on the eve of their wedding so long as he (Charles) gave his marriage a 5-year chance and if it didn’t work, he could go back to Camilla.
4. The Royals loved Princess Di…
…when she was a guest. It turned sour once she became part of the family.
5. Diana vs the Queen’s showdown
Fed up of Camilla constant pop up in their lives, Diana approached the Queen, whom she feared and respected, to sort the Prince, only to get a “Charles is hopeless” response
6. Why Diana Turned to Bulimia
Diana’s tapes revealed bulimia helped removed anger from her system, saying “it always felt better after I’d been sick to get rid of the anger”, “I’d be very passive afterwards. Very quiet”.
6. Diana & siblings vs step mum caused Dad’s stroke
It was no secret that Diana and siblings hated their step mother, Raine whom dad married 8 years after divorce from their mum. When Lord Spencer suffered a stroke, experts told them it was caused by tensions between them and Raine.
It is alleged that there are approximately 20 tapes of Peter’s recording with potentially more untold secrets, some of which he sold to US network, NBC for a reported £500,000. He also wrote a book called ‘Just Talk to Me’, dedicated to Diana who successfully emerging from ‘shy-Diana’ to powerful public speaking Diana after his teachings.
