Princess Margaret, the Princess Royal, wouldn’t allow any photographs of Princess Diana to be displayed in her home after one incident which shook the royal family.
WATCH: Princess Diana photos BANNED at royal household
According to 2017 podcast BBC 5 Live’s ‘Images of Diana’, despite initially supporting Diana through her split from Prince Charles, Margaret was affronted by a TV interview Diana took part in.
It was the famous 1995 interview on BBC’s ‘Panorama’ with Martin Bashir, where Diana said her famous quote: “There were always three of us in the marriage.”
This comment was a nail in the coffin of the friendship between Margaret and Diana.
Speaking on the podcast, host Natasha Kaplinsky addressed royal biography Andrew Morton, who said: “Absolutely – her next door neighbour Princess Margaret who had been pretty supportive during the separation, she banned any pictures of Diana on magazines, she wouldn’t have anything to do with her.
“And that reflected a general feeling inside the Royal Family, and of course, just a few weeks afterwards the Queen realising that this was damaging the monarchy, this war between the Waleses, and instructed that they should both divorce because things were just going to get worse.”
While Diana and Charles had separated in 1992, their divorce wasn’t finalised until 1996.
Her 1995 interview with Martin Bashir was was conducted in almost complete secrecy.
The podcast explained how the Queen was also kept in the dark about the interview, because Diana reportedly wanted to tell her mother-in-law about it herself.
More than 25 million people watched the broadcast.
“I think she made herself quite unpopular, a lot of people disapproved. A lot of people thought she had gone potty. The way she looked, the way she talked,” Natasha Kaplinsky said.
Adding: “It was quite a performance wasn’t it? Did you feel that was the natural Diana or was it orchestrated?”
Royal biographer Sarah Bradford, who was also on the Podcast, said: “It was so strange and venomous without being venomous. It just left a very peculiar impression.”
Princess Margaret found Diana’s comments “unacceptable”, according to a 2019 Channel 5 documentary ‘The Royal Family at War’.
Royal correspondent Katie Nicholls claimed Margaret decided from that moment not to speak to her ever again after the interview, even though they both still lived at Kensington Palace.
Mr Morton also said in the documentary: “Princess Margaret would turn over any magazine that had Diana on the cover.
“She told her staff not to talk to anybody form Diana’s apartments. It was a cold war.”
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