The interview Princess Diana gave to the BBC’s Martin Bashir for Panorama in 1995 was a bombshell at the time, though mostly for the candor Diana displayed when talking about her treatment by the royal family. Nearly 30 years later, the interview is controversial for a whole different reason—namely, how it seems Diana only agreed to sit down because she was allegedly tricked by the interviewer, Martin Bashir. Now, one of the people who was reportedly roped into the scandal at the time—Tiggy Legge-Bourke, former royal nanny to Princes William and Harry—has been offered a settlement.
The Telegraph reports that Legge-Bourke, whose surname is now Pettifer, will receive “significant” money damages ("in excess of” six figures, according to the site) from the BBC. Legge-Bourke’s involvement in the ill-gotten interview stems from a claim Bashir allegedly made about her to Diana, in which he reportedly presented the former princess with a fake “receipt” for an abortion that he claimed Legge-Bourke sought after an affair with Prince Charles. According to the Telegraph’s source, “Tiggy Legge-Bourke was right at the center of Bashir's manipulation and it is right that the damage caused to her is recognized by the BBC.”
Legge-Bourke with the young Princes William and Harry.
The 1995 interview has been a source of major controversy all over again in the last year. In November of 2020, the BBC commissioned an independent investigation into how Bashir went about obtaining the interview, the results of which found that he used “deceitful methods” like alleged false bank statements presented to Diana’s brother, Charles Spencer. Though Bashir has not been charged with criminal wrongdoing, BBC has said that his actions in seeking the interview went against their editorial guidelines. For his part, Bashir has apologized for his role in the scandal, though denied the interview caused Diana any harm.
Many close to Diana have spoken out about the interview in recent months, including Prince Willliam, who said that the BBC investigation was “a step in the right direction."
According to People, Legge-Bourke left her job as nanny for the royal family in 1999, but clearly remains close to her former employers: She attended the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, and was named a godmother to baby Archie when he was born.
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