A new book reopens the question of who failed Diana, Princess of Wales

In this Monday, Nov. 2, 1987 photo, Diana, the Princess of Wales, is pictured during an evening reception given by the West German President Richard von Weizsacker in Bonn, Germany. (AP Photo/Herman Knippertz)

Afua Hagan is a contributor to CTVNews.ca, focusing on the Royal Family. Based in London and Accra, Hagan is a regular commentator on the royals across a variety of international outlets, and is a leading voice on diversity in Britain.

Nearly 28 years after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, the public is still asking: who failed her?

A new book from investigative author Andy Webb, titled Dianarama: Deception, Entrapment, Cover-Up – The Betrayal of Princess Diana, puts forward an unsettling answer: everyone. The monarchy, the media, institutions meant to protect her, and individuals motivated by ambition, greed or self-interest all contributed to a system that Webb says, “ate her alive.”

At a time when the modern monarchy is already under scrutiny and lately almost constantly embroiled in controversy thanks to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, shifting public attitudes, and echoes of similar grievances from Prince Harry and Meghan –Webb’s book lands with the emotional force of a reopened wound.

But its message is bigger than a royal scandal: Diana’s life, it suggests, was not a one-off tragedy, but a defining moment in how powerful institutions treat high-profile women.

The book’s title reads like a gut punch, but Webb emphasizes that the claims in the book stem from years of research, digging, and firsthand accounts from people close to the story, with some suggestions that Prince William may even have contributed to the book.

Webb paints Diana as a young woman overwhelmed by a powerful system, abandoned within the institution she married into, chased by a media hungry to profit from her struggles, let down by those meant to protect her.

Webb explains that Diana was “targeted not for her power, but because she was powerless to resist the forces that benefited from her suffering.”

The book stands out as more than just a historical review because it explores the unfair balance where Diana’s vulnerability turned into her value. It examines how fame, gender, media, and power structures clash in society.

‘The full truth’

Diana’s story has been revisited countless times in documentaries, TV dramas royal tell-alls, and tabloid pieces over the past three decades. But Webb argues that even today, “the full truth has not been acknowledged – and not without fear of consequence.”

Webb’s point about Diana stands out. He claims she wasn’t just left without support but was even undermined by people inside the system. His statement that royal press teams, courtiers, or others working within the institution may have allowed or even helped damaging stories get to the media changes how people see her connection with the Palace.

These claims remind many of today’s issues. Prince Harry has often said his wife Meghan also dealt with similar hostility from the institution. Whether people agree or not, it highlights how Diana’s story still feels unresolved. Webb focuses on the British press and refers to it as “the most relentless and unforgiving of Diana’s pursuers.”

He says the tabloids moved beyond reporting on the Royal Family and started controlling the narrative instead: “The press did not just cover Diana, they manufactured her rise, her fall, and her tragedy.” According to the book, Diana was watched, manipulated, and driven to fear by the unending media pressure. The paparazzi car chase leading to her death is one of the darkest moments in the history of media and royalty.

However, Webb claims that the harmful behaviour started long before the events in Paris. This is a tough reality to face in a nation that values free press, but has TV channels and newspapers that depend on royal scandals to attract readers and viewers.

According to Webb, the mistakes pointed out in Dianarama didn’t just come from the government, the Palace, or Diana’s security team. Another major British institution, the BBC, added to how she was treated. Its involvement in the tragedy stands out as one of the most heartbreaking and significant parts of the entire story.

Even in 2025, people still deal with the effects of the Bashir scandal, the aftermath of the 2021 Dyson Report, and a constant struggle to define truth and responsibility in British media.

Webb’s ideas directly connect to this event. The notorious 1995 Panorama interview is seen today not just as a significant journalistic moment but as a serious breach of trust.

The Dyson Inquiry revealed that Martin Bashir created fake bank statements and used deceitful methods to gain Diana’s confidence. It also found that the BBC failed to notice, stop, or expose this misconduct for years. Dyson determined the BBC “fell short of the high standards of integrity and transparency which are its hallmark” and noted its leaders “did not conduct an effective investigation.”

Webb saw Diana’s vulnerability in this episode as central to how institutions treated her. In Dianarama, the interview shows how Diana wasn’t shielded but taken advantage of instead. Bashir succeeded because Diana already felt alone, unsafe, and, as she put it, “in danger.”

He gave her what she craved - an opportunity to share her perspective without the Palace controlling the narrative. The heartbreaking reality is that what she got in return was turned into a tool against her.

By tricking Diana into agreeing to the interview, the documentary claims, Bashir made her feel even more paranoid about being watched and followed. At the same time, he created the most shocking royal interview ever aired.

The iconic statement from the interview, “There were three of us in this marriage,” not only shook the foundation of the monarchy but also altered the relationship between the media and the Royal Family for the next 25 years.

The irony is, it’s in Webb’s book that that statement wasn’t about Charles and his relationship with Camilla, but about Charles and Tiggy Legge-Bourke, the family nanny that Diana was convinced he was having a relationship with, and whom Bashir had told Diana was pregnant by Charles.

The bigger failure of the institution came in the events that followed. The Dyson Inquiry discovered that top BBC officials ignored the concerns brought up at the time, refused to look into the matter again, and left false statements uncorrected for over 25 years. Diana died in 1997 without ever knowing how the interview had been obtained.

In this way, the BBC fits into the larger issue Webb describes. It is a significant national organization that valued protecting its image above being honest, taking responsibility, or caring about the person at the heart of the issue.

The broadcaster has since said “sorry,” with Tim Davie, the now former director general of the BBC calling the incident “a serious breach of the BBC’s values.”

Prince William went further, stating that the deception “played a big role in making my mother paranoid” and insisting that the interview “should never be aired again.”

‘The monarchy didn’t adjust’

But the bigger issue remains. If even the BBC seen by many as the highest standard in public broadcasting, could fall into protecting itself instead of doing what’s right how many others have done the same?

This scandal raises the key question at the centre of Webb’s book: when protecting a reputation clashes with a person’s vulnerability how often do institutions pick their own interests?

Webb does not claim that one person planned Diana’s suffering. He instead describes the monarchy as inflexible, unprepared, and focused more on its own survival than caring for individuals: “Diana was supposed to fit into the monarchy. The monarchy didn’t adjust to fit Diana.”

This feels relevant in 2025. Webb’s arguments make it tough not to notice similarities to the stories Harry and Meghan have shared with the public.

The Palace will not reply to anything from this book. Staying silent is what the Firm does best when topics dig up past pain.

However, the book comes out at a time when public opinion seems to be changing. A tale about avoiding responsibility is unlikely to change that direction. Still, this goes beyond just the royals. It tells of a woman consumed by forces bigger than her, with her death failing to halt those forces from continuing as usual.

Webb reminds us, “Diana was human before she was a symbol. And the tragedy is that too many forgot that while she was still alive.”

That is why her story still matters. And why it continues to haunt the world, not as nostalgia – but as unfinished business.