Dateline NBC - The Life and Death of Princess Diana

Episode Date: December 23, 2020

More than two decades since the tragic death of Princess Diana, Dateline reveals new insights into the real story of the very private royal, including a look at Diana’s troubled marriage, her turbulent life in the royal family and the investigation into her death. With the rise in popularity of The Crown, Andrea Canning reports on how much of it is true and what was really happening behind the palace gates.

I'm Lester Holt, and this is Dateline. Princess Diana. She's fascinated the world all over again, courtesy of The Crown. The Crown, of course, is getting a lot of buzz. Royal drama dominating the headlines. It's the Diana years. But is the Netflix portrait the true portrait? Some of it's been fictionalized. This is not a documentary. There's a great many people involved in royal life

that think it's just strayed far too far from the truth. Now, the riveting real story. She stood up to this huge institution of the British monarchy. She often talked about dark forces. There were allegations of conspiracy to murder. What did you see as you entered the tunnel? Prince Harry was going to make sure that history was not repeated. Basically saying, back off, you're hounding her like you hounded my mother.

She was betrayed by so many people. We only knew half the story. Here's Andrea Canning with The Life and Death of Princess Diana. It was getting late in the City of Light that last Saturday in August 1997. But sidewalk cafes in Paris were still bustling. The Moulin Rouge was aglow. Riverboats along the Seine were teeming with tourists. And the paparazzi were out in full force because a special visitor was in town. In fact, the most famous woman in the world, Princess Diana. For years, cameras had tailed her like sharks follow blood.

And now, on this late August night, the hunt was still on. As Diana and her new lover, Dodi Al-Fayed, sped away from the paparazzi who were in hot pursuit. Suddenly, the driver made an unexpected turn into that tunnel. The Pont de l de Lama tunnel. Breaking news coverage. Princess Diana has been seriously injured. Indeed, Princess Diana has died tonight. It's been more than two decades since that fateful night.

Yet Princess Diana remains as famous in death as she was in life. And as the focus of season four of the Netflix series, The Crown, she's squarely on everyone's minds once more. Being a princess doesn't always have a fairy tale ending. She would probably be the first to agree with that. Certainly The Crown makes for captivating television. A wrenching portrait of a tortured marriage. A woman overwhelmed by the royal machine. But how much of it is true? Tonight we tell the real story. We go behind the palace gates and reveal that behind every iconic image of Diana there there is a story, often a secret. Diana and Dodie didn't have this full-fledged romance that people think.

Definitely not. Secrets she shared only with a select few. I had to protect her. Our relationship was a very private one. It was a secret one. She was beautiful, magnetic, but also misunderstood. Diana wasn't paranoid. She wasn't damaged goods. She was very unhappy with the state of her marriage.

Even now, questions still swirl about her marriage, her battles with the monarchy, her secret love affairs, and what really caused that horrible crash in Paris. We had to look at whether there was a real reason why someone would want to murder Princess Diana that night. Over the next two hours, we'll hear from close friends, confidants, insiders, people who worked for her and reported on her, who offer intriguing insights about the woman who will always be remembered as the people's princess.

Diana Frances Spencer was born into aristocracy in 1961. The daughter of an earl, she was raised at his country estate called Althorp. We got a look inside Diana's stunning childhood home. Her brother Charles and his wife gave NBC's Cynthia McFadden a tour. This is a room that I associate really with Diana tap dancing. As a sort of teenager, she used to do endless tap dancing in here. And that's my main connection in this house of her. Inside the grand house, it was not always warm and friendly. The parents divorced, and her mother lost custody of the children.

But their father remarried a woman named Rain Spencer. Diana and her brother called her Acid Rain. And she kept them at arm's length in one of the giant estates' smallest rooms. We were put up in the attics. And for a house like this, I'd say very, very, very modest rooms. But, you know, it's just the way it was. Diana's unhappy childhood would later manifest itself in a big way. She was very, very needy.

Penny Junor has written extensively about the royals, including books on both Prince Charles and Diana. She was constantly looking for love, the love that she felt she had never had from her mother. And that actually tainted her entire life. During her teen years, Diana started to blossom. James Colthurst, who was a dateline consultant, met her on a ski trip. She just blended in with the whole group. She had a very good sense of humor. She was amusing. She got plenty of attention.

The first time Diana met Charles was in the late 1970s at Althorp. Diana was just 16 at the time. The future king was actually dating her sister. The crown got that part right. But the meeting didn't happen while Diana was dressed in costume for a play. In reality, Charles had come to Althorp for a day of shooting, and Diana was a spectator. Sparks did not fly.

At age 17, Diana moved to London and later worked at a nursery school. Not exactly glamorous, but few knew that the world's most eligible bachelor was on a mission, not entirely of his own choosing. It was time. He was under pressure. Richard Kay is the editor-at-large for the London Daily Mail. He later became close friends with Diana and also covered Prince Charles. He felt pressure from his family, pressure from his friends, pressure from himself. He knew that his duty was to have a son, to secure the House of Windsor. That was his job. So he had to find

someone with whom he could have a family. Someone like Lady Diana Spencer. And at that time, it was absolutely imperative for the heir to the throne to marry an aristocrat who was not a Roman Catholic and who was a virgin. She was, on paper, absolutely 100% perfect. So perfect that behind the scenes, Charles and Diana's grandmothers were helping move things along. Diana's grandmother was the Queen Mother's best friend, so the stars were in alignment, if you like. I mean, Diana was almost plucked and chosen for Charles. The two began dating in that royal kind of way.

When she referred to him, she had to call him sir. I mean, it was a really different kind of dating that anyone else would do. The British press was eager to discover just who Prince Charles might marry. And here is the very first public photo of Diana back then. She was just 19. There's an intriguing story behind that historic shot, from Arthur Edwards, the newspaper photographer who snapped it. We found Edwards in London, and he still remembers that day back in 1980 when he got a tip from someone attending Charles' polo match who told him.

He's here today with a girl called Lady Diana Spencer. So I walked around the polo field. I saw this girl, and she was wearing a necklace, a D necklace. So I said, excuse me, are you Lady Diana Spencer? She said, yeah. I said, may I take your photograph, please? She said, yeah. She posed that for me. This casual photograph is what introduced young Lady Diana Spencer to the world. There would be thousands more pictures to come, of course, and Diana's life would never be the same. When we come back... In love. Of course.

Whatever in love means. Engagement or arrangement. He appeared to have someone else he was interested in. The romance that captivated everyone, except for the couple at the center. Diana flew into a complete rage. She said, I can't go through with this. Charles and Diana's courtship went by in a flash. Overnight, it seemed, they were engaged. The world met the couple for the first time at a photo op. It was memorable.

Just delighted and happy. And I'm amazed that she's been brave enough to take me on. And I suppose in love. Of course. Whatever in love means. The real story behind that rather awkward interview actually goes much deeper. Charles was hesitant to propose to Diana, so much so that his father, Prince Philip, sent him a letter. Philip was saying to him, look, you've been seeing this girl, you can't lead her up the garden path, so to speak.

Either marry her or let her go, otherwise she's going to be a very damaged young woman. Charles, under pressure to fulfill his royal duties, and Diana, just 19 years old, decided to take the plunge into what was essentially an arranged marriage. She was very much in love with him, and I think he was not yet in love with her. He was bounced into asking Diana to marry him before he was ready. Charles was almost 13 years older than Diana, more worldly, more educated.

Even so, the two told the media they were the perfect match. What do you think we got in common? Sense of humor. Every act or activity, except I don't ride. So nobody did that. Lots of things, really. But in reality, Diane and Charles didn't seem to have much in common.

She didn't like horses and dogs. She hated all those kind of sporting activities that he went in for. And she was a young 19, 20-year-old who was into romantic fiction and shopping and lunching and mucking about with her mates. And right away, Diana discovered someone who was important to Charles, a person from his past. There was another woman in this dynamic, Camilla Parker Bowles.

Yes. Parker Bowles was a confidant of Prince Charles's and a lover of his long before he met Diana. But she and Charles remained good friends. There was this sense, I think, from almost the beginning that Charles wasn't entirely Diana's own. Camilla Tominey is NBC News' royal expert. Charles had insisted that his relationship with Camilla had been platonic, but I think there was a sense that Diana quickly realized that mentally Charles wasn't completely with her 100%. Most people have long believed that Camilla Parker Bowles was the villain in this story.

But Camilla, early on, actually supported Diana, advised her about Charles and royal life. She liked Diana and thought that she would be a lovely wife for him. So she was very friendly to her.

And Diana was very friendly to Camilla. But Diana, just 19, was insecure, says her friend Richard Kay. She was a naive young girl. Charles was her first proper man in her life. But he appeared to have someone else he was interested in, too. It would have made anyone question themselves. She was beautiful, gorgeous, fantastic to have on your arm.

But maybe she struggled to have a rigorous conversation with him. So Diana was giving Charles more of the beauty and Camilla was giving him more of the brains. I think that's it. Then, just weeks before the wedding, Diana's concerns about Camilla suddenly exploded in an incident that wasn't reported at the time. She came across a present between Charles and Camilla.

What was it? It was a bracelet. Inscription? It had G and F on it. G was the name Gladys, which was the nickname that Charles had for Camilla. F stood for Fred, which was Camilla's pet name for Charles. Diana flew into a complete rage and stormed out of the room. Diana got it into her head that Camilla and Charles never stopped having an affair. And she became absolutely obsessed by Camilla.

Charles realized during the engagement that there was something really badly wrong, and he didn't have the courage to call a halt to it. Thrust into the royal spotlight, and now concerned about Camilla, the pressure on Diana, according to author Penny Junor, was beginning to take its toll. Diana changed literally overnight. Having been this sunny, easy, happy-go-lucky, smiley girl,

she turned into this dark, at times, girl who went into rages, absolute rages, temper tantrums, tears, jealousies, kicking furniture, and he just didn't know how to cope. By now, the wedding was just weeks away. At every turn, she was sort of trapped in a different way. Sarah Ellison of the Washington Post has written extensively about Princess Diana and her relationships. Diana later said that she actually wanted to get out of getting married to Charles. No one has ever called off a royal wedding. They were never not going to be married. Lady Diana is regarded here as just about the perfect bride.

Diana had lunch with her sisters. She said, you know, I can't go through with this. I want out. I don't want to do this. And her sisters jokingly said, too late, your face is on the tea towels. And of course, you know, that was the problem. It was too late. More than 60 BBC television cameras will produce pictures for a worldwide audience of about 700 million.

The royal wedding would indeed go on, whether the bride and groom wanted it or not. Coming up, a surprise at the ceremony. Diana managed to spot Camilla Parker Bowles. And a few more on the honeymoon. Charles opened his diary and there was a photograph of Camilla in it. I mean, how stupid is that? When Dateline continues. The British royal family celebrates the wedding of the Prince of Wales. Summer, 1981.

Lady Diana Spencer was about to become Princess Diana in one of the most eagerly anticipated weddings in the world. Good evening from London, where we have come to cover the royal wedding. Charles, Prince of Wales, takes the lovely Lady Diana Spencer as his bride. The royal wedding was fantastic. It was British pomp and pageantry at its best. A lot of people could see the carriage procession in a glass coach, I mean, like Cinderella. I was nine years old. I set my alarm, 4am, got up to watch the wedding. I was one of 750 million people watching that wedding. It was like a fairy tale, and Diana fulfilled all our childhood notions of what a fairy tale princess should look like.

But there was something else going on at the wedding, a story no one knew. Diana just happened to spot one particular face. Diana managed to spot Camilla Parker Bowles and she saw her as she was going up the aisle. Did she ever talk to you about that moment? She just said, I knew from that moment that this woman was never going to go away. But the show went on

in front of hundreds of millions around the world. Now prince and princess of Wales, possibly the future king and queen of England. Before leaving on their honeymoon, Charles and Diana gave everyone another picture-perfect moment. The photographers who were sort of in a pit below the palace shouting out to them, kiss her, kiss her, kiss her. And the crowd picked up on this, kiss, kiss. And Diana said, you know, why not? It was an electrifying moment.

The royal newlyweds set off on a romantic cruise. But in the honeymoon suite, it wasn't smooth sailing. Charles opened his diary, and there was a photograph of Camilla in it. I mean, how stupid is that? He wore some cufflinks that had seas entwined on them, that Camilla had given him. Again, how stupid. For Diana, it went from bad to boring.

He read books. She wanted to lie on the sun deck with him, canoodle with him, drink lovely cocktails with him. I know she didn't want him to be buried in a book, but that was his idea of a lovely holiday. How would you like to put Balmoral as a place? Lovely. Back from their cruise, the newlyweds once again put on a happy face.

How are you enjoying married life? Highly recommend. But behind the photo ops, a very different story was playing out. Their interests simply did not coincide, but they didn't know this until it was too late. It may have been a marital mismatch, but their adoring public couldn't get enough. Diana was immediately embraced as the new princess. People, I think, began to realize that this was a very spirited young woman. She was going to be somebody, and she was going to make the monarchy something very interesting.

Diana's star became a supernova. They called it Diana Mania. She is turning out to be one of the most popular and most sought-after members of the royal family. Diana found herself a superstar absolutely overnight. It was very easy to see that she was very different from other members of the Royal Family, almost immediately that you started to photograph her, let alone talk to her. Photographer Jane Fincher covered Diana from the beginning.

She was so much more casual and informal and, dare I say it, human. She wasn't frightened to show she was human, and that was very evident straight away. Diana was a natural in the spotlight. And she did it in style. We can get all these pieces out. Bruce Oldfield was one of Diana's fashion designers. This was a place where we made all the dresses for the princess back in the 80s. She'd say, oh, come down and have a look at fabrics. She was very game, you know, to do all that kind of stuff.

She understood what a good dress could do. She knew that it had power and she knew it would get on the front page. Power that enabled Diana to change the culture. Growing up as a British girl, you know, in the 80s and 90s, everyone's mother was going and getting Princess Diana haircuts. I remember my mother particularly sort of wearing skirt suits and jackets and emulating this very elegant look

that Diana used to portray. But soon, Diana would feel the heat from life in the royal spotlight. She was unworldly. She was a schoolgirl, basically. I think was just way, way too much for her. And way too much for Prince Charles, who would soon discover some troubling secrets about his new bride.

Coming up, from joy to despair. Do you believe that that was a suicide attempt? That was an attention seek. Then, a dangerous affair. Her bodyguards knew about it. Charles knew about it. To despair. Do you believe that that was a suicide attempt? That was an attention seeker. Then, a dangerous affair. Her bodyguards knew about it. Charles knew about it. They were playing with fire. In the early days of their marriage,

Charles and Diana looked every inch the picture-perfect royal couple. What was going on behind closed doors was a whole lot different than the Diana we were seeing. It was, and the world and the media just didn't know. Didn't know that behind palace gates, Diana was often miserable. She had terrible mood swings, terrible rages, terrible tantrums, terrible jealousies. While Charles was often distant. And what she found at home was not the loving home life that she wanted. She wanted a husband to take her in his arms and embrace her and tell

her how marvelous she'd been. And Charles was either too busy or too uninterested to do that. Feeling neglected by her husband, Diana struggled to adapt to the rigors of royal life. The exuberance that had been there before was not thriving. She really didn't want to let the Queen down. She really wanted to do the job. James Coulthurst and Diana's other friends around London saw firsthand that she needed help. So they arranged lunches in hopes of cheering her up. The general sense was maybe we'd try to regenerate

some of the contact with the past and just see if that could help support her. With Coulthurst's help, Diana seemed to become more comfortable and started to excel in her charity work. Here she was with a whole bunch of people who valued her, and that did so much for her self-esteem. It was filling the void that she wasn't getting at home. It was completely filling the void. But even then, behind the scenes, there was conflict. Diana's choice of causes wasn't always in sync with her powerful mother-in-law, the queen. She felt that the monarchy was sort of stuck in the past,

and that she, Diana, was trying to change it by doing things like AIDS and leprosy and diseases which were unfashionable. To a monarchy wrapped in tradition, Diana may have been a rebel with too many causes. She felt that somehow the queen didn't appreciate what she was doing. She used to refer to her only to me as the top lady. She never called her the queen or her majesty. One day, the top lady and the princess had a conversation, which Diana shared with her head of security, Ken Wharf.

And she said, I want to get involved in finding a cure for AIDS. And she said, the queen sort of put her head back and sort of then said, well, why don't you get involved in something nice? Diana persisted, and her compassion quickly made her the most popular member of the royal family, casting a long shadow over her new husband. Ken Wharf told us about a conversation in which she offered to accompany Charles on one of his official visits. She said, well, do you want me to come with you? No, he said. They'll only be interested in you.

Charles had his nose put out of joint. He delivers his speech, and the papers the next day are filled with what his wife was wearing. Could she perhaps be pregnant? Has she got a new hairstyle? Nothing about the speech. The Crown tackled this source of friction in their marriage, Charles' resentment of Diana's star power. With Diana's soaring popularity came increased leverage as she struggled to cope with the constraints of the monarchy. Diana was pioneering because she did break down

these preconceived ideas about royal protocol, proving that she is one of us and not one of them. Diana may have been carving out a new role for herself, but there was still one traditional job that she absolutely had to do, produce an heir. Our Royal Highness, the Princess of Wales has given birth to a baby son. God save the Queen.

June, 1982. Prince William was born. Obviously relieved and delighted. It's marvelous. It's a rather grown-up thing, I find. And two years later, a little brother. His name is Henry Charles Albert David, but they're going to call him Harry.

Once again, two outward appearances, they seem the perfect family. What few knew at the time was that the marriage was fracturing, and Diana, at least to Charles, seemed unstable. In fact, when she was pregnant with Harry, Diana threw herself down a flight of stairs. Do you believe that that was a suicide attempt? What was that? I think she might have been dispirited at the time. She might have just tripped. That was an attention seek. I certainly don't see it as a suicide attempt. Whatever it was, the palace never went public with it. Same with an issue in Diana's past that had now resurfaced, bulimia.

The bulimia, I believe, was a consequence of her royal life and not being able to cope with it. Did she talk to you about the bulimia? She did. She said it was awful. She would gorge on ice cream, bowls of breakfast cereal with lots of cream and milk, and then immediately go and throw up. This season of The Crown portrayed Diana's struggle with bulimia. In real life, it was a tremendous strain on the royal couple. Charles didn't know how on earth to cope with it. Charles organized for her to see a psychiatrist,

and she would say she's better, she didn't need him anymore. Charles was sympathetic to start with, but when he met these tantrums day after day after day, he became immune to it. And it was a real vicious circle. She was craving love and attention, but by her behavior was pushing him away. Two years after Prince Harry was born, Diana began taking writing lessons from a British cavalry officer named James Hewitt. This photo of them later became notorious when Hewitt revealed he and Diana had an affair. In my mind, it was never her intention to fall in love with me, and it was certainly not my intention to fall in love with me. And it was certainly not my intention

to fall in love with Diana. Do you think that James Hewitt was kind of everything that Charles wasn't? Like an escape for her? I think absolutely he was an escape for her, but also he didn't judge her. He didn't have any kind of expectation for her. The affair with Hewitt carried real risks for Diana. Risks peculiar to a princess. It is treasonable for the wife of the heir to the throne to have an affair with someone. I think it's on the par of being accused of being a traitor. They were playing with fire.

Her bodyguards knew about it. Did Charles know about it? Yeah, Charles knew about it. But perhaps he was inclined to look the other way, and toward Diana's old nemesis, Camilla Parker Bowles. Camilla pretty much was a constant feature of Charles's life. How did Diana really feel about Camilla? Well, she called her the Rottweiler for a start, which gives you an idea of what she thinks about it. I mean, a Rottweiler is one of those dogs which, when it holds onto something, it never lets go.

The once fairytale royal marriage was now on the rocks. And later, Diana would share all her dark secrets outside the palace gates in a way no one ever saw coming. Coming up. There were people who were listening and watching and keeping tabs on her. Spies at the palace? Diana launches a plot of her own. When Dateline continues. Spring 1987. An indelible image appeared of Diana at a London hospital. A simple handshake that would never be forgotten.

It was during the height of the AIDS epidemic. It had been mislabeled as a gay disease. It had been misunderstood as something that could be caught by shaking hands, by kissing, by hugging. That day, Diana helped change the world's thinking. She knew she would guarantee to get it on the front pages, to say, it's all right. You know, I'm not worried about my own personal safety, so why should you be? It was really a seminal moment. But privately, Diana was waging another battle,

this one on the home front, trying to cope with her troubled marriage. Diana was pushing Charles away. Charles was getting more and more profoundly depressed. He didn't confide in anyone. But there were one or two people who had remained in his circle. So they went to Camilla and they said, listen, we think Charles needs you.

And she gave him a ring and the friendship reignited. That phone call also reignited their romance, which was not exactly a secret. London newspapers this morning continue to speculate about Charles' friendship with a long-time lady friend. But reporters weren't privy to a deeper issue boiling beneath the surface. Diana wasn't just worried about losing her husband. She had far bigger concerns about Camilla entering the picture. A big fear was, this is not a substitute mum for the boys.

That they would try to sideline Diana and that Camilla might usurp her post. That was a fear of Diana's? A big fear. A big fear. Diana became convinced the palace was quietly plotting to move her aside because she wasn't fit to raise the young princes. She believed she was being watched and her phones tapped. Who was keeping tabs on Diana? I think the government was just watching her for her own safety, but I do think that when things became so contentious between her and Charles, there were people who were listening and watching and keeping tabs on her. Diana called them the gray men. Some people openly questioned whether she was imagining them.

I don't think they were all imagined. I think there was a group that maybe thought they were doing the right thing and may have convinced themselves that she wasn't suitable for the role and therefore needed to be removed, they might have done that. Who were these people? Unknown. They're unidentified. But she had a very strong sense there was a group, not necessarily with sanctioning by Prince Charles, but wishing to do him well. By now, rumors of Diana's problems and instability were appearing in the press. Diana wanted to set the record straight by telling

her version of the story in a way that she could control, and without the palace finding out. She knew of an author named Andrew Morton who had written a book on Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, and had also started one on Diana. So a daring plan was launched. Diana agreed to answer questions written by Morton. It was her first excursion into confronting the demons inside herself. And so it was a cathartic experience for her. Colthurst would act as the go-between, taking Morton's questions to Diana and then secretly recording her answers. The point was to separate her from it because the blame was her big thing. She didn't want to be blamed for it.

And so fine, someone had to be a fool guy if it came out. That would be you. Yes, yes. This could tarnish the monarchy. Not doing it would have because I think there would have been the uncontrolled release of anger. And I think that would have been much more serious. So Coulthurst peddled over to the palace, and behind closed doors, tape rolled. Diana let loose about everything, including her arranged marriage to Charles. So he said, will you marry me?

And I laughed. I remember thinking, you know, this is a joke. So I said, yeah, okay. She even addressed her alleged suicide attempts and frequent bouts of bulimia. Anything I could find, I would gobble up and be sick two minutes later. After each recording session, Coulthurst delivered the tape to Andrew Morton. She vividly brings out the despair she felt, phrases like, I was a sacrificial lamb when she married Prince Charles.

It would be months before the world would finally hear Diana's explosive story. But the fuse had been lit. Coming up, Charles goes public and returns fire. It was a terrible miscalculation. And Diana's Revenge, a dish best served cold, a dress best worn short. The picture was all about Diana. It was just a simple snapshot, a solitary Diana sitting in front of the Taj Mahal. There's a story behind this famous photo, a not-so-secret signal about the state of the royal marriage. It was February 1992. The royal couple was in India on a rare trip together.

They were clearly unhappy in each other's company. Diana's friend and journalist, Richard Kay, reported on the trip. Diana famously went to the Taj Mahal, which is one of the most romantic buildings on the planet. And Charles, who had said that one day he wanted to bring his wife to this place, didn't go. Diana was there alone. You think she did that on purpose? She knew what she was doing. And that picture, I mean, just said it all.

It was one of the most significant photographs of the entire marriage, because it showed this picture of an unloved, beautiful young woman. A lonely wife. A lonely wife sitting in front of this monument to love. Two days later, Diana put an exclamation point on that picture with yet another defining moment in what the media was now calling the War of the Waleses.

It happened after one of Charles' polo matches, when Diana presented him with the winning prize. As he went to kiss her, she turned her head away and ended up kissing her on the ear. And he was blood red with outrage. And it was a page one picture, but for the wrong reasons. She knew the impact that picture was going to have. She was publicly documenting her sort of kiss off to Charles.

She was publicly documenting her sort of kiss-off to Charles. She was. She was. Soon after, the world got the real story behind the pictures. The whole messy saga of Charles and Diana's 11-year marriage. In June of 1992, her explosive interviews were published in Andrew Morton's groundbreaking book. Diana's public disclosure was a bombshell that rocked the monarchy.

And remember, at the time, there was no internet, no social media. The main source of news came from newspapers. And here in London, where there are several dailies and tabloids, Diana's troubled marriage made for blaring headlines. Diana, front page news throughout the world. The leman trapped in a loveless marriage.

She has suffered serious bouts of depression. Princess Diana broke down in tears. Slashed her wrist with razor blades. She doesn't come out of it very well, I don't think. There had never been anything like it in the history of the monarchy. The royal family has always had the mantra, never explain, never complain.

Keep it zipped. Well, she drove a coach and horses through that theory, putting everything into a book, wearing your heart so firmly on your sleeve you can see it beating. I think Charles was flabbergasted when Diana went public with all of this. And I think he was devastated. Soon, letters were pouring into the palace. She had letters of support, mainly from women, but masses of them.

Did it accomplish what she wanted, where she wouldn't be sidelined, she could protect her sons? I think history has shown that absolutely was the case. She retained her two sons, and her role was certainly not reduced after that. But when it came to her marriage, Diana's book only hastened the inevitable. It is announced from Buckingham Palace that, with regret, the Prince and Princess of Wales have decided to separate. Of course, it was only a formality. The two had already been living separate lives.

Then, Diana decided to make another change. Over the next few months I will be seeking a more suitable way of combining a meaningful public role with hopefully a more private life. The most popular woman in the world was withdrawing from public life. Diana went into semi-seclusion allowing her to spend more time with her young sons, William and Harry, as they recalled in a 2007 interview with NBC News. As children, to sort of spend time with her, but the time that we did spend with her was amazing, and as a mother, just, as anybody would say about their own mother, just amazing.

One of the memories that we had was when we went to America, and we went to Disney World. But Diana couldn't protect the young princess from all the fallout from the War of the Waleses. There were many times that we just sort of, you know, had to cheer her up and tell her that she was, you know, the best thing ever. It would just come out in conversation. She was under a lot of pressure throughout her life. Pressure that seemed to increase after her separation from Charles. Diana's security chief, Ken Wharf, says she expressed concern for her own safety.

She often talked about dark forces, but I didn't quite know where these dark forces came from. And she had put on paper in letters to people that she was concerned and worried about certain things. He says Diana's fears also caused her to seek out a new circle of friends. Diana was introduced to a set of what I call mystic madness people, the tarot card readers, the modern-day crystal ball gazers. I said, you know, why are you wasting your money seeing these people?

Because actually, they're not going to predict what's going to happen. One of Diana's new friends around this time was a self-described healer named Simone Simmons. We were like best friends. She would read the runestones for me and I would read the tarot cards for her. So we used to give each other readings. Simone soon became a constant in Diana's life.

We'd have marathon phone calls. One was eight hours. Simone says Diana also sent Christmas cards and left phone messages back at one. Whatever, whatever. I'll catch you later. Lots of love from her. Bye. By now, Prince Charles was back with old flame Camilla Parker Bowles.

The prince had never publicly responded to Diana's bombshell book. But in 1994, to mark the 25th anniversary of his appointment as Prince of Wales, Charles allowed an ITV crew to follow him around at a time when his public image needed a boost. But the plan backfired when Charles was asked had he been faithful in his marriage. His answer made news around the world when he replied yes until it became broken down.

It was a terrible miscalculation. The media didn't help because they did immediately sort of focus on, yes, yes, adultery. And Diana's response to Charles' big moment was this. The princess wasn't watching. She was at an art gallery. Once again, upstaging her husband on the very night of his contrite confession

by wearing what came to be called the revenge dress. The next day, the headline was all about the interview, but the picture was all about Diana. And there was still one more bombshell coming in the War of the Waleses. This would be the biggest of them all. Coming up, Diana's turn to tell all. It was very powerful TV. Razor sharp remarks, then lightning quick remorse.

Diana really, really regretted the interview. She's being sacked. She's been fired from the Royal Firm. When Dateline continues. November 1995. The War of the Waleses had reached a new level of intensity as the Royal couple's marital woes continued to play out in public. According to Chief Bodyguard Ken Wharf, Diana felt she was the target of a smear campaign. She believed it was being orchestrated by the palace, which deployed surrogates to discredit her. Friends of the Prince of Wales went on public television to say that Diana was paranoid, that she was bulimic.

And even a friend of the Queen had said that Diana was damaged goods. Heavy stuff, because whoever was watching is going to believe that because it's on national television. But that wasn't true. Diana wasn't paranoid. She wasn't damaged goods. She was very unhappy with the state of her marriage. Diana was used to being the most popular royal and knew she had the power to fight back. So Diana thought, well, how the hell am I going to counteract that? Well, there's

only one way to do that. Is that for me to tell them myself? So Diana took to television and appeared on the BBC program Panorama with journalist Martin Bashir. It was very powerful TV. But while saying many of the things she did say, which I thought were perfectly fair, she used it as an opportunity to attack Prince Charles's fitness, to be monarch, to be a future king. That was a major, major problem. And according to her friend, Simone Simmons, Diana even got a negative review from 13-year-old son William. Diana really, really regretted the interview. All these years later, the interview is stirring up new controversy with allegations that Martin Bashir obtained it under false pretenses. Diana's brother says that Bashir tried to gain Diana's trust

by presenting her with forged documents that implied palace employees were spying on her. The BBC previously conducted an internal investigation and cleared Bashir of wrongdoing. Now the BBC has initiated an independent investigation and says it will do everything possible to get to the bottom of this. Martin Bashir has not commented on the current investigation. But no matter how the interview came about, its impact at the time was undeniable. The Queen was so upset by it, she told the royal couple they needed to do more than simply separate. Queen Elizabeth's command came in a letter to the children telling her son and

daughter-in-law it's time to stop squabbling and get a divorce. Improbable as it may seem, Simone says Diana was shocked. She was absolutely distraught after the queen had given the orders. Her eyes were like pandas. She'd been crying so much. But the Queen had spoken, and it was of course front page news in the London tabloids. Nine months after the interview, in August 1996, the royal divorce was final. It is estimated that Diana will get about $26 million as a settlement as part of the deal. The stunning settlement made even bigger headlines, but the real story was behind the numbers. As part of her negotiating position, Diana and her lawyers said that she would give up her royal status. I think that was a bad thing.

She will cease to be her royal highness. Effectively, she's being sacked, she's being fired from the royal firm. And that's a public humiliation. Diana not only lost her royal status, she also relinquished something even more important, her royal security. It was a critical decision which her former chief bodyguard, Ken Wharf, had long cautioned her not to make. Whatever you want to do, you will always be Diana, the princess of Wales. The one thing that you shouldn't give up is your security.

I urge you strongly not to do that. There's only one person that could, in my view, that could have insisted that she retain her security, and that would have been the queen herself. If the queen had insisted that she retain that security, well, we wouldn't be having this discussion because Diana, in my view, would have been alive today. But the Queen did not insist.

Diana's security detail stood down. Then in my view, the tragedy was almost inevitable. Coming up, the man who stole her heart. She said, I think I've met my Mr. Wonderful. And the man who would share her fate. Dodie Fire came along at a critical moment in Diana's life. Three, firing. January 1997.

One of the most memorable images in a life filled with them. Diana, in a protective visor and body armor, walking a minefield in Angola. Her mission? To publicize an organization seeking to rid the world of landmines. I am committed to supporting, in whatever way I can, the international campaign to outlaw these dreadful weapons. Five months divorced, no longer officially a royal, but still beloved the world over as Princess Diana. She was still using her clout for causes she believed in, but had cut back to just a select few. Diana decided that she was going to enjoy her newfound status

and change herself into a footloose and fancy-free figure of charitable endeavour, wanting to embark on new relationships, yes, wanting to have a bit more autonomy. Diana was in her mid-30s, single, unattached. She spoke frequently with her journalist friend Richard Kay about the difficulties of finding that special someone. She was betrayed by so many people, let down by lots of people, including, of course, and famously, Prince Charles. And she was constantly looking, looking not just for love, but for affection and trust in people.

One day at a chance meeting at this London hospital, Diana finally seemed to find what she was looking for. She was introduced to a heart surgeon named Hasnat Khan. Hasnat Khan, that's when she phoned me up to say, I think I've met my Mr. Wonderful. And their eyes met. And she said,

it was like drowning in a sea of chocolate velvet in his eyes. Their relationship was very discreet. They would have these sort of secret meetings in the hospital, and the hospital staff was quite concerned that she was going to be found out because she still brought so much attention with her. He just wanted to be a doctor. He was at this point a sort of junior surgeon at the hospital and was working all the time. She would go around his apartment and do the washing up of his dishes and things like that.

She used an assumed name when she called him. Armani. Armani. Diana was so smitten with Dr. Khan that she even went to Pakistan to meet his family. She wanted to marry him, but she knew there's no greater fear that a Pakistani mother has

than sending her son to a British boarding school and having him come back with an English girlfriend. Let alone Princess Diana. Right. I mean, she had this idea that they were going to have a normal life, but her idea of normal is not actually that normal. And I think that he kind of recognized that and found it very difficult. Diana told her close friends that Natty, as she called him, was the love of her life. She was even willing to leave London for him.

She looked into living in South Africa, Australia, and wondered whether it would work. But Khan had a career path. I mean, he was doing important work. He had plans. So saving people's lives won out over Diana. I guess so. But it didn't last because, frankly, it couldn't last. This guy is devoted to his career.

The idea that he could become Mr. Princess of Wales, if you like, was just ridiculous. The couple broke it off in July 1997. A few weeks later came an invitation from Egyptian billionaire Mohammed Al-Fayed July 1997. A few weeks later came an invitation from Egyptian billionaire, Mohammed Al-Fayed, a prominent figure in London who owned the famous Harrods department store. He was vacationing on his yacht in the Mediterranean and asked Diana to join him. Al-Fayed's son, Dodi, would be there too. Dodi Fayed came along at a critical moment in Diana's life,

and she was looking for something different. Very quickly, they were involved in a holiday romance. Her love affair with Dr. Khan had been a closely held secret. Her fling with Dodi was anything but. Photographs were taken of them, and Diana did not disavow this relationship. She made it crystal clear to me. He's an unmarried man, and I'm a divorced woman. Why shouldn't I see him? Yes, I'm very happy. He makes me happy. I mean, that was the message she sent out.

A message, insists Diana's close friend, Simone Simmons, that was meant for one person in particular. She thought it might get Hasnat back because he'd be jealous. Diana had the emotional maturity of a 13 to 14-year-old. Oh, let's get him jealous. It's going to make him want me even more. That was Diana. Whatever Diana's intent, those pictures on the yacht triggered a media feeding frenzy

to snap the next big shot of her apparent new romance. And soon it would set into motion a deadly series of events that would spread shock and grief around the world. Coming up... The paparazzi closed in on them like a pack of wolves. What happened that fateful night? What did you see as you entered the tunnel? There was an accident. There was smoke in the tunnel.

Inside, the fight to save Diana. When Dateline continues. On the last day of her life, Diana arrived in Paris, fresh off the yacht with Dodi Al-Fayed. Interest in the couple was beyond intense. They were being pursued very, very aggressively by the paparazzi. The late Christopher Dickey was Paris bureau chief for Newsweek magazine at the time. He was there when Diane and Dodie blew into town. This whole scenario just created a feeding frenzy for the paparazzi. They were intent on getting another picture.

They wanted to get Dodie and Diane together, wherever they could get them, and they would pursue them no matter where. On the night of August 30th, Dodie and Diana went to dinner at the Ritz Hotel, owned by Dodie's father. A security camera captured their arrival. Later that evening, Diana called her close friend, Richard Kay.

It was the last conversation they would ever have. And I could tell from her voice that she was tired. She was anxious about getting home. She was missing William and Harry. She hadn't seen them for several weeks. Also anxious were the crowds in paparazzi waiting outside the hotel for Diana and Dodi to appear. Among all the photographers was Pierre Sou, eager to snap a shot and cash in. Maybe one picture would go over $100,000 at the time,

which would be like $300,000 today. With that kind of money on the line, Su and his fellow paparazzi were prepared to stay there all night. But later that evening, the couple changed plans. After finishing dinner here at the Ritz Hotel, Diana and Dodi decided to go to his apartment. To avoid the swarm of paparazzi that had gathered in front of the hotel, Dodi and his father hatched a plan to secretly slip away by leaving from the back. Dodi was eager to leave the paparazzi behind,

especially after the media frenzy of the last few weeks, according to his bodyguard, Trevor Rees-Jones. The attentions of the press in Paris was more aggressive, a more aggressive attitude than anything we'd seen that summer. But that night, Jones believed Doty's escape plan was half-baked. He wished to leave from the rear of the hotel against our wishes, with no security at all and I had to put my foot down and say that's not going to happen, I'll be going with them.

The hotel's acting director of security was a man named Henri Paul. He was off duty that night but was called in to drive Dodi and Diana's Mercedes limo. So shortly after midnight, along with Trevor Reese Jones, they slipped out to the back alley where the limo was waiting and took off. My last memory is of a car pulling away, and noticing a couple of paparazzi vehicles following. The paparazzi closed in on them like a pack of wolves. They managed to catch them on camera at a nearby stoplight, Trevor Reese Jones riding shotgun with Henri Paul behind the wheel.

So he put the pedal to the metal to outrun paparazzi on motorcycles. The Mercedes raced toward the entrance of the Pont de l'Alma tunnel. The car was being driven too fast. They were driving close to 100 miles an hour. She wasn't wearing a seat belt. They hit that bump. They're more or less airborne. In the blink of an eye, they smashed head-on into the 13th pillar. Moments later, Frederick Maillet, an emergency room doctor, and his partner, Mark Butt, approached the tunnel from the other side.

They took us back to the scene. What did you see as you entered the tunnel? We saw that there was smoke in the tunnel. And I said, well, maybe there's a fire. But as we pulled down here, we could see that there was an accident that had just happened. And it was a bad one. The accident was really severe. So severe, Dr. Maillet immediately sprang into action.

You have to be really quick to do the first assessment. Two people are not reacting, so I assume they are dead. And the two others are reacting, breathing, shouting. Doty and the driver, Henri Paul, were dead. But Trevor Reese Jones was somehow clinging to life, as was Diana, who was trapped in the back seat. Did the woman in the back say anything? This woman didn't say anything.

She was unconscious. Her head was down like that, and she had difficulty to breathe. When I looked at her, she was still a very beautiful woman. In the chaos, neither Dr. Maillet or Mark Butt realized who it was. I just think that somebody well-known, like a prince or something, and his girlfriend or wife or something like that. By now, photographer Pierre Su had arrived. Just as he was preparing to snap some photos, police showed up and ordered him out of the tunnel. But he still managed to get dramatic shots from the outside looking in.

I had a little telephoto lens. I took pictures of anything I could see. Meanwhile, Dr. Maillet was desperately trying to help Diana in any way he could. I tried just to comfort her. I said I was a doctor, that the ambulance were on their way, and everything would be all right. Soon, the media arrived, and the story was on TVs across the world. We've been following the car accident this evening in Paris, France. It was news we could have gone to bed because it was a long weekend. The press run was running, and it was a question of,

would someone shout out, stop the presses? Stop the presses. Did you? Yes, they did, but they were going to do it on the basis of what I could report. Dickey rushed to the tunnel where the mangled Mercedes was being towed out. Diana had already been taken to the hospital. Anxiously waiting for her was French diplomat, Samy Nair. He was there when the ambulance arrived, as he told us in his first interview for American TV. When those doors opened to that ambulance inside was Princess Diana. I remember one thing that moved me a lot, that really touched me.

She was lying there. She looked serene. There was something angelic about her. Inside the ER, a team of doctors desperately tried to save her. But Diana was failing fast. All the information that we were getting was the same, that they are massaging her heart, they are trying to save her. But their frantic efforts were futile. Princess Diana was pronounced dead at 4 a.m.

Her death was kept secret for two more hours until the royal family, especially Prince Charles, could be notified. He was absolutely devastated. His first thought was for his children, obviously, but he also knew that he would be blamed. The public would think that if he hadn't divorced Diana, they would still be happily married, the fairy tale would have gone on. Princess Diana has died in a hospital in Paris, France. The only survivor was Trevor Rees-Jones. I feel no guilt into the actions that we took that night.

The guilt I feel is I survived. Soon, millions would be in mourning, not only in the UK, but around the world. But there was one rather prominent person who needed prompting to pay her respects. Coming up, where was the queen? There was a lot of resentment. We needed to hear from her. An astonishing outpouring, still powerful years later.

The whole world stood still. It was heartbreaking, wasn't it? The morning after, Diana's shocking death was just beginning to resonate around the world. By now, Prince Charles had arrived in Paris, greeted by a horde of photographers, including Pierre Sou. And I looked at him through my telephoto. I saw somebody shattered. I could see the despair of that man. I hope I will never take a picture like this again.

Later that day, Diana's body would be flown back to London for the funeral and burial. But photographer Arthur Edwards, whose picture 17 years earlier first introduced Diana to the world, would now take his last photo of her. As a coughing come out, it started to hit me, and I realized this was the big moment I had to get this picture. And I started to cry. Diana's old friend and confidant, James Colthurst, was watching it all on television,

where he got the tragic news like everyone else. Well, it was a tragedy. Absolute tragedy. It was sad that it happened, and for me it was the loss of a chum. We'd been through a lot. You changed her life. She changed her life. Later that morning came the public outpouring, and it was unlike anything in the history of the monarchy. Outside St. James Palace, thousands waited, some for as long as seven hours.

The whole world stood still. It was a collective, massive, global sense of mourning. Royal photographer Jane Fincher was one of thousands who flocked to Kensington Palace to pay her respects to Diana. I picked some flowers from my garden and as I walked up to Kensington Palace I just burst into tears.

I wasn't prepared for it. I think it was the smell, the smell of the flowers was incredible. So many here in London who have made the trip to leave something in her memory, a card, flowers or a flickering candle. It was mainly the sense of a loss of a magical figure. She was our princess, wasn't she? People's princess. It's as simple as that, really. For the country, for everybody.

She had so much to give. She was so brave. She's one of the most loved people in this country. It's just a shock. But one person had yet to pay her respects, the Queen, who was conspicuously absent in Scotland with the two young princes. The Queen's initial silence seemed to send a loud message about the monarchy's coolness toward Diana and her remarkable popularity. There was a lot of resentment after Diana's death that the Queen was somehow not with her people in London and pressure built. The mother of the nation is the Queen. We needed to hear from her. Something needed to be done.

So Prime Minister Tony Blair and other government officials discreetly but firmly urged the Queen to come to London. Tony Blair had to basically say, look at your people, look at those flowers outside of Kensington Palace, think about this and say something appropriate. So she did. First, I want to pay tribute to Diana myself. She was an exceptional and gifted human being. In good times and bad,

she never lost her capacity to smile and laugh, nor to inspire others with her warmth and kindness. It was a pivotal moment for not only the monarchy, but the entire UK. Soon, the funeral followed. Again, the world watched. The most touching moment, for me at least, and I think for millions of people, was that card that said Mummy. Yeah.

It was heartbreaking, wasn't it? I mean, written by William and placed on top of the coffin. And that sight of William and Harry walking behind the gun carriage was incredibly moving. And people who never knew her were sobbing their hearts out. And it just told you something about Diana, that she reached out to ordinary people in a unique way. The young princes, William and Harry, still remember that day, of course, and the pain of losing their mother, as they told us in 2007. Straight after it happened, we were always,

you know, always thinking about her, and there's not a day goes by, I don't think, you know, that I don't think about her once in the day. You know, it still upsets me a lot, the fact that we didn't have much of a chance as, as, you know, as children to sort of spend time with her. There was someone else at the funeral who was also close to Diana, someone few recognized, Dr. Hasnat Khan. He was very upset by it and just quietly came to the funeral.

There was an element of what could have been for the two of them. Maybe he was her one true love. She was certainly in love with him when she died. Later that day, Diana was buried at Althorp, her family's estate. The people's princess was just 36. As the public outpouring for Princess Diana was winding down, the blame game was gearing up. Diana's brother, Charles, was outraged at the media over his sister's death.

It would appear that every proprietor and editor of every publication that has paid for intrusive and exploitative photographs of her, encouraging greedy and ruthless individuals to risk everything in pursuit of Diana's image, has blood on his hands today. The grim task of trying to determine how and why Diana died was already underway in Paris. And pressure was mounting to find answers. Was this crash simply a horrible tragedy? Or was it the result of a full-blown conspiracy?

Coming up... Take us inside that tunnel. An exhaustive investigation and an explosive claim. Her boyfriend's father insists it was no accident. We looked at every single allegation that had come forward. When Dateline continues. The shock and sorrow of Princess Diana's tragic death was now giving way to a hardcore police investigation. Soon after the crash, the investigation here in Paris got underway.

But of course, this was no ordinary case. French investigators were quickly joined by London's Scotland Yard to figure out what happened and why. What they didn't know at the time is that it would take years to get answers. It's an investigation that is being conducted in traditional French fashion, slowly and silently. The Paris investigation was headed by police chief Martine Montiel. To avoid what I used to call the Marilyn Monroe syndrome, that means that 30 years later, you wouldn't be sure whether this was some kind of a conspiracy.

With the whole world watching, French investigators dug into the case unlike any other. We interviewed over a thousand witnesses, and we analyzed 1,350 phone calls just that night to see who had made calls to whom and, notably, who had called for help. Among those witnesses were several paparazzi who were in the tunnel right after the crash. Some were arrested. All were questioned, including photographer Pierre Su. The police confiscated all the rows of films that the photographers had in their pockets that night.

The film was developed and checked for possible clues. While inside the tunnel, investigators made a careful sweep looking for leads. Take us inside that tunnel after the accident. We found little pearls from Princess Diana's bracelet and little pieces of the mirror. The mirror, which appeared to have been ripped off the Mercedes during the crash.

At the crime lab, forensic scientist Patrick Teran examined every inch of the smashed-up Mercedes. He discovered a dent with tiny specks of white paint. And on the mirror, he also noticed similar white blotches. These microscopic pieces of paint matched. The white paint present on the Mercedes belonged to another car. It was paint specific for the Fiat. Oh no, there is a contact between the Mercedes

and a Fiat Uno just at the entrance of the tunnel. Perhaps more physical evidence to that second car mystery theory. Now, police were getting a better idea of what may have actually caused the wreck, according to Christopher Dickey. There is a little on-ramp that comes in from the right, and you don't necessarily see cars on that. So this Fiat Uno, a little after midnight, comes down into the tunnel, and then there's this flying Mercedes coming in behind him.

He swerved to miss the Fiat and swipe the Fiat? Sure, yeah, sure. Investigators believe that high-speed swerve by the Mercedes to avoid the Fiat was just enough to send it careening into the pillar. As for the Fiat, it was never found. Neither was the driver. But after an exhaustive 14-month investigation, Paris police did arrive at a very simple conclusion that centered on the limo driver, Henri Paul. Remember, he'd been off-duty, called in specially to drive the Princess and Dodi. Lab tests revealed that he was intoxicated at the time of the crash.

His blood alcohol level, twice the legal limit. Investigators determined Paul was drunk and driving too fast as he tried to flee the paparazzi. It was, in summary, a tragic, banal traffic accident. But one British poll indicated that more than 60% of UK citizens were convinced Diana and Dodi's deaths were the result of a conspiracy. Leading the charge was Dodi's father, Mohamed Al-Fayed. The billionaire financier insisted the car crash was actually a murder, orchestrated by the monarchy and implemented by MI5,

the UK's domestic security service. I am certain, 100%, that a leading member of the royal family have planned that. Mohamed Al-Fayed's explosive allegation that Prince Philip was part of a murder plot was taken very seriously by Scotland Yard. Her boyfriend's father insists it was no accident, and so today an official investigation was launched.

It was headed by Lord John Stevens. Stevens and a team of investigators took a deep dive into the case. We had to disprove that there was a conspiracy, so what we did, we looked at every single allegation that had come forward. Finally, after three pressure-packed years, Stevens and his team announced their findings. There was no conspiracy to murder any occupants of that car.

This was a tragic accident. Then, in 2007, some ten years after Diana's death, the inquiry was followed by a six-month court hearing, and the jury came to the exact same conclusion. Diana was not murdered. The notion that she was set up by Prince Philip has been completely debunked. Now, more than 20 years later, the monarchy has moved on. But Diana's impact is still being felt.

Coming up, the new royal rebels following in Diana's footsteps. Prince Harry effectively snapped, basically saying, back off, you're hounding her like you hounded my mother. He was going to make sure that history was not repeated. She'd be 59 now, a middle-aged grandmother. Her time in the spotlight passed to a new generation of royals. More than two decades after her death, there are reminders of Princess Diana all over London. A park, a fountain, and of course, one other place. Best remembered for that iconic image taken just days after she died.

People are still paying homage to Princess Diana here at Kensington Palace, leaving flowers and notes, paying their respects to the woman who will always be known as the People's Princess. Princess Diana's royal tenure lasted just 15 years, but her legacy endures. Diana made the monarchy more accessible. She made people feel that members of the royal family were real people with real feelings and real emotions. I think that's Diana's legacy. Diana raised her children to be more casual and more open than royal tradition permitted. She tackled issues that weren't always so comfortable, going places and meeting people

who were all too often left behind. Now her children do the same. Our visits with our mother ignited a deep and growing interest for the great work the charity does for the homeless. Two decades after Diana walked through a minefield in Angola, son Harry literally followed in her footsteps, continuing her work to rid the world of landmines by 2025. Let's make future generations proud and finish what we started. Diana's influence extends to William and Harry's personal lives as well. When Prince William chose to marry a commoner, Kate Middleton, she was accepted and celebrated

because his mother paved the way three decades earlier. And on Kate's ring finger is a constant reminder of Diana. It is a family ring, yes. It's my mother's engagement ring. This is my way of keeping her sort of close to it all. And Prince Harry? He married actress Meghan Markle. Their wedding, a union of royal and American traditions, punctuated by this moment. An African-American bishop delivering his sermon in the chapel at 900-year-old Windsor Castle. NBC royal expert Camilla Tominey suspects Diana might have approved of her son's bride.

I think she would have been really attracted to the idea of Meghan being someone who knew her own mind and wanted to champion the causes that are important to her. But Harry also understood the scrutiny his new bride would face. He'd seen firsthand what his mom went through. Very much from the off, he was going to protect the woman by his side and make sure that history was not repeated. Still, the couple was tabloid fodder.

Harry effectively snapped and issued a missive to the press, make sure that history was not repeated. Still, the couple was tabloid fodder. Harry effectively snapped and issued a missive to the press, basically saying, back off. You're hounding her like you hounded my mother. After almost a year and eight months of marriage, Harry and Meghan made a stark choice. They were stepping back from their royal lives and moving to the United States. Camilla Tominey says protecting

Meghan was one reason, but there were others as well. Prince Harry was already quite unhappy in the royal family when he was just kind of playing plus one to the Cambridges. Meghan said she felt that she wasn't really properly understood and supported at this idea that the institution couldn't quite cope with this quite outspoken, super confident, experienced woman of the world. Harry and Meghan cut a multi-million dollar deal with Netflix. There are rumors she'll return to acting. The excitement over the crown shows the royals are still fascinating. But did the series stray too far from fact?

The UK's culture secretary asked Netflix to place a label on the show identifying it as fiction. Netflix declined. A former palace official called the series a hatchet job on Prince Charles. As for the real Charles and Camilla, they've been happily married for 15 years. And William's future looms large. When people think about future kings, they think of this idea of Prince Charles not being on the throne for long, and then the vision really is of King William. Today in Paris, on the overpass atop the now infamous tunnel where Diana died,

is a shrine of sorts. A place where people from all over the world leave flowers, a note, a name, to honor the woman they never knew, but will always remember. A princess who was much more than a royal, and who still has a hold on us after all these years. That's all for now. I'm Lester Holt. Thanks for joining us.