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This was published 5 years ago

Princess Diana thought Charles should let William be king, new TV documentary reveals

Sarah Swain
Sarah Swain

Princess Diana thought Prince Charles should stand aside and let Prince William succeed The Queen, an interview kept secret for 25 years has revealed.

The late royal also revealed in the chat she thought there was a 'conspiracy' to 'have her sort of put down'.

In the interview with former editor of the UK's Daily Telegraph, Sir Max Hasting, revealed in a new documentary, she described her marriage with Charles as "hell from day one".

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Martin Bashir interviews Princess Diana in Kensington Palace for the television program Panorama. Corbis via Getty Images

Sir Hastings also says the princess told him there were never any happy times in their marriage, saying it was, "clear first of all how much she hated Charles".

She also told him she thought Charles shouldn't be king, he said

"Yes, she did hate Charles," Sir Hastings said. "When I said 'were there ever happy times?', she said 'no, the marriage was hell from day one."

"She said that all she cared about was William's succession to the throne and she said to me, quite explicitly, 'I don't think Charles can do it'.

Diana, Princess of Wales (BBC)

Diana spoke candidly about her marriage in the BBC Panorama interview, and a new documentary reveals how it happened. BBC

"The outcome she wanted to see was for Charles to stand aside as heir, and for William to occupy the throne. This was pretty dynamic stuff."

He said the princess asked if he knew about a "conspiracy to sort of have her 'put down', which he told he sounded "absolutely crazy."

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However Sir Hastings said he decided not to publish the chat, saying he wanted to "keep a lid" on it.

Diana revealed Charles' relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles, now the Duchess of Cornwall, in the Panorama interview. AAP

But Diana revealed everything to the world a few months later, in her famous Panorama TV interview with Martin Bashir where she revealed Charles' relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles, now the Duchess of Cornwall.

She famously declared there were "three of us in this marriage", and also spoke of her doubts about Charles becoming king.

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She also said she wanted to be "queen of people's hearts" rather than the actual Queen.

The chat screened 25 years ago, and the story behind it is revealed in a new UK TV doco Diana: The Truth Behind the Interview which will be on this week.

Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales, at the Southern Cross Hotel on October 31, 1985 in Melbourne, Australia. Anwar Hussein/Getty Images

New claims are made about how Bashir secured the interview with the world's most famous woman with the help of her brother, Earl Spencer, despite being relatively unknown.

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Diana's ex-private secretary has said the interview "exploited" Diana.

The Sun reports he says in the doco, "making her perform like this was a combination of seduction and betrayal."

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