Princess Diana remains 'deeply resented' by Buckingham Palace because of the adoration she gained from the public, according to veteran BBC broadcaster David Dimbleby. The journalist, who covered the Royal Family for three decades, said the resentment stems from the fact that the late Princess of Wales 'didn't act like the rest' of the Firm.
'She was fresh, new and exciting to the public, and they really adored her,' Dimbleby told BBC Radio 4 Today. 'And that was deeply resented in the palace. And still is.'
Dimbleby's Documentary and Claims of Resentment
Dimbleby previously addressed claims that the Royals didn't understand Diana's connection with the public following her death in 1997 during his 2025 documentary series, What's The Monarchy For? He now says that claims made by Earl Spencer, Diana's brother, in his memoir Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, will 'reignite' this bitterness.
In extracts serialised in the Daily Mail, the Earl claimed that King Charles told him 'we'll forget her [Diana] soon enough' when they argued over Princes William and Harry's involvement in her funeral. He also claimed the then prince was 'giddily elated like a lottery winner' in a phone call after Diana's death.
Earl Spencer's Claims and Palace Rebuttal
The Earl's claims prompted an uncharacteristically firm rebuttal from Buckingham Palace, which disputed the account and said grief had clouded the Earl's 'reason, judgement and memory'. In response, he told the Daily Mail: 'I can tell you here, and now, those are exactly the words he said.' The Earl insisted he is 'telling the truth' about his account of the phone call with the then-Prince Charles just days after his sister's death.
Speaking more broadly about the Royals, Dimbleby suggested that the institution is still not 'facing up to the biggest issues' his documentary raised 'about its wealth, its failure to pay tax, about its privileges, about the way it is going'. 'All those things get talked about, but nothing ever gets done,' he said.
Royals as 'Soap Opera' and Harry's Experience
Dimbleby branded the Royals 'a bit of a soap opera' and warned about the dangers of getting 'trapped in this cycle of gossip'. Alluding to ongoing scandals like the situation with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, he added: 'They all have problems, and then suddenly… this family that is set up on a pedestal of being leaders of the country – they have problems too.'
In a later extract from his book, the Earl claimed the Royals permitted Prince Harry to 'spin out of control' after his mother's death. Speaking of the day of the funeral, he wrote: 'I could not get over how tiny, and slight, and bereft, Harry looked. Too small to be doing this, I thought, and wondered how on earth this heartbroken child could bear the ordeal of that moment or how he could possibly be expected to deal with the agony that the day ahead would insist upon.'
He also detailed an emotional visit to Chapel Royal, where Diana's coffin was placed before her funeral. 'I sat down lightly beside it and began to talk to my sister for some time, expressing love and grief, and making promises on her behalf,' he wrote.
