Duke of Cambridge Prince William has welcomed the decision of a probe by BBC into the controversial interview, which Princess Diana—his mother—had
given to the channel in 1995, and is now believed to have to been elicited
through underhand manners, AFP reported on Thursday.

“The independent investigation is a step in the right direction,” William, 38, said late on Wednesday, according to AFP.

“It should help establish the truth behind the actions that led to the Panorama interview and subsequent decisions taken by those in the BBC at the time,” he said.  

The investigation has come at the insistence of Diana’s
brother, Charles Spencer, who said that Martin Bashir, the reporter who conducted the interview, showed him faked documents
to persuade his sister to take part.

Spencer, in a couple of tweets on November 8, explained his
reason behind making the sudden
revelation, which came 23 years after the death of his sister and 25 years
after the interview was aired.

He also alleged in the tweet that not only Princess Diana
was deceived into giving the interview, but the BBC also was in on the
deception. 

“Many people are, quite understandably, asking why I’ve
waited till now to come forward with the truth about how the @BBCPanorama with my sister came
about. While I knew that Martin Bashir used fake bank statements and other
dishonesty to get my sister to do the interview, what I only found out 2 weeks
ago, thanks to journalist Andy Webb’s persistent use of the Freedom of
Information Act, is that the BBC also knew. Not only knew about it, but that
they covered it up,” he tweeted.

The 1995 interview was shocking for the revelation made by
the Princess in it and was watched by a record 22.8 million people across the
globe.

Diana had confessed to have been living in a collapsing
marriage, which was made fragile by Prince Charles’ long-time affair with
Camilla Parker-Bowles. 

She famously said
“there were three people” in her marriage — her, Charles and his
long-time lover Camilla Parker-Bowles — and also revealed she had been
unfaithful, AFP wrote.

Diana and Charles formally divorced in 1996. She died in a car
crash the following year while being chased by paparazzi in a Paris tunnel. She was travelling along with her lover Dodi Fayed, an Egyptian billionaire and owner of the
famous Harrods in London, who too died in the same accident.

Charles married Camilla in 2005.

According to AFP, new reports have surfaced alleging that
Bashir used underhand methods to persuade Diana to talk, including by claiming
her own staff members were being paid to spy on her.

The probe will focus principally on the role of Bashir, who
was little-known at the time but went on to have a global career.

The BBC has said he was seriously unwell after contracting
the coronavirus and is also recovering from heart surgery, as per the AFP
report.