Princess Diana was described by officials as a more ruthless and adept media operator than Prince Charles during the bitter public relations conflict that followed the collapse of their marriage, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
That’s the claim contained in newly released Irish government files that cast fresh light on how the princess was perceived behind the scenes.
Behind-The-Scenes Royal War
The documents, made public late last year by the Republic of Ireland’s National Archives, relate to a two-day visit to Ireland by the then-Prince Charles in June 1995, three years after his separation from Diana.
At the time, Diana was 33, and Charles was 46.
The visit took place during what became known as the “war of the Waleses” – a prolonged period of leaks, briefings, and maneuvering for public sympathy as the couple moved toward divorce after their 1992 separation.
Princes Charles’ PR Rehab Mission
According to a report written by Irish diplomats, Charles’ advisers framed the visit as “part of a long-term public relations strategy to rehabilitate the prince in the eyes of the British public” after the breakdown of his marriage.
Officials noted the damage caused by Diana’s decision later that year to give a televised interview on BBC Panorama, in which she said: “there were three of us in this marriage” – a reference to Charles’ continuing relationship with his now-wife Camilla Parker Bowles.
Officials Call Princess Diana ‘Predatory’
The files describe how Charles’ press operation, led by his press secretary Alan Percival and his deputy Sandy Henney, presented the Ireland trip as a rare success.
Henney told Irish officials the visit had been “the best public outing the prince has had in a very long time,” according to a Department of Foreign Affairs note. Henney was described in the same document as “fiercely loyal” to Charles and “alive to every opportunity to advance his cause.”
Irish officials recorded some uncertainty over whether she was joking when she floated the idea of Diana also visiting Ireland.
“Henney (who would have been less aware of the political dimension than the more restrained Percival) told me that if she had any say in it, the prince would be here again before the summer was out,” the document states.
“She also remarked that if practice to date was any guide, we could shortly expect an approach from Princess Diana!” The author of the note, Joe Hayes, said the comment initially appeared light-hearted but soon took on a sharper tone.
“I took this as a joke until she repeated it and assured me that in the media battle between the two, the princess was by far the more predatory and skilled, and her staff devoted a great deal of time to finding ways and means of upstaging St James’ Palace,” he wrote.
Princess Diana Seen As Media Power Player
The Irish files portray a royal relationship in which officials believed Diana had seized the upper hand in dealing with the press, even as Charles’ team sought to regain control of his public image through carefully managed appearances abroad.
Separate diplomatic papers from the same period, released by the U.K. National Archives at Kew in 2020, suggested Charles had managed to “out-charm the Irish” during the 1995 visit, which those documents described as a turning point in relations between Britain and Ireland.
Plans were later drawn up for Charles to undertake a three-day visit to the Republic of Ireland, beginning on June 29, 1996, as early negotiations that would lead to the Good Friday Agreement were getting underway at Stormont.
However, the papers also revealed the proposed return visit was abandoned the following summer amid concerns about the prince’s security.
Taken together, the newly released files underline how closely the breakdown of the Waleses’ marriage was watched by diplomats, and how decisively Diana was viewed as a formidable force in the media struggle that defined the final years of their fraught relationship.
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