Princess Diana ‘plunged’ Queen Elizabeth into ‘despair’

Queen Elizabeth reportedly felt raging despair the moment she learned of Princess Diana’s Panorama chat with Martin Bashir.

Royal biographer Andrew Morton made this admission in his book titled The Queen: Her Life.

He started by branding the November 1995 interview ‘shocking’ and ‘unforgivable’.

According to a report obtained by People magazine Princess Diana’s interview with Mr Bashir left a sour taste for the Firm, and Queen Elizabeth in particular fell into despair while her late husband Prince Philip ended up apoplectic.

They felt, “Something had to be done, for the sake of not just the monarchy but also their grandchildren.”

This occurred despite Queen Elizabeth’s penchant to hold “out the olive branch for so long.” It ended with her becoming “determined to cut the marital Gordian knot.”

According to the same book, it was only a month later that Princess Diana received a note by the Queen, highlighting how she, “consulted with the Archbishop of Canterbury and with the prime minister and, of course, with Charles, and we have decided that the best course for you is divorce.”

Before concluding Mr Morton also referenced a quip by Princess Diana, who, in reference to Queen Elizabeth’s Christmas invite the following year said, she might “[go] up in [her] BMW car and come out in a coffin.”