We’re all now well acquainted with Princess Diana‘s story, her tumultuous marriage to Prince Charles, and the events that lead to her death in 1997. But according to BBC news anchor, Angela Rippon, we should have seen the breakdown of her marriage coming in an interview the journalist and ITV’s Andrew Gardener conducted with the couple in the lead-up to the Royal wedding.
In a resurfaced interview for the Channel 5 documentary Charles and Di: The Truth Behind their Wedding, Rippon has reflected on the interview for the first time publicly. She recalls Diana’s uncomfortable body language and empathized what incredible pressure the attention must have been.
“Lady Diana was almost slumped in the chair, she was in new territory. She was out of her depth,” Rippon explained in the interview. “Put any 20-year-old in front of a television camera and say this is an interview about what could be one of the most important days of your life and it’s going to be seen by hundreds of millions of people around the world, and there is this man standing behind the person interviewing you making sure you get it right. Crikey, anyone would be nervous.”
In addition, the journalist says she wished we could have all looked further into Diana’s reaction in the last five seconds of the interview where the couple is wished a “lifetime of happiness.” Charles looks to the-then Lady Diana and she looks downcast to the floor. The tension is palpable.
“With the knowledge of hindsight you read so much more into body language, what was said, looks that were given, reactions,” Rippon said. “That’s the value of hindsight isn’t it. But the final few moments of the interview really stand out to her, when she wishes the couple a lifetime of happiness. Charles looks Diana, but she looks down at the floor. That expression on Diana’s face at the end speaks volumes. Maybe we should have read so much more into that five seconds at the end the interview. It might have told us so much more about what was to come.”
Watch the full interview below.
