Princess Diana Once Called a Journalist To Her Home After Reading An Article: “We Need A…”

The late Princess Diana was admired by millions for her emotional vulnerability and strength. Her rebellious nature often led her to challenge and break royal traditions. Such was also the case when an unkind article was written about her, and the Princess didn't shy away from defending herself. Royal author and journalist, Ingrid Seward, recalled being summoned by Diana for a ‘girly chat’ after publishing the harsh piece.

Speaking on the Hello! magazine's A Right Royal Podcast, Ingrid said, “Now, this is obviously something that is passed on to Harry because Diana used to read all the time, everything that was written about her, which is how I came to be chatting to her because I had written something about her in the Daily Mail and she didn't like it so she got her secretary to call me and said, 'Get Ingrid round here. We need a girly chat.'”

Seward recalled finding the Princess interesting, as she spoke to her like they had known each other for years. She claimed, “I talked to Diana shortly before she died. She did tell me that she still got nervous going out and meeting people if there had been something unkind written about her in the newspapers that day." In her memoir, My Mother and I, she also detailed Diana’s intimate fears, her toxic relationship with Prince Charles, and her rebellious streak in the royal family.

Diana did things very differently than her husband Prince Charles and Queen Elizabeth who found it best to avoid addressing controversies as they believed it only gave the press more fodder. Like their late mother, Prince William, and Prince Harry have also confronted the media. Royal expert Victoria Murphy explained, “I think we have already seen William show a very significant determination to change the trajectory...He saw what happened with his mother, he saw that his parents got married very quickly, and they clearly actually weren't very happy.” While Harry has criticized the media for its mistreatment of his Meghan Markle in various interviews, William prefers a more measured approach. One key moment was in 2014 when he and Kate Middleton took legal action against a French magazine that published topless photos of her during a private vacation. The couple ultimately had the lawsuit go in their favor.

Coming back to Diana, it was this very tendency to confront the media that had her clashing with the Crown. While she was open about airing her linen in public, the Queen and Prince Philip preferred to ignore salacious media gossip. The Queen only directly addressed the infamous Oprah Winfrey interview with Harry and Meghan Markle, as per Business Insider.