Audio tapes recorded by Princess Diana about the breakdown of her marriage to Prince Charles are to be heard for the first time in a new TV series. Diana: The Unheard Truth will span three episodes and is based on five hours of audio secretly recorded by Diana in 1991.
The recordings were made by the princess' friend, Dr James Colthurst, smuggled out of Kensington Palace and delivered to author Andrew Morton. He then used them as the basis for his work Diana: Her True Story, which was published the following year.
The new series, which will be released to mark the 30th anniversary of Diana's death in August 2027, is expected to feature her words as never before. Since her death, less than one hour of the tapes has so far been heard by the public.
On the tapes, Princess Diana spoke about meeting Charles for the first time and how their relationship blossomed before fracturing. As well as discussing how her marriage to the now-King collapsed, she is also understood to discuss her views of other members of the royal family including her sons, Queen Camilla and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and his wife Sarah Ferguson.
Production firm Love Monday TV partnered with Morton and Dr Colthurst to secure unprecedented access to the tapes. The team behind the series is said to be keen to 'challenge the reductive narrative that has too often framed Diana as a victim of her circumstances'. Instead, it will portray her 'infectious humour and twinkling laughter' and reveal her 'dreams for a future that could have been; a new chapter in which Charles goes off into the sunset with Camilla, leaving Diana free to carve her own path'.
As well as the tapes themselves, the series will hear from some of those closest to Diana, including a schoolfriend who has never appeared on camera before. Delissa Needham, a prep schoolmate, will give her own insights into the late princess, alongside hairdresser Sam McKnight and confidant Penny Thornton.
The secret recordings were made by Princess Diana after ten years of marriage to the then-Prince Charles. With their marriage on the rocks, she took the decision to tell her side of events in deeply personal conversations which provided an unparalleled insight into her life as a member of the royal family.
Morton has previously told the Daily Mail how Diana told of her misery at her situation, revealing suicide attempts and her struggles with the eating disorder bulimia. She also talked about the now-Queen Camilla for the first time, even passing him letters written by the couple to Morton.
The publication of his book caused a scandal, with it condemned by the Archbishop of Canterbury and some bookshops refusing to sell the work. At the time, Buckingham Palace denied any involvement in the work, but it soon emerged that Diana was the principal source - although details of the secret recordings remained unknown for some time.
In 2022, Morton told the Daily Mail how he listened 'with mounting astonishment' to the 'tale of woe' when he was first passed the tapes by Dr Colthurst. 'Diana had a nagging fear that, at any moment, her enemies in the Palace would have her classified as mentally ill and locked away,' he said. 'Where to turn? It had dawned on her that unless the full story of her life was told, the public would never understand the reasons behind anything she decided to do.'
Referring to how the book was received after publication, he added: 'It soon became apparent that the book really was Diana's true story — and the princess quickly began to receive the kind of support that always meant so much to her. Letters came flooding in, many from people who had suffered with eating disorders themselves. She never regretted the taping sessions. And in the last five years of her life, the world witnessed the flowering of her humanitarian spirit.'
Filming has already begun and the series is set to air on August 31, 2027.
