Prince of Wales is ‘livid’ at Prince Harry’s ‘antagonistic’ use of Diana’s Panorama footage in Megflix, royal expert claims

• William is believed to be ‘livid’ by Harry and Meghan’s use of the Panorama clip
• The heir previously asked for the BBC interview to not be shown ever again
• Prince Harry chose to use clips in his new Netflix documentary Harry & Meghan
• Read more: Prince Louis set for ‘starring role’ in Christmas celebrations

The Prince of Wales is ‘livid’ at Prince Harry’s ‘antagonistic’ use of Princess Diana’s Panorama footage in his Netflix series, a royal expert has claimed.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Harry & Meghan series features a number of clips of their mother’s account of her marriage collapse from her 1995 interview with BBC rogue reporter Martin Bashir. 

William last year said the footage ‘should never be aired again’ after it was revealed that Bashir peddled an astonishing web of lies and smears to land his scoop.

Vanity Fair’s Katie Nicholl told Ok! that Harry has ‘monopolised’ Diana’s story, saying: ‘[William] will be livid. William has campaigned for that footage to never be screened again, so for it be used in his brother’s own reality TV show will be very frustrating for William.

The Prince of Wales is ‘livid’ at Prince Harry’s ‘antagonistic’ use of Princess Diana’s Panorama footage in his Netflix series, a royal expert has claimed

‘It’s quite antagonistic and it’s not right.

‘I think the way Harry has monopolised Diana’s narrative as his own must be very hurtful for William too.’

In an extraordinary move that disregarded the Prince’s plea, a number of episodes in Harry and Meghan’s docu-series featured clips from the interview.

The first episode of the Harry and Meghan documentary featured a clip of the Panorama interview, during which Princess Diana described the press interest in her as ‘daunting and phenomenal’.

Vanity Fair’s Katie Nicholl told Ok! William would feel ‘very frustrated’ that the footage was used in the documentary (pictured, Diana in the Panorama interview) 

Just before the footage is shown, Prince Harry tells interviewers: ‘I think we all now know that she was deceived into giving the interview but at the same time she spoke the truth of her experience.’

The documentary went on to repeatedly broadcast clips from the BBC programme to draw comparisons between Diana and Meghan’s experiences of life in the royal family.

Claiming Meghan came under fire for attracting press attention, the series cuts to clips of Diana talking about the ‘jealousy’ which came with her popularity. 

BBC director-general Tim Davie last year insisted that the interview would never be shown again because of the ‘shocking’ way it was obtained. He also pledged that the Corporation would not license its Panorama footage ‘in whole or part to other broadcasters’.

The Mail on Sunday has learnt that Netflix did not need to obtain the BBC’s permission to use the clips and instead used an exception within copyright law called ‘fair-dealing’.

Under this arrangement, a broadcaster can legitimately use short clips of another organisation’s work to report on ‘current events’.

Experts say they simply have to ensure the footage has been previously broadcast to the public, that not too much footage is used and that they acknowledge who the owner is. The ‘BBC Motion Gallery’ is listed as the source of archival material in the closing credits of the first episode of the Netflix documentary.

 Meanwhile Katie also expressed the view Harry has ‘monopolised’ Diana’s memory will be ‘very hurtful’ to William 

Crucially, the so-called ‘fair-dealing’ defence means Netflix and other broadcasters could continue to broadcast clips of the notorious Bashir interview without needing the BBC’s permission.

Sarah Mountain, an intellectual property lawyer and partner at a legal firm, said: ‘Whilst the BBC can say ‘we won’t license it to anyone’, that isn’t what’s happened here.

‘The BBC don’t have the right to prevent people from fair dealing with the work, provided the applicable copyright law principles have been complied with. So in a fair-dealing, reporting of current events context, we could see further use of the footage.’

Last year, a damning report by former Supreme Court judge Lord Dyson report confirmed that Bashir acted deceitfully by falsifying bank documents which were shown to the Princess to convince her that those close to her were being paid to betray her.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex used their Netflix mini-series to accuse Prince William of yelling and King Charles of lying

And in a blistering statement outside Kensington Palace, Prince William spoke of his ‘indescribable sadness’ after learning that BBC failures had contributed to the ‘fear, paranoia and isolation’ his mother experienced in her final years.

He called on broadcasters not to screen the interview, saying: ‘It is my firm view that this Panorama programme holds no legitimacy and should never be aired again.’

BBC managers are understood to be mystified as to how Netflix got hold of the footage.

A BBC source said: ‘As we have said before, the BBC will never show the programme again; nor will we license it in whole or in part to other broadcasters – the decision to show the interview is a matter for Netflix.’

Bob Seely, a Conservative MP, said the BBC should demand that Netflix remove the clip from the documentary.

‘For the BBC’s own sake it should write to Netflix to ask that it does not use the material.’ 

Katie’s latest comments come after she told Entertainment Tonight the Prince of Wales feels ‘incredibly upset and very betrayed’ by Prince Harry and Meghan’s bombshell Netflix series – and will be taking it ‘very personally’.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex used their Netflix mini-series to accuse Prince William of yelling and King Charles of lying when they refused to bless the couple’s request for a ‘half in half out’ Megxit that would allow them to earn a fortune while picking and choosing royal duties and keeping all their titles.

Harry alleged his older brother, now heir to the throne, scared him in January 2020 while he ‘screamed and shouted’ at him in front of his father and grandmother when he tried to thrash out a deal to leave the UK

She said that the ‘tempers are flaring’ and there is ‘a lot of resentment’ in the family about the series, adding: ‘William will be taking this very personally. I think he’s incredibly upset, and feels very badly betrayed by his brother.’ 

Read more: 

Charles dances off Netflix drama: Laughing King receives a rapturous welcome – and performs a traditional hora – at Jewish community centre 24 hours after Harry and Meghan’s bombshell claims 

Harry and Meghan’s ‘exhausting endurance test’ Netflix docuseries scores just 43% on Rotten Tomatoes as viewers blast ‘cringeworthy’ Netflix show 

Watch out, Harry and Meghan! Here come Uncle Gary’s truth bombs… In an exclusive interview, Kate’s relative says the Duchess of Sussex is jealous of his niece because ‘she makes it look effortless’  

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