A Rare Glimpse At Princess Diana's Falling Out With Princess Margaret

If there was any point that revealed the true relationship between Princess Diana and Princess Margaret, it very well might have been at Di's lowest point. After her scandalous divorce from Charles, Diana was under constant scrutiny. Secret recordings were leaked to the media, revealing Diana had a big secret.

Known as the "Squidgygate Tapes," these recorded telephone calls between Princess Diana and an admirer who called her "Squidgy" became a media circus. The transcripts provided both a risqué look into Di's love life and a scathing critique of the royal family she married into. While the leak should never have happened in the first place, not one, but two, individuals were able to capture it.

Thanks to a radio scanner, a retired bank manager named Cyril Reenan accidentally recorded most of the conversion. Even though it was said Reenan had no idea what to do with the recording, he eventually sold it to the tabloid newspaper, the Sun, and made some money. And then there was the other eavesdropper.

Not only did Reenan manage to record the conversation, but so did a mid-twenties typist. Jane Norgrove was in a similar predicament about how to handle the material. But she soon mailed her copy to other tabloid agencies. Strangely, the Sun chose to not publish the material. But the Enquirer in the U.S. jumped on it. While the scandal exploded, there was someone who could have foreseen the inevitable end of Diana's marriage.

Princess Diana found an ally in Princess Margaret, who felt for her niece-in-law. "I’ve always adored Margo. I love her to bits, and she has been wonderful to me from day one," she said. Additionally, the older royal easily recognized what Diana had to deal with in the media. Decades earlier, Princess Margaret had been thrust into the same spotlight.

Not only had Princess Margaret been a tabloid favorite for her beauty, but also she was involved in a rather chaotic divorce. For nearly twenty years she was married to photographer, Antony Armstrong-Jones. Both he and Princess Margaret had strong personalities that ultimately led to a divorce. Although Princess Diana was not divorced from Charles during the peak of "Squidgygate," Princess Margaret made a bold statement on the matter.

It had been Princess Margaret who had suggested the idea of an early divorce for Charles and Diana, having seen how her own ended. During that time, the two were only separated. But Charles disagreed on the matter. Nonetheless, Princess Margaret made her nephew understand that she was going to maintain her relationship with Diana. After all, Princess Margaret was more than a supporter to Diana.

According to the book Elizabeth & Margaret by Andrew Morton, Princess Margaret made a habit of joining Diana during many social events. They were even paired together at leisure outings, such as shopping. Though they grew incredibly close, it took just one interview to end everything between the two women.

The sit-down between Diana and interviewer Martin Bashir for BBC's Panorama was a royal nightmare. On television, Diana addressed many taboo issues. She opened up about her postpartum depression, her belief that Charles wouldn't make a good king, and her dislike of fame. Even if Diana meant half of what she said, the damage was enough. Princess Margaret made yet another decision.

Andrew Morton detailed the fallout in Elizabeth & Margaret. Despite ignoring how she was negatively viewed after her own divorce, Princess Margaret was enraged with the People's Princess. She saw the Panorama interview as a destructive move against her royal family. "Margo" didn't just stop talking to Diana; she made the divide absolutely permanent.

Princess Margaret committed to a very British way of handling the separation between Diana and herself. The Queen's sister wrote a letter that author Andrew Morton described as "wounding" and "excoriating." It devastated Princess Diana, but that wasn't the end of the older woman's revenge.

Not content to just insult the Princess, Margaret wanted Diana to be completely eviscerated from her life. Allegedly, Princess Margaret ordered every magazine with Diana on the cover to be instantly removed from royal grounds. She forbade her own children from communicating with Diana. The People's Princess had become an enemy to the royal family. The animosity continued beyond Diana's tragic death.

Not even the fatal car crash in Paris several years later relieved Princess Margaret's scorn. When Diana's funeral was held, Margaret hardly seemed interested as the carriage passed by. However, a more recent news development turned their falling out into something even more tragic.

If anyone wondered why Princess Diana had gone forward with the confessional interview for Panorama, they might have come to simple conclusions. The most obvious was that Diana had wanted to reveal the exhausting and escalating issues within the royal family. But there was another, far bigger reason behind Diana's decision.

Leading up to the Panorama interview in 1995, Princess Diana knew her husband had been cheating on her. Rumors spread that Charles had been romantically involved with their children's nanny. She even believed the mistress had become pregnant by her husband and tasked an aide with a clandestine investigation into the matter. But why?

The Princess was probably lied to, for starters. Erin Hill of People magazine uncovered a revelation about the Panorama segment. It turns out that the interviewer, Martin Bashir, manipulated Diana into the bombshell 1995 appearance, using the Princess's concerns at the time of her husband and the nanny. Then he went a step further.

Bashir allegedly made contact with Diana's brother, Charles Spencer. He showed him falsified bank statements, which were supposedly evidence of payments made for an abortion for the royal nanny. It was made to seem like a staff member was leaking information, thanks to Charles passing along these mistruths. A domino effect followed.

After Spencer learned of the "receipts," he told People in November 2020 what happened. "This, in turn, led to the meeting where I introduced Diana to Bashir, on September 19, 1995. This then led to the interview." In the following months, an investigation looked into the matter. They could, at last, provide some justice for the dearly departed Diana.

British Supreme Court Judge John Dyson led the charge, and he revealed that the false bank statements did indeed convince Princess Diana to keep the interview on her schedule, despite wanting to back out of it. The ripple effects were devastating.

Princess Diana died in 1997, and Princess Margaret followed suit in 2002. Neither was alive to learn of the recent news developments, although perhaps their relationship wouldn't have healed either way. The deceitful push to go on Panorama disrupted more than a royal establishment. It ended the bond between two women who should have supported each other. And thanks to recently released documents, we're still learning just how brave Diana really was.

In 2019, Lawrences Auctioneers listed two personal letters from Princess Diana. The first, dated December 5, 1990, was listed for £3,000, or about $4,000. Only about three pages, the letter was addressed to one Ivy Woodward — an unfamiliar name, even in royal circles.

By chance, Ivy Woodward and Princess Diana had became friends, both while wrapped up in their own tragic moments: Their first meeting was not at some lavish royal event, but rather, at a local hospital in September of that year, 1990.

Princess Diana was at the hospital for her husband, Charles, who was recovering from a broken arm he suffered while playing polo. Ivy was there visiting her son, Dean, who was in a coma from a motorbike accident. The compassionate princess couldn't help but connect with Ivy.

Ivy was distraught over her son's accident, and the pain and worry of losing him completely was a heavy burden. She needed a friend to lift her up, but never expected it to be a total stranger — and Princess Diana, to boot! They started talking.

The two became close as Charles' arm healed and time passed for Ivy's son. Princess Diana even visited Dean, and pulled strings in helping him awake from his coma. When both ladies were free from hospital visits, they stayed connected.

...Because Ivy's son Dean had a wife, named Jane, who couldn't handle the situation. Jane became distant with her mother-in-law when Dean returned home, creating a terrible family drama. No stranger to family drama, Princess Diana reached out.

In her letter, the Princess shared how happy she was to hear of Dean's recovery. and that Ivy's love for him made all the difference. "He wouldn't be here now if it wasn't for his mother," she wrote. Addressing the wife's behavior, Diana wrote on.

Princess Diana expressed that "time will iron things out" for the struggling family, offering some sense of hope and peace for a woman she hardly knew. Finally, Diana signed off with a personal message.

“The boys," she wrote, referring to Princes William and Harry (who were 8 and 6 at this time, respectively), "are thrilled at the prospect of Christmas on the horizon and have searched high and low for any parcels that might be coming their way!” The letter said so much more than what was written on the three pages.

Ivy Woodward was touched by the letter. How couldn't she be? The princess reached out to her. It was another kind act on her resume. Princess Diana acted as a saint, speaking to the homeless, visiting the roughest areas of London to make a difference. She'd transformed so many lives.

One man by the name of Vincent Seabrook had his life turned around for the better thanks to the Princess. When he met Princess Diana, he was homeless and broken down. She took the time to hear his story and even helped him in an astounding way.

He was abused as a child and had nowhere to go as an adult. She felt compelled to help and found a place for him to live, for no reason other than she wanted to. "Without her help,"Vincent said, "I really believe I would be dead by now." His life has since changed.

With a secure place to take shelter, Vincent got a new lease on life. When the Princess tragically passed, Vincent made his way to Kensington Palace a new man. Working as a security guard with a place of his own, he carried with him a plaque of love and gratitude for the Princess, along with flowers.

The second letter available for auction revealed a second side of Diana: her sense of humor. Written to Sergeant Ronald Lewis, a bodyguard for her and Charles, the letter expressed gratitude in a way only the princess could.

After a greeting to Ronald, Diana wrote: "'What with the extreme heat and often difficult conditions moving around was a nightmare for you and your luggage! Thank you from the boss's wife.'" With a big signature, she ended her letter. Experts supposed it would also earn a £3,000 payday.

Those who really knew Princess Diana also knew the kindness wasn't for good headlines; she loved making people smile. After battling with her own mental health issues, she knew what a kind word or a simple touch could do for the broken down people of the world.

Before Princess Diana really delved into her humanitarian acts, she herself needed saving. It's been said, even by close friends, that the Princess of Wales suffered mentally from her marriage with Charles, and attempted several suicides. She had to find peace on her own.

People closest to her, who showed they cared, said the attempts were more of a "cry for help," but those cries, for the most part, were ignored by the public. Princess Diana could have fallen, but she found love in those who cared and decided to share love with the world.

Today, her sons continue her legacy of humanitarianism, separately speaking against landmines, taking HIV tests, and helping the homeless. Harry laid out what his mother meant to him in his own collection of letters.