UK to release audio of Princess Diana talking about marriage

Audio recordings of Princess Diana's conversations, in which she discussed her marital problems, are to be broadcast in Britain.

Prince Charles and Princess Diana before leaving for their honeymoon in 1981. Photo: Rex

A British television channel is set to air a new documentary about Princess Diana, using controversial recordings in which she candidly discusses her marital problems and her strained relationship with the royal family, according to AP.

The recordings capture conversations between Princess Diana and her speechwriter, Peter Settelen, in the early 1990s. Princess Diana described how Queen Elizabeth II reacted when she asked for advice about her failed marriage to Prince Charles.

"So I went to the Queen, crying. I asked what I should do and the Queen said she didn't know what I should do," Princess Diana said in the recording. "That's how it was and it helped."

Princess Diana married Prince Charles in 1981 and had two children, Prince William and Prince Harry. She was loved by the public for her elegant style and active charity work. The Princess and the Prince divorced in 1996. On August 31, 1997, she died in a car accident in Paris, France.

The recordings also show Princess Diana talking about being "deeply in love" with a man, believed to be Barry Mannakee, her bodyguard.

British police have kept some of the recordings after confiscating them from former royal butler Paul Burrell in 2001. Small excerpts from the recordings were broadcast in the US in 2004 but have never been broadcast on British television. The latest documentary on Princess Diana is due to air on August 6.

According to VNE