Just weeks after a senior aristocrat spoke of the Queen finding the late Princess Diana “damaged” and “impossible”, it has been revealed that two of the monarch’s closest friends have gone one step further. In a major ITV documentary due to be broadcast on Jubilee weekend, Lady Penn, a former Lady in Waiting to the Queen Mother, and Countess Mountbatten, the daughter of the murdered Earl of Mountbatten, question Diana’s mental health.
“The Queen found Diana’s ill-health or mental instability very hard to understand because she is a very matter-of-fact, down-to-earth person,” says Lady Penn. “I think it probably tried her patience a bit.” Both women speak of how difficult the Queen found it to cope with the Princess’ mood swings, and how little she understood the breakdown of her eldest son’s marriage.
“The Queen tried very, very hard to understand and help when the relationship between Charles and Diana began to deteriorate, but it was not an easy thing for her,” Lady Penn says.
Revealing that the royal matriarch had confided her feelings of helplessness over the situation with her, Countess Mountbatten said: “We talked about it and we talked about what could be done to alleviate the problem, and sadly there was no conclusion.”
During the interview the Countess also comments: “It took everyone a very long time to realise there were sides to Diana that were different from what was seen on public occasions and in photographs.”
Earlier this month Lady Kennard, another close friend of the Queen, spoke of the strained relations between the Queen and her daughter-in-law to a BBC documentary production.
The four-part ITV series featuring the latest claims was made with the full co-operation of Buckingham Palace.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
