John Stevens, former head of Scotland Yard, told theDaily Mailthat he spoke to then-Prince Charlesabout a note that Princess Diana wrote in 1995, which read: “My husband is planning ‘an accident’ in my car, brake failure and serious head injury,” so that he could marry Tiggy Legge-Bourke, a nanny forPrince WilliamandPrince Harry. Charles and Dianadivorced in 1996.
After the note became public in 2003,Prince Charleswas interviewed at St. James’s Palace as a witness two years into the investigation.
“Yes, allegations had been made about the Prince of Wales and other royals, but we had to find or examine the [existing] evidence before we approached him with formal questions,” Stevens told the outlet. “We found no other evidence to support the scenario suggested in Diana’s note.”
“We were left with the note, which, in itself, was not enough to make Charles a formal suspect,” he continued. “If he chose to assist [Operation] Paget, he would be doing so voluntarily as a potential witness. We would not be interviewing him under caution.”
Prince Charles and Princess Diana.Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty
Stevens reportedly read the note toPrince Charlesand then asked him: “Why do you think the princess wrote this note, sir?”
The royal replied, “I did not know anything about [the note] until it was published in the media.”
“You didn’t discuss this note with her, sir?” Stevens asked, to which Charles said, “No, I did not know it existed.”
When asked, “Do you know why the princess had these feelings, sir?” Charles replied, “No, I don’t.”
Princess Diana and Prince Charles.Georges De Keerle/Getty
“At the end of the day he was incredibly cooperative because he had nothing to hide,” Stevens told theDaily Mail.
Listen below toour daily podcast PEOPLE Every Dayfor more on Princess Diana’s note.
Although Prince Charles cooperated with the investigation, his father,Prince Philip, declined to assist in the investigation. He returned a request to comment on the allegations with three words: “No, thank you.”
Princess Diana during her Panorama interview.PA Images
Princess Diana’s note was written around the time she did her famous BBC Panorama interview with Martin Bashir.
Can’t get enough ofPEOPLE’s Royals coverage?Sign up for our free Royals newsletterto get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more!
Stevens regretted that he and his officers did not interview Bashir.
“If there’d been an allegation then that Bashir had produced allegedly fake documents to Princess Diana, which is a criminal offense, we’d have investigated it. My goodness me, we would have done,” he said. “But this has only come out recently, which is unfortunate.”
source: people.com
