How Princess Diana Made An ‘Uncharacteristically Bitter’ Joke About Being Spied On

Princess Diana had a unique sense of humor. But there was one instance wherein she made an uncharacteristically bitter joke about being spied on.

In the book “William And Catherine,” royal author Andrew Morton detailed how Princess Diana would make fun of her situation as a royal. Whenever she’s midway through a conversation on the phone, she would tell her royal aides that it’s time to change the tape.

“It was a joke with an uncharacteristically bitter twist,” he said. “The Princess believed not only that the Palace was conspiring against her, but that the security forces were routinely tapping her telephones. With hindsight, it is easy to understand why,” Morton added.

The royal author explained why Princess Diana’s paranoia could be justified. He said that this may have had something to do with Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles’ affair.

“For years, she had been dismissed as ‘deranged and paranoid’ for suspecting that her husband was involved in a clandestine relationship with his married friend — and former flame — Camilla Parker Bowles. As the world now knows, there was, in fact, an elaborate conspiracy to keep that relationship secret. The strain of day-to-day subterfuge actually made some of his staff physically ill,” Morton said.

The royal author also said that it was not surprising for Princess Diana to discuss the covert activities of the secret services, both real and perceived. After all, they were far from being a symptom of paranoia and more of a fact of the late royal’s dislocated life.

In 1993, illicit recordings of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall’s bedroom conversation were made public. Prince Charles told Camilla that he would live in her trousers, and the controversial tapes were dubbed as the “Camillagate” or the “Tampongate.”

Also, the recordings were released just one year after Prince Charles and Princess Diana announced their decision to separate. But the royal couple’s divorce was pursued by Queen Elizabeth II only after Princess Diana gave a controversial interview to Martin Bashir for Panorama.

Prince Charles and Princess Diana divorced in 1996. One year later, the latter passed away in a fatal car crash in Paris.