Resurfaced Video Shows Diana Talking About 'So Much Pain' Leading to Self-Harm: "It's the Wrong..."

Trigger Warning: This article contains themes of suicide that some readers may find distressing.

Princess Diana vulnerably admitted to self-harm during her exclusive 1995 BBC Panorama interview with reporter Martin Bashir. According to the Los Angeles Times, the Princess of Wales suffered from depression and battled an eating disorder, reportedly attempting suicide five times during her tumultuous marriage to Prince Charles.

"According to press reports, it was suggested that it was around this time, that things became so difficult that you actually tried to injure yourself," Bashir inquired. To which Diana honestly disclosed not finding the right help, "When no one listens to you, or you feel no one’s listening to you, all sorts of things start to happen. For instance, you have so much pain inside yourself that you try and hurt yourself on the outside because you want help, but it’s the wrong help you’re asking for. People see it as crying wolf or attention-seeking, and they think because you’re in the media all the time you’ve got enough attention, inverted commas."

As per Postpartum Progress, she explained further, "But I was actually crying out because I wanted to get better to go forward and continue my duty and my role as wife, mother, Princess of Wales. So yes, I did inflict upon myself. I didn’t like myself, I was ashamed because I couldn’t cope with the pressures." After Bashir questioned the severity of the conduct, Diana said that she had injured her arms and legs. When the BBC reporter inquired about Prince Charles's response, the princess said he was unable to comprehend her mental suffering. "Did he understand what was behind the physical act of hurting yourself, do you think?" Diana replied, "No, but then not many people would have taken the time to see that." 

In agonized calls for assistance, Diana reportedly threw herself downstairs during her pregnancy with Prince William, cut her wrists with a razor, sliced her chest and thighs with a knife, smashed a glass cabinet in a bid to harm herself, and cut herself with a lemon slicer. Nicholas Davies’ book Diana: A Princess and Her Troubled Marriage detailed that the late princess also overdosed on pills in 1986.

When these allegations became public, Buckingham Palace maintained a neutral stance, stating it could not comment on Princess Diana or Prince Charles’ reactions. "It is not for us to keep a circulation war going with comments one way or another, because that is what it is all about,” a royal spokesperson stated. The palace also denied claims presented in Andrew Morton's book Diana: Her True Story that the Princess of Wales attempted to end her life merely six months after marrying Charles. 

SUICIDE:  If you are having thoughts about taking your own life or know of anyone who is, please contact The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-SUICIDE (784-2433).