It was 29 years ago this week that Princess Diana sat down for a controversial BBC panorama interview with Martin Bashir, and almost 30 years later, the late Royal's former lover, James Hewitt, talks about the "deception" of journalists.

Diana's interview — aired in 1995-11-20 - included numerous bombshell stories about her royal life and marriage to Prince Charles, including her relationship with Hewitt, who was her riding instructor.

An independent investigation was launched in 2021 after Bashir accused Diana's brother, Charles Spencer, of using unethical methods to persuade Diana to participate in the interview.The tactic Hewitt, 66, said was "unforgivable."

The resulting report confirmed that the interviewer had used "deceptive behavior" to secure Diana's participation. Specifically, it was found that Bashir had forged documents and misrepresented information to both the princess and her brother in order to gain their trust. This included telling Princess Diana that she was being monitored and making other manipulative claims about the royal family.

"I think Chap needs to seriously look for his conscience," Hewitt said when discussing Bashir. "It is not allowed to do it by deception, and there is little way back from there.

The former British Army officer Calvary continued, "I don't know him personally, but I think the weakness of the hand is wrong, especially if it's a toad taking advantage of someone's weakness." It affected me and it had a great effect.

In a jaw-dropping interview, Princess Diana said, "Yes, I was in love with him, but I was very disappointed," referring to Hewitt and their 5-year affair,

the former Polo player told the Sun that the course of his life was affected by the Panorama special and the resulting backlash. He said. 1 of the particularly troubling rumors was that Hewitt was the real father of Prince Harry. But Princess Diana did not even meet military officers until 2 years after Harry's birth.

When asked why he didn't get married, Hewitt said, "I think it's pretty obvious, given my history and subsequent difficulties, and being the most hated person in the world.

"I think I missed it," he continued. "I would have wanted to have children, but we're there, you can't have everything in life.

Acknowledging her relationship with Hewitt between 1986 and 1991, Princess Diana spoke of her husband's relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles, saying: "This marriage was a bit crowded because there were three of us."

At the end of the day, Hewitt, who is now dedicating his life to supporting work in Ukraine, said the public should see the interview with an important lens

"I want people to realize that the whole of the program should be seen for what it was — and it is not." "It was to deceive someone saying things and doing things that they might not necessarily have been willing to say if all the facts were known," he concluded.