Charles' Staff Made Princess Diana's Life a "Nightmare" by Spreading Lies About Her, Royal Insider Alleges

Now that the highly anticipated fifth season of The Crown has dropped on Netflix, the relationship between the late Princess Diana and now-King Charles is being revisited by the entire world. While the show's producers have always issued the disclaimer that the show is a fictional dramatization of the events that shaped the reign of Queen Elizabeth, many people – including the Royal Family, per reports – fear that many watch it as more of a biography than anything else.

Now, Princess Diana's former chief-of-staff is blasting King Charles' staff for making the late Princess' life a nightmare. Read on to learn more—and to explore secrets of the Royal Family, don't miss these The Biggest Royal Romance Scandals of All Time

Patrick Jephson, who worked alongside Prince William and Harry's mother for eight years, claims that Charles' staff did their best to smear the reputation of Princess Diana via a "systematic campaign." They also maintain that his affair with Camilla Bowles was an open secret within the "establishment."

"This is not just some casual gossip, it was a systematic campaign," he said during an interview with Phil Craig on The Scandal Mongers podcast, which streams on Spotify next week. "Okay, it was a long time ago, but … the man they were supporting is now our king and these things should not be buried, they should not be conveniently pushed to one side. They happened, in theory, they could happen again, and certainly, they shouldn't pass without censure."

Jephson also maintains that claims Diana was "a bit crazy" and "probably impossible" were out of line. "I get very frustrated. That has become the official line. If you ask people close to the current royal establishment — if you dare bring up the subject of Princess Diana, which very few people would — then I think that is the answer you would get; that it was a tragic story and that she was essentially troubled mentally, and the implication being that she was not entirely up the job, which essentially then she failed at."

He also doesn't like the new narrative about the Queen Consort Camilla. "And the unspoken addition is that everything is alright now because we have her replacement, who is wonderfully down-to-earth and grounded and not at all flakey or paranoid," Jephson continued. "When I hear people follow this line, when I see it not being challenged, I think, well, wait a minute. I knew Princess Diana probably better than almost anybody — certainly professionally — and she was one of the most sane people I ever met."

"Considering the life she lived, considering the pressures she was under, she wasn't just sane, she had a kind of ability to restore sanity to crazy situations," Jephson added. "As an eye witness, she could be a bit of a handful sometimes, but she was always extremely aware, sane, grounded, and funny."

Jephson admitted that there was a change in Princess Diana after the split from Charles: "She went from being, as far as the world was concerned, a happily married wife and mother to being a discarded ex-wife…that's a heck of a change in anyone's book," he said. 

Jephson added that "once it became apparent her critics were trying to smear her with allegations of mental instability," she used it to her advantage. "She said, 'Yes, I do have an eating disorder,' for example, and she gave a speech about eating disorders. I can't think of a better definition of sanity than [to] have people accuse you of being nuts, and stand up and make a speech about the condition that you do have," and explain how it "affects a lot of people, particularly young women. I think that is a sign of extraordinary strength and shows the essential pettiness of her accuser," he said. 

According to Jephson, the stories tarnishing her mental health were spread "by large by men, about a woman in a marriage, with the intention to help another man." And, he added that nobody really stood up for her. "Nobody offered her support, nobody took her to one side and said, 'now look, this is all very unfortunate, but it happens in all families, but you're going to get through it, and we're going to support you, and you're doing a great job, and we want you to do more of it — but no."