Diana used Harry & William as a PR tool to hurt Charles – I saw it first hand, says royal photographer
PRINCESS Diana used Harry and William as a PR tool to hurt the then-Prince Charles, claims a royal photographer.
Speaking on The Sun’s Royal Exclusive show, Jim Bennett, who has spent years snapping the Firm, told how he saw Diana first-hand “using her sons” during the breakdown of her marriage.
He said: “My personal opinion is that she used the children, the two boys, a hell of a lot during that time.
“I know [the then-]Prince Charles only ever used the boys once to have publicity pictures, and that was at Balmoral.
“Diana had been using the boys a little bit as a tool, I shouldn’t really say that but that’s what it appeared to me.
“Maybe Charlie was doing the same, I really don’t know.”
Jim captured the world-famous snap of Di at Thorpe Park with Wills and Harry on the log flume in 1993.
He said back then, before the downfall of the royal marriage in 1996, the family were happy with photographers shooting genuine moments.
But shortly after, Diana would try “to get as much publicity against Charlie as she could”.
He added: “[Things were] never [over the top] in the early days but when things started going wrong with Charles, and she started going to the Chelsea Harbour Club when they first split up, it seemed to me that she was trying to get as much publicity against Charlie as she could.
“When we went to Chelsea Harbour Club she would always park the car at one end and walk all the way down the car park so she could be photographed.”
Recalling the moment he snapped the family at Thorpe Park, Jim told The Sun’s Royal Editor Matt Wilkinson how it unfolded.
Jim said: “I was driving to Windsor over Easter weekend just to do the usual stuff and as I was driving, I was running a bit late, I saw Diana’s car come past me with backup people.
“I phoned immediately my mate and said ‘Look I’ve just seen the car, they’re not going to be at Windsor, they’re coming away from Windsor‘.
“So we turned the cars around and followed as best we could but we lost them.
“We pulled up on the side of the road and between the two of us, made a decision.
“We said ‘Let’s go to Thorpe Park, it’s a long shot I wouldn’t think for one minute she’d be taking the kids to Thorpe Park’.
“So we drove to Thorpe Park, it was only about another three of four miles away, and as we pulled up into the car park, we saw all the royal cars parked at the entrance.
“So we bought tickets, went in and did pictures. These were the pictures of them on smaller rides, like the teacups.
“Because of the publicity Thorpe Park got from the pictures, they were absolutely sold out that weekend.”
Jim said the Managing Director of Thorpe Park at the time, had then personally invited them back the following year when he knew Diana, William and Harry would be there.
Racing to the theme park once again, Jim was in the right place at the right time and able to snap the trio of the water ride.