Princess Diana’s former chauffeur, Stephen Davies, only realised why he was sacked from his job with the royals after watching The Crown, it has been claimed. Stephen, 61, served Diana until March 1996 when he suddenly dismissed and now believes she might still be alive if he’d been at the wheel on that tragic night in Paris.
New Zealand’s Woman’s Weekly reported that an episode of the hit Netflix series, which portrayed BBC journalist Martin Bashir manipulating his way to an interview with Diana, implicated him as a snitch from within her circle.
Shell-shocked by the accusation, Stephen told the Daily Mail about the devastation this caused to his life, stating: “The consequence for me was that I was forced out of a job I wanted to be my life’s work. Martin Bashir robbed me of mine by making those allegations to Diana.”
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He added: “I’m not the kind of man who wastes time and energy being bitter or angry, but she died believing I had betrayed her and that’s something I can’t ever forget or forgive.”
Stephen received compensation from the BBC, who admitted the smears against him were “fabricated” as per the Daily Express’ findings.
Following his legal triumph, Stephen’s lawyers at Carter-Ruck released a statement where he expressed: “I am relieved that I have been able to clear my name, and my professional reputation as a chauffeur, through this legal process,” reports Gloucestershire Live.
“I was shocked to hear that these false allegations had been made about me almost 30 years ago and were very likely to be the cause of my sudden termination.”
Persephone Bridgman Baker, representing Stephen for Carter-Ruck, commented on the matter: “The claimant was devastated by the termination of his employment with the Princess; he had maintained a close professional relationship with the Princess throughout the many years he had worked for her and he was given no reason for the termination.”
She further explained the impact on Stephen: “The Claimant was tormented by speculation about what possible reason there could be for the termination of his employment and was acutely embarrassed about his dismissal.
“It is a matter of profound regret to him that, as he now knows, the Princess believed that he had betrayed her, and he was unable to correct the position before her tragic death.”