The Front Page revisited: A quarter century on, the warning in Diana’s death remained unheeded in 2022

The media was obsessed with Princess Diana. Photo / NZME

The Front Page podcast is revisiting some of the major stories covered in 2022.

August marked 25 years since Diana, Princess of Wales died in a car crash in Paris.

The shadow of her shocking death still hangs over the British monarchy, which today finds itself embroiled in its most contentious period since the bitterness of the 90s as her children now find themselves fighting the same battles she did.

Documentary filmmaker Ed Perkins released a film to mark the anniversary and offer a fresh perspective on the story familiar to so many around the world.

He joined The Front Page to discuss Princess Diana’s legacy and how her public fight is mirrored in the Royal battles unfolding today.

Using only existing footage for The Princess, the director pieces together a powerful montage showing the uncomfortable relationship between the media, the public and this storied family.

“Over decades, almost subconsciously, most of us have turned her story into a national sitcom or soap opera for our own entertainment,” said Perkins.

“I’m trying, in this film, to get at that complex relationship. It’s not about throwing out blame. It’s about being honest about our own role and our own complicity and offering up a big question: we want the fairytale, but at what cost?”

Perkins says the conversation is nuanced and complicated and demands a level of introspection from all those observing.

“If I’m pointing the finger at anyone, it’s first and foremost, at me as a consumer of media today,” says Perkins.

“Diana was not perfect. She was flawed and fallible, like all of us. And she had an interdependent relationship with the press. That is undeniable … But I also think we need to be honest with ourselves and our role in the story.

“In some ways, the Diana story can be seen as an origin story, if you will, for the things playing out today.”

The most obvious recent Royal example of this would be in the countless column inches and online stories dedicated to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex Harry and Meghan - even more so given the recent release of Prince Harry’s autobiography Spare, which sheds light on his personal experience of being a Royal.

During the production process for The Princess, Perkins says he couldn’t help but see the similarities between the two narratives separated by a quarter of a century.

“When we started making this film at the beginning of the Covid pandemic, it was around the time that Harry and Meghan were leaving the UK and moving to the US. It really struck all of us that were making the film, that there was a similarity in that this seemed to be the only thing most people in the UK wanted to talk about for days and weeks.

“It caused enormous rifts. People took very strong and polarised positions. They took sides. There were huge arguments in the press, on TV and within families. And it reminded me very much of a similar discussion that was happening all throughout Diana’s adult life.”

So is history repeating? And are we as consumers still making the same mistakes we made 25 years ago?

Listen to the full episode of The Front Page podcast, in which Perkins explains why things haven’t changed as much as we think they have.