Gay Byrne and Stephen Fry made headlines at the start of the month with an interview on Gay’s show ‘The Meaning of Life‘.
The interview sparked massive debate online and it seems that the one that is set to air tonight will do the exact same.
In this week’s instalment, Gay sits down with Princess Diana’s brother Charles Spencer who hits out at “glacial royals” as he talks in depth about the tragic death of his sister.
Charles is most remembered for his memorable speech in which he called Diana “the most hunted person of the modern age” and accused the press of turning on her.
“I had been a broadcaster so I knew how to speak, I thought,” he tells Gay in his first ever sit-down TV interview.
“But it was very different to do that in front of a billion-and-a-half people.
“By the end, I was completely wrung out emotionally and I couldn’t breathe, and I can remember the last 30 seconds, I was punching air at the bottom of my stomach, using the muscles in the base of my stomach, because my lungs – I mean – just sort of had enough. And I remember just collapsing into my seat after that.”
The Duke of Edinburgh, Prince William, Earl Spencer, Prince Harry and Prince Charles.
He added: “I believe the Queen said to somebody close to her that I had a right to say what I wanted to at my sister’s funeral.
Looking back on that day that is etched into the minds and hearts of a nation he continued: “What was far worse was knowing I was going to be walking behind the coffin with her sons.
“That was the real trauma of the day. I still have nightmare about that.”
Gay later asks him “Where is Diana now?” to which he replies, “Sometimes I feel my parents or my sister [around me], but I wonder, is it just wishful thinking.”
He also goes on to talk about growing up with Diana and his relationship with the Irish side of their family.
The full interview will air tonight on RTÉ One at 10.30pm.
Video via YouTube/RTÉ – IRELAND’S NATIONAL PUBLIC SERVICE
