Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

‘She never wanted to be Queen’: Britney Spears honours Princess Diana’s legacy in heartfelt post

‘She wanted to be the heart of the people!’ says singer

Olivia Petter
Friday 28 May 2021 10:35 BST
Comments
(Getty Images)

Britney Spears has paid tribute to the late Princess Diana in a heartfelt post on Instagram.

On Thursday, the musician shared a a photograph of the Princess of Wales, who died in 1997, alongside a caption explaining how much she admires her.

“She never wanted to be the Queen,” Spears wrote.

“She wanted to be the heart of the people !!!!!!!! She was more than class... she was sheer genius down to the way she spoke to the way she mothered her children.

“The essence of being completely oblivious to her own power !!!!”

Spears went on to reference Diana’s wedding to Prince Charles, which took place in 1981 at St Paul’s Cathedral and was televised around the world.

“750 MILLION people watched her get married on TV !!!!” Spears wrote.

“She will always be remembered as one of the most remarkable women to date!!!”

The singer’s tribute comes as an independent inquiry led by Lord Dyson looked into how Martin Bashir gained access to Princess Diana to land the famous 1995 “there were three of us in the marriage” interview that aired on BBC’s Panorama.

The inquiry found that Mr Bashir used “deception” to secure the interview and that there was a “serious breach” of the BBC’s editorial rules, transgressions which the corporation later covered up.

Mr Bashir has since insisted that the “deceitful behaviour” he used to get the interview was not harmful to Diana and that he and his family “loved her”.

Shortly after the inquiry’s findings were announced, the Duke of Cambridge issued a scathing statement in response.

“The interview was a major contribution to making my parents’ relationship worse and has since hurt countless others,” he said via video message.

“It brings indescribable sadness to know that the BBC’s failures contributed significantly to her fear, paranoia and isolation that I remember from those final years with her.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in