Aide describes how King Charles Diana’s staff made life hell by lying about her sanity

Princess Diana’s former chief of staff has blasted King Charles’ former courtiers for spreading lies that she was mentally ill.

Patrick Jephson, who worked closely with Diana for eight years, alleges that Charles’s associates slandered his first wife in a “systematic campaign” – while it was an open secret within the “establishment” that he was having an affair with his longtime lover Camilla Parker had bowls.

Jephson said: “This is not just casual gossip, it has been a systematic campaign. Okay, it’s been a long time but… the man they supported is our king now and these things shouldn’t be buried, they shouldn’t be conveniently brushed aside.

“They happened, theoretically they could happen again, and certainly they shouldn’t happen without blame.”

Jephson, 66, speaks with Phil Craig on The Scandal Mongers podcast, which will be streaming on Spotify next week.

When asked about a now-widespread perception that Diana, who died in a tragic car accident in Paris in August 1997 at the age of just 36, was “a little crazy” and “probably impossible,” Jephson replied, “I am very frustrated. This has become the official line.

“If you ask people close to the current royal establishment – if you dare bring up the subject of Princess Diana, which very few people would do – then I would think that’s the answer you would get; that it was a tragic story and that she was essentially mentally troubled, and the implication was that she wasn’t quite up to the job, which she then essentially failed to do.

Referring to new Queen Consort Camilla, he said, “And the unspoken addition is that everything is fine now because we have her replacement, who is wonderfully down to earth and grounded and not at all scaly or paranoid.”

Jephson added: “When I hear people taking that line, when I see that it’s unchallenged, I think, well, wait a minute. I probably knew Princess Diana better than almost anyone – certainly professionally – and she was one of the most sensible people I’ve ever met.

“Given the life she’s lived, given the pressure she was under, not only was she sane, she had a kind of ability to come back to her sanity in crazy situations.

“She could be a bit nervous at times as an eyewitness, but she was always very perceptive, sane, grounded and funny.”

Jephson, who left Diana’s employment in January 1996, admitted Diana’s personality had changed following her split from Charles, now 74, who ascended to the throne following the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September. He said, “She went from being a happily married wife and mother, as far as the world is concerned, to a discarded ex-wife … that’s one hell of a change in anyone’s book.”

Jephson observed her up close and said he was more qualified than most to take a look at Diana’s mental health during this time, adding that she was turning things to her advantage “when it became apparent that hers Critics tried to smear her with allegations of mental instability.”

“Like she said, ‘Yes, I have an eating disorder,’ and she gave a speech about eating disorders. I can’t think of a better definition of sanity than [to] Let people accuse you of being crazy and get up and give a speech about the condition you have” and explain how it “affects a lot of people, especially young women. I think that is a sign of extraordinary strength and shows the essential pettiness of their accuser,” added Jephson.

He said the stories about her mental health were “broadly spread by men about a woman in a marriage with the intention of helping another man.

“It’s also no wonder Diana turned to Andrew Morton to tell her story in a book — and no wonder she fell for Martin Bashir’s lies,” he said.

Bashir, a now-disgraced BBC reporter, made a string of claims that the royal machine was “out for Diana” to secure his now-famous interview with the princess. He also commissioned fake bank statements that allegedly showed payments into Jephson’s account being made by intelligence agencies monitoring Diana’s movements.

In May, the BBC paid Jephson “significant damages” and apologized “unreservedly” for the 1995 interview.

He said Diana could not be accused of giving Bashir “faith”, adding: “There was a lot of evidence that people were informed against her, they tapped her phone, they were hostile to her in many ways and determined to clip her wings as a princess. There was also reason to believe that her connection with her children could be jeopardized during the divorce negotiations.

“Bashir knew what he was doing, he was undermining her confidence in her ability to make decisions she could trust to act cautiously in the circumstances. If she believed what he told her, doing what she did was a perfectly reasonable response.”

Buckingham Palace has not yet responded to The Post’s request for comment.

Diana approached Morton to write the book Diana: Her True Story knowing that “her marriage was dead, that her husband was seeking a very efficient and successful long-term relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles. She also sadly knew that her own attempts at extramarital happiness were pretty much useless.”

He added: “She was also far too aware that no one was holding the prince accountable for his behavior, no one in his family was holding him accountable. They seemed complicit in what they considered a betrayal. The establishment was complicit, the affair with Camilla was well known in established circles and all they did was talk about Diana behind her back, whisper about her.

“Nobody offered her support, nobody took her aside and said, ‘Well look, this is all very unfortunate but it happens in all families but you’re going to get through it and we’re going to support you and you’re doing a great job and we want to that you do more of it – but no.

“She was left isolated, she was unaware of the situation she was in, the stress she was under, the challenges she faced every day raising her children in these circumstances and she had to pick them up preparing for a life of service. And she was like, ‘How am I going to get my side of this out?’”

Despite everything, Diana is “very, very good at her job,” Jephson said, and is “no fool,” adding, “A lot of people have underestimated her at their expense.”

Even the British ambassador to Moscow wanted Diana to pay a visit, saying she would attract senior members of the Kremlin who wouldn’t come out for anyone else, Jephson said.

“Unfortunately, instead of embracing Diana as a fabulous asset, as someone who could be an integral part of the modern royal family, they chose to be suspicious of her, tease her, undermine her and dislike her,” added Added Jephson.