Princess Diana Gave Editor Buckingham Palace Phone Book to 'Make an Ally' Against Prince Charles, Editor Claims
The late Princess Diana reportedly gave News of the World editor Clive Goodman a confidential Buckingham Palace phone book in order to "recruit" him as an ally against husband Prince Charles, Goodman testified. Goodman was arrested for phone hacking in 2006 and is currently on trial for the crime.
"She was at the time going through a very, very tough time," Goodman told the jury. "She told me she wanted me to see this document to see the scale of her husband's staff and household compared to the scale of hers. She was in a very bitter situation with the Prince of Wales at the time. She felt she was being swamped by the people close to him in the household. She was looking for an ally to take him on, to show just the kind of forces that were ranged against her, to put the press on her side. We were quite a powerful organization."
At the time of his arrest, Goodman had 15 royal phone directories in his home. Officials discovered that he had obtained at least three of them illegally by paying a public official. However, he contends that each directory was somehow given to him through covert means. One of the directories, he alleges, was given to him by Prince Charles' senior valet, Kenneth Stronach.
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"It became clear he was thoroughly fed up with working for the royal family and for the prince in particular," Goodman said.
Goodman denies the charges of conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office. Rupert Murdoch, owner of News of the World, shut it down in 2011 amid an investigation into claims of phone hacking. Several people have been arrested, including former executives. In 2013, he was overheard stating that closing the paper was a "mistake" and a decision made in "panic."
"The police were about to invade this building and take all the computers out … and just put us out of business totally. We might have gone too far in protecting ourselves," Murdoch told journalists.
