BBC Pays Out $200K+ for Martin Bashir’s False Claim that Prince Charles Had Affair with the Nanny
APOLOGY
The former nanny of Princes William and Harry, Alexandra Pettifer, who was previously known as Tiggy Legge-Bourke, has accepted a damages payment of £200,000 ($238,000) from the BBC over “false and malicious” allegations that she had an affair with Prince Charles, became pregnant with his child and later had an abortion. The allegations were made to Princess Diana, to encourage her to be interviewed by Martin Bashir, who was not named in the statement, for the BBC’s Panorama program, but inevitably became a widespread matter of gossip in royal circles and beyond during the 1990s. A joint statement by the BBC and Pettifer said: “She felt she had to prove to others that the allegations were completely untrue by revealing highly sensitive matters, including private medical information. Sadly Diana, Princess of Wales, could not be convinced, even when incontrovertible evidence was presented.”