Freshly declassified Irish state documents have cast new light on the intense media rivalry between the Prince and Princess of Wales during their separation, suggesting Diana's team was highly focused on overshadowing her husband's public relations efforts.
The Media Battle: Diana's 'Predatory' Skill
According to notes from Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs, officials were told in the mid-1990s that Diana, Princess of Wales, was "by far the more predatory and skilled" participant in the media struggle with Charles. The assessment came from the Prince's own press team.
A note from diplomat Joe Hayes records a conversation with Charles's press secretary, Sandy Henney. He initially thought she was joking when she suggested Diana might also seek a visit to Ireland, but Ms Henney repeated the remark, assuring him of the Princess's media prowess.
"Her staff devoted a great deal of time to finding ways and means of upstaging St James' Palace," Mr Hayes noted in the document, which is now held in the National Archives of Ireland under file reference 2025/124/160.
Charles's 1995 Visit: A PR Rehabilitation Effort
The papers also detail the context of Prince Charles's two-day visit to Ireland in June 1995, which came three years after the couple's initial separation. His inner circle viewed the trip's press coverage as a vital part of a long-term strategy to improve his public image following the divorce.
Charles's officials, led by press secretary Alan Percival and his successor Sandy Henney, reported to Irish diplomats that they felt the Irish visit was "the best public outing the Prince has had in a very long time".
Ms Henney was described in the documents as "fiercely loyal" to Charles and "alive to every opportunity to advance his cause". She even suggested he might return to Ireland before the end of that summer.
Contrasting Coverage Across the Irish Sea
The files reveal a stark difference in how the visit was reported. While the trip received blanket, positive coverage in Ireland, officials from both the UK and Ireland noted that press attention in Britain was "though positive, relatively light".
This disparity highlights the challenges Charles's team faced in reshaping his narrative for the British public, even as they secured favourable headlines abroad. The documents underscore how meticulously both camps managed their media engagements during one of the monarchy's most turbulent periods.
The revelations offer a candid, behind-the-scenes look at the PR machinery operating for both the Prince and Princess of Wales, confirming the calculated efforts to win public favour during their very public split.
