Diana: A Life Backwards - a podcast by BBC Radio 4

Marking the 20th anniversary of her untimely death, Archive on 4 presents a unique and moving portrait of Diana, Princess of Wales - her life documented in reverse chronology.



Diana, Princess of Wales was arguably the most famous - and most photographed - woman in the world. Her life has been exhaustively discussed and disassembled in the media both before and since her untimely death on 31st August 1997. As the anniversary of that tragic event approaches, is there anything truly new for us to learn about her remarkable, turbulent, and short life - and how the way we reacted to it changed our society?Drawing from hundreds of hours of footage, Archive on 4 presents a unique, unmediated portrait of the Princess - starting with the sombre events of her funeral and taking the listener on a journey backwards through her life and times: from the remarkable public outpouring of grief that followed her passing; the almost unbearable press intrusion into her private world in her last months; her new life as a single woman; her divorce, her married life and the public jubilation surrounding the Royal Wedding of 1981; right back to the announcement of the 19 year-old Diana's engagement to Prince Charles.



Unpresented and unmediated, the programme offers a unique audio montage of the events of, and reaction to, one of the most extraordinary lives of the 20th century. Featuring contributions from the archives from Piers Morgan, Andrew Neill, Jennie Bond, Richard Kay - as well as several of Diana's closest friends, and members of the British public.Produced by Steven Rajam and James Roberts for BBC Radio 4



Contributors:Andrew Neill

Arthur EdwardsBarbara Daly

Bea CampbellDavid Emanuel

David StarkeyDenis Lawson

Eammon McCabeEarl Spencer

Elizabeth EmanuelGlenn Harvey

James NaughtieJames ReynoldsJames Whitaker

Jennie BondJeremy Paxman

John HumphrysKen Lennox

Martin BashirMichael Shea

Patrick JephsonPenny Juror

Piers MorganRosie Boycott

Tim GrahamTom Cruise

Tony McGrathArchive:

All Things Considered, BBC Radio WalesArchive on 4 - A History of the Stiff Upper Lip, BBC Radio 4

A Royal Recovery, BBC Radio 4BBC News Special - Diana: 10 Years On, BBC News 24

Capturing the Royals: The Story of Royal Photography, BBC2Decisive Moments: A Rough Road, BBC2

Diana: The People's Princess, BBC1Great Britons: Diana, BBC2

Heart of the Matter, BBC1Fifty Years with the Firm: Prog 5: Doom&Gloom, BBC Radio 4

Mediumwave, BBC Radio 4Memories of Diana, BBC1

Modern Times: The Shrine, BBC4Newsnight, BBC1

Panorama, BBC1Proms, BBC1

The Princess's People: A View from the Crowd, BBC2The Reunion: The Wedding of Charles&Diana, BBC Radio 4

The Today Programme, BBC Radio 4Thinking Allowed: Remembering Diana, BBC Radio 4

Top of the Pops, BBC1Woman's Hour, BBC Radio 4.

Further episodes of Seriously...

Further podcasts by BBC Radio 4

Website of BBC Radio 4