headlines. >> it is that diana years! >> but is the netflix portrait the true portrait? >> some of this has been fictionalized. this is not a documentary. there is many people involved in royal life involved that think it is far too far from the truth. >> now, the riveting real story. >> she stood up to this huge institution of the british monarchy. >> she often talked about dark forces. >> there were allegations of conspiracy to murder. >> what did you see as you entered the tunnel? >> prince harry was going to make sure that history was not repeated, basically saying, "back off, you're hounding her like you hounded my mother." >> she was betrayed by so many people. we only know half the story. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> it was getting late in the city of lights, that last saturday in august, 1997. but sidewalks cafes in paris were still bustling. the mulan rouge was aglow. riverboats along the seine were teeming with for us, and the paparazzi was out in full force because a special visitor was in town, in fact, the most famous women in the world, princess diana. for years, cameras had tailed her like sharks follow blood. and now, on this late august night, the hunt was still on, as diana and her new lover, dodi al fayed sped away from the paparazzi, who were in hot pursuit. suddenly, the driver made an unexpected turn, into that tunnel, the pont de l'alma tunnel. >> breaking news coverage. [inaudible] >> pursued by paparazzi. >> indeed, princess diana has died tonight. >> it has been more than two decades since that fateful night, yet princess diana remains as famous in death as she was in life. and when the netflix series the crown turned its focus on britain's beloved royal, she was squarely on peoples minds once more. >> it doesn't necessarily have a fairy tale ending. >> she tends to agree with that. >> certainly, the crown makes good television. a wrenching portrait of a tortured marriage. a woman overwhelmed by the royal machine. but how much of it is true? we tell the real story, going behind the palace gates to reveal that behind every iconic image of diana, there is a story. often, a secret. >> diana and dodi didn't have this full fledged romance that people think. definitely not. >> secrets she shared only with a select few. >> i had to protect her. our relationship was a private one, it was a secret one. >> she was beautiful, magnetic, but also misunderstood. >> diana was not paranoid, she was not damaged goods. she was very unhappy with the state of her marriage. >> even now, questions still swirl with her marriage, her battles with the monarchy, her secret love affairs, and what really caused that horrible crash in paris. >> we have to look at whether there was a real reason by someone who wanted to murder princess diana that night. >> over the next two hours, we will hear from close friends, confidants, insiders, people who worked for her and reported on her, who offer intriguing insights about the woman who will always be remembered as the people's princess. ♪ ♪ ♪ diana frances spencer was born into aristocracy in 1971. the daughter of an earl, she was raised at his country estate, called althorp. we got a look at side diana's stunning childhood home. her brother charles and his wife gave nbc's cynthia mcfadden a tour. >> this is a room i would sit with diana tap dancing as a teenager. as a teenager, she was endless tap dancing. that's might main connection to this house. >> inside the grand house, it was not always warm and friendly. the parents divorced, and her mother lost custody of the children. but the father remarried a woman called raine spencer. diana and her brother called her acid rain, and they kept her at arm's length in one of the estate's smallest rooms. >> we were up in the attic, and for a house like this, i'd say very, very modest rooms. but that's the way it was. >> diana's unhappy childhood would later manifest itself in a big way. >> she was very, very needy. >> penny junor has written extensively about the royals including books on both prince charles and diana. >> she was constantly looking for love. the love that she felt that she had never had from her mother. and that actually tainted her entire life. >> during her team years, diana started to blossom. james colthurst, who was a dateline consultant, made her on a ski trip and snapped these rare shots. >> she blended in with the group, she had a great sense of humor. she was amazing, she got a great plenty of attention. >> the first time diana met charles was in the late 1970s at althorp. diana was 16 at the time. the future king was actually dating her sister. charles had come to althorp for a day of shooting. and diana was a spectator. sparks did not fly. at age 17, diana moved to london and later worked at a nursery school. not exactly glamorous, but few know that the world's most eligible bachelor was on a mission, not entirely of his own choosing. >> it was time, he was under pressure. >> richard kay is the editor at large for the london daily mail. he later became close friends with diana, and also covered prince charles. >> he felt pressure from his family, pressure from his friends, pressure from himself. he knew his duty was to have a son, to secure the house of windsor. that was his job. so he had to find someone with whom he could have a family. >> somebody like lady diana spencer. >> and at that time, it was absolutely imperative for the heir of the throne to marry an aristocrat who was not a roman catholic and who was a virgin. she was on paper absolutely 100% perfect. >> so perfect that behind the scenes, charles and diana's grandmothers were helping move things along. >> diana's grandmother was the queen mother's best friend. so the stars were aligned. diana was almost plucked and chosen for charles. >> the two began dating in that royal kind of way. >> when she referred to him she had to call him sir. it was a really different kind of dating that anyone else would do. >> the british press was eager to discover just who prince charles might marry. and here is the best first public photo of diana back then. she was just 19. there is an intriguing story behind that historic shot from arthur edwards, the newspaper photographer who snapped it. we found edwards in london, and he still remembers that day back in 1980 when he got a tip from someone attending charles'polo match who told him -- >> he's here today with a lady called lady diana frances spencer. and i found her. and she was wearing a big necklace. and i said can i take your photo? and she posed that for me. >> this casual photo was what introduced diana frances spencer to the world. there would be more pictures to come, of course. and diana's life would never be the same. coming up. >> [inaudible] >> of course. >> really in love. >> engagement, or arrangement. >> he appeared to have someone else he was interested in. >> the romance that captivated everyone, except for the couple at the center. >> diana flew into a complete rage. she said i cannot go through with this. >> when dateline continues. 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[coughs] when caroline has a cough, she takes robitussin. so, she can have those one on ones again. hey jim! can we talk about casual fridays? oh sure. what's up? get fast, powerful cough relief with robitussin, and find your voice. ♪robitussin♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> charles and diana's courtship went by in a flash. overnight, it seemed they were engaged. the world met the couple for the first time at a photo op. it was memorable. >> just delighted and happy. i'm amazed that she's been brave enough to take me on. >> and i suppose, in love? >> of course. >> whatever in love means. >> the real story behind that rather awkward interview actually goes much deeper. charles was hesitant to propose to diana, so much so that is father, prince philip, sent him a letter. >> philip was saying to him, look, you've been seeing this girl, you can't leader of the garden path, so to speak. either marry her, or let her go. otherwise, she's gonna be a very damaged young woman. >> charles, under pressure to fulfill his royal duties, and diana, just 19 years old, decide to plunge into what was essentially an arranged marriage. >> she was very much in love with him. and he was not yet in love with her. he was pressured into asking diana to marry him before he was ready. >> charles was almost 30 years older than diana, more worldly, more educated. even so, the two told the media they were a perfect match. >> -- >> sense of humor. every outdoor activity -- >> we never did that. >> lots of things, really. >> but in reality, diana and charles didn't seem to have much in common. >> she didn't like horses and dogs. she hated all these kind of sporting activities he went in for. and she was a young, 19, 20 year old who was into romantic fiction and shopping and lunching and mucking about with her mates. >> and right away, diana heard someone who is important to charles, it's a person from his past. >> there was another woman in this dynamic, camilla parker bowles. >> parker bowles was a confident of prince charles's and a lover of his, long before he met diana. but she and charles remained good friends. >> there was the sense, i think, from almost the beginning that charles wasn't entirely diana's own. >> camilla khamenei was nbc news is royals expert. >> prince charles insisted his relationship with camilla was platonic, but diana quickly realize that mentally charles wasn't with her one hunted percent. >> most people have long believed that camilla parker bowles was the villain in the story. but camilla, early on, actually supported diana and advised her about charles and royal life. >> she, like diana, thought she would be a lovely life for him. so she was fairly friendly to her, and diana was friendly to camilla. >> but diana, just 19, was insecure, said her friend, richard kay. >> she was a naive young girl. charles was her first proper man in her life. but he appeared to have someone else he was interested in, as well. it would've made anyone question themselves. she was beautiful, gorgeous, fantastic to have on your arm. but maybe, she struggled to have a rigorous conversation with him. >> so, diana was giving charles more the beauty, and camilla was giving him or the brains. >> i think that's it. >> then, just weeks before the wedding, diana's concerns about camilla suddenly exploded in an incident that wasn't reported at the time. >> she came across the present between charles and camilla. >> what was it? >> it was a bracelet. >> inscription? >> it had the letter g and the letter f on it. gee was the name gladys, which was the nickname that charles had for camilla. >> the letter f stood for fred, which was camilla's pet name for charles. >> diana flew into a complete rage and stormed out of the room. diana got it into her head that camilla and charles never stopped having an affair, and she became absolutely obsessed with camilla. charles realized during the engagement there was something really badly wrong, and he didn't have the courage to call a halt to it. >> thrust into the royal spotlight and now concerned about camilla, the pressure on diana, according to author penny junor, was beginning to take its toll. >> diana changed overnight, having been this sunny, smiley, happy-go-lucky girl, she turned into this dark, at times, girl who went into rages, absolute rages, temper tantrums, tears, jealousies, kicking furnitures, and he just didn't know how to cope. >> by now, the wedding was just weeks away. >> at every term, she was a trap in a different way. >> sarah ellison of the washington post has written extensively about princess diana relationships. >> diana later said that she wanted to get out of getting married to charles. >> no one has ever called off a royal wedding. they were never not going to be married. >> lady diana is regarded here as just about the perfect prize. >> diana had lunch with her sisters, and she said, you know, i can't go through this. i want out, i can't do this. and her sisters jokingly said too late, your faces on the tea towels. and of course, that was the problem, it was too late. >> more than 60 bbc television cameras will produce pictures for a worldwide audience of about 700 million. >> the royal wedding when indeed go on, whether the bride and groom wanted it or not. >> coming up, a surprise at the ceremony. >> diana managed to spot camilla parker bowles. >> and a few more on the honeymoon. >> charles opened his diary, and there is a photograph of camilla in it. i mean, how stupid is that? >> when dateline continues. ♪ ♪ ♪ i'm sholeh, and i lost 75 pounds with golo. i went from a size 20 to a size 6. before golo, nothing seemed to work. i was exercising for over an hour every day. it was really discouraging. but golo's so easy, the weight just falls off. you want to be able to provide your child with the tools or resources they need. with reliable internet at home, through the internet essentials program, the world opened up. fellas, fellas. that's how my son was able to find the hidden genius project. we wanted to give y'all the necessary skills to compete with the future. kevin's now part of this next generation of young people who feel they can thrive. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> the british royal family celebrates the wedding of the prince's wife. >> summer 1981, lady diana spencer was about to become princess diana in one of the most eagerly anticipated weddings in the world. >> good evening from london, where we have come to cover the royal wedding. >> charles, prince of wales, takes the lovely lady diana spencer as his bride. >> the royal wedding was fantastic. it was british pomp and pageantry at its best. a lot of people could see the carriage procession in a glass coat, something like cinderella. >> i was nine years old. i set my alarm for 4, got up to watch the wedding. i was one of 750 million people watching that wedding. >> yeah, it was like a fairytale. and diana saw fulfilled all our childhood notions of what a fairytale princess should look like. >> but there is something else going on at the wedding, a story that no one knew. see the crowd in the church? diana just happened to spot one particular face. >> diana managed to spot camilla parker bowles, and she saw her as she was going up the aisle. >> did she ever talk to you about that moment? >> she just said i knew from that moment that this woman was never going to go away. >> so long as you both shall live -- >> i will. >> i will. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> but the show went on in front of hundreds of millions around the world. >> now, prince and princess of wales, possibly the future king and queen of england. >> before leaving on their honeymoon, charles and diana gave everyone another picture perfect moment. >> the photographers, who are sort of in a pit below the palace, shouting out to them, kiss her, kiss her, sir, kiss her, and the crowd picked up on this, kiss, kiss! and diana said, you know, why not? it was an electrifying moment. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> the royal newlyweds set off on a romantic cruise. but in the honeymoon suite, it wasn't smooth sailing. >> charles opened his diary, and there was a photograph of camilla in it. i mean, how stupid is that? he wore some cuff links that had seals entwined on them that camilla had given him. again, how stupid? >> for diana, it went from bad to boring. >> he read books. she wanted to lie on the sunday act with him, canoodling with him, drink lovely cocktails with him. i know she didn't want him to be buried in a book. but that was his idea of a lovely holiday. >> -- of this place? >> [inaudible] >> back from their cruise, the newlyweds once again put on a happy face. >> how are you enjoying your time? >> -- >> but behind the photo ops, a very different story was playing out. >> their interests simply did not coincide. but they didn't know this until it was too late. >> a may have been a marital mismatch, but the adoring public couldn't get enough. >> diana was immediately embraced as the new princess. >> people, i think, began to realize this was a very spirited young woman. he was going to be somebody, and she was going to make the monarchy something very interesting. >> diana's star became a super nova, they called it diana mania. >> she is turning out to be one of the most popular and the most sought after members of the royal family. >> diana found herself a superstar absolutely overnight. >> it was very easy to see that she's very different from other members of the royal family. almost immediately, the media started to photograph her, let alone, talk to her. >> photographer jane fincher covered diana from the beginning. >> she is so much more casual and informal and, dare i say it, human. she was frightened to show she was human, and that was evident straight away. she felt very quickly that she was somebody could relate to, that you knew, -- , really. >> diana was a natural in the spotlight, and she did it in style. >> we get all these pieces out. >> bruce oldfield was one of diana's fashion designers. >> this is the place where we made all the dresses for the princess back in the 80s. she say, oh, come down and have a look at all the fabrics. she was very game to do all that kind of stuff. she understood what a good dress could do. she knew that it had power, and she knew it would get on the front page. >> power, that enabled diana to change the culture. >> going up as a british girl in the 80s and 90s, everyone