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Diana: A Life Backwards

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.

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 ±«Óãtv Radio 4

Contributors:
Andrew Neill
Arthur Edwards
Barbara Daly
Bea Campbell
David Emanuel
David Starkey
Denis Lawson
Eammon McCabe
Earl Spencer
Elizabeth Emanuel
Glenn Harvey
James Naughtie
James Reynolds
James Whitaker
Jennie Bond
Jeremy Paxman
John Humphrys
Ken Lennox
Martin Bashir
Michael Shea
Patrick Jephson
Penny Juror
Piers Morgan
Rosie Boycott
Tim Graham
Tom Cruise
Tony McGrath

Archive:
All Things Considered, ±«Óãtv Radio Wales
Archive on 4 - A History of the Stiff Upper Lip, ±«Óãtv Radio 4
A Royal Recovery, ±«Óãtv Radio 4
±«Óãtv News Special - Diana: 10 Years On, ±«Óãtv News 24
Capturing the Royals: The Story of Royal Photography, ±«Óãtv2
Decisive Moments: A Rough Road, ±«Óãtv2
Diana: The People's Princess, ±«Óãtv1
Great Britons: Diana, ±«Óãtv2
Heart of the Matter, ±«Óãtv1
Fifty Years with the Firm: Prog 5: Doom & Gloom, ±«Óãtv Radio 4
Mediumwave, ±«Óãtv Radio 4
Memories of Diana, ±«Óãtv1
Modern Times: The Shrine, ±«Óãtv4
Newsnight, ±«Óãtv1
Panorama, ±«Óãtv1
Proms, ±«Óãtv1
The Princess's People: A View from the Crowd, ±«Óãtv2
The Reunion: The Wedding of Charles & Diana, ±«Óãtv Radio 4
The Today Programme, ±«Óãtv Radio 4
Thinking Allowed: Remembering Diana, ±«Óãtv Radio 4
Top of the Pops, ±«Óãtv1
Woman's Hour, ±«Óãtv Radio 4.

Release date:

59 minutes

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