Viewers were shocked when Channel 4 made a serious error in their documentary Diana’s ‘Wicked’ Stepmother.
Programme makers got the date of Diana’s death wrong – stating it was August 29, 1997, not the correct August 31, 1997.
“Either @Channel4 got date of Diana’s death wrong or just released a major state secret in Diana’s Wicked Stepmother! #Diana #RaineSpencer,” wrote one viewer.
Another added: “@Channel4 Did you REALLY get date of Diana’s death wrong in tonight’s Wicked Stepmother documentary! Can’t believe it.” One viewer said they were “shocked” at the mishap.
Read more: Diana In Her Own Words proves a ratings success for Channel 4.
Channel 4 issued a statement following the date mishap. “Channel 4 apologises for the error.
“It will be rectified immediately and a correct version will be made available on All 4.
The controversial programme examined Diana’s strained relationship with her stepmother Raine Spencer, whom she reportedly dubbed “Acid Raine”.
Read more: Channel 4 refusing to pull controversial Diana documentary
Diana was said to have had a tumultuous relationship with Raine during her teenage years – and there were even claims that she’d pushed her stepmother down the stairs. The two women became closer after Diana’s divorce.
Diana’s stepbrother Earl Dartmouth, 67, is reportedly not happy with the programme. “He declined to discuss his mother with producers,” said a source.
Princes William and Harry have refused to comment.
After Diana’s death, Raine gave evidence at the inquest. She said: “So many people, because she was so popular and so world famous, wanted something out of her. It was a very draining life.”
Raine Spencer, who was married three times, was the daughter of Alexander McCorquodale and novelist Dame Barbara Cartland.
She was a London debutante at the age of 18 and married Hon Gerald Humphry Legge in 1948. The couple had four children.
She married Diana’s father Earl Spencer in 1976. Raine was widely criticised by the press for the way she redecorated the Spencer’s ancestral home, Althorp. Her stepson Charles, who is now the Earl, described Raine’s taste in decor as having “the wedding cake vulgarity of a five-star hotel in Monaco.”
When Earl Spencer died on 29 March 1992, she immediately left Althorp due to strained relationships with her stepchildren. It was alleged that Diana ordered Raine’s clothes to be removed from suitcases bearing the Spencer emblem and placed in bin bags instead.
Raine received a reported £4million inheritance and a London townhouse when the Earl died.
She went on to marry Count Jean-Francois Pineton de Chambrun in 1993, but they divorced two years later.
Raine died aged 87 on 21 October 2016 after suffering cancer.