Relentless media harassment was pushing Princess Diana to breaking point

She was one of the most photographed women in the world, constantly surrounded by a media storm. But relentless harassment from the hounding paparazzi was pushing Princess Diana to breaking point.

“I sadly remember most of the time that she ever cried about anything was to do with press intrusion,” Prince William, The Duke of Cambridge, revealed in an emotional documentary on Seven’s Sunday Night.

Diana was killed in a car accident in August, 1997, after leaving a restaurant in Paris with her partner, Dodi Al Fayed.

After her death, many blamed the trailing paparazzi for the crash.

Photographers would go to extreme lengths to get a picture of Diana, even deliberately trying to upset her at times, William recalled.

“You are the Princess of Wales, you’re a mother, I don’t believe being chased by 30 guys on motorbikes who block your path, who spit at you, who shout at you, and who act really badly to get a reaction from you, make a woman cry in public to get the photographs - I don’t believe that is appropriate,” he said.

“I think it was an industry that lost its way quite heavily, lost its sense of decency, lost its perspective on what was appropriate.”

At 35, William is nearly the same age his mother was when she died. He has made sure to protect himself and his young family from the intensity of the media.

“One lesson I’ve learned is, you never let them in too far. Because it’s very difficult to get them back out again and you’ve got to maintain a barrier and a boundary because if you cross it – if both sides cross it – a lot of pain and problems can come from it,” he said.