Princess Diana's sudden death in a car crash in Paris on August 31, 1997, shocked the world. For the first time ever, Diana's former chauffeur has given an interview and discussed his impromptu firing prior to her death.
Steve Davies worked as Princess Diana's personal driver until he was made redundant in 1996. He would later discover that Diana's candid interview with Martin Bashir on the BBC's Newsnight led to his firing. As a result, he wasn't Diana's chauffeur when she tragically died in 1997.
"It happened overnight," Davies told the Daily Mail. "From driving her everywhere, I was banned from the wheel of her car. After the Christmas break I was told she didn't want me near it."
He continued, "I was still on her payroll but all I could do was sit in the garage for ten hours a day, my official shift, doing nothing, and then go home. I was heartbroken, humiliated. She shunned me."
In May 2024, The Guardian reported that Davies would receive "substantial" compensation from the BBC, after it was revealed that journalist Bashir had "slandered" the driver. According to the outlet, in order to score an interview with the Princess, Bashir reportedly told Diana and her brother, Earl Spencer, to fire her chauffeur, alleging that Davies was a spy for a tabloid newspaper.
"The consequence for me was that I was forced out of a job I wanted to be my life's work," Davies told the Daily Mail. "Royal service is about being trusted and loyal, showing discretion, having a sense of duty. Your reputation, your good name is everything."
Davies continued, "Martin Bashir robbed me of mine by making those allegations to Diana. I’m not the kind of man who wastes time and energy being bitter or angry, but she died believing I had betrayed her and that's something I can't ever forget or forgive."
Reflecting on the career that was taken from him, Davies mused that he could be driving for King Charles or Prince William. "Imagine having driven William since he was a little boy going to prep school and then being with him again as the Prince of Wales," Davies explained.
Despite being devastated about losing his role, Davies has fond memories of the former Princess of Wales. "My job was my life, I was always there for her," he explained. "You couldn't explain Diana then, just as you can't explain her now. Her beauty was so much greater in real life than in any photograph, she had such physical presence, she mesmerized people in public."
