Diana witness: Queen disapproved of AIDS work

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A former Royal police protection officer has claimed that Diana, Princess of Wales confided in him that the Queen did not approve of her support for HIV and AIDS charities.

Giving evidence to the inquest into the death of the former Princess, Ken Wharfe told the jury that after a meeting with the Queen, Diana returned to the car distressed.

He claims she then told him that the Queen “doesn’t like me getting involved in AIDS” and would prefer she involved herself in “something more pleasant.”

Mr Wharfe, who guarded Diana from 1987 to 1993, added “I think Diana was very angry and annoyed the Queen could not see what she was doing.

“She felt a member of the Royal Family should be involved with campaigns to find a cure for AIDS.”

A Coroner’s Inquest into Diana’s death in a car crash in Paris in August 1997 started on October 2nd at the Royal Courts of Justice in London.

Last year the chief executive of the National AIDS paid tribute to the ground-breaking work the ‘people’s princess’ did for people living with HIV and AIDS.

In the early 1990s, when HIV and AIDS were surrounded by hysteria and prejudice, Diana become patron of the National AIDS Trust, the UK’s leading independent policy and campaigning voice on HIV and AIDS.

She was patron of the National AIDS Trust from 1991 until her death in 1997.

Deborah Jack, Chief Executive of the National AIDS Trust, told PinkNews.co.uk:

“Princess Diana’s tragic death was a catastrophic blow in the fight against HIV in the UK.

“Ten years on, the National AIDS Trust has not replaced Princess Diana as its patron, as no individual has come close in terms of raising the profile of HIV in the UK and tackling the stigma and discrimination that surrounds the virus.

“Just by holding the hand of a person living with AIDS Diana changed the opinions of millions and broke down stigma and misconceptions around the world.

“Although many public figures have done invaluable work to tackle the HIV epidemic in developing countries, no-one has championed the cause of HIV in the UK as Diana did.”

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