Former News Of The World journalist Clive Goodman told the court that Diana sent him the internal palace directory to reveal the size of Prince Charles’ staff compared to her own.
Goodman is accused of paying public officials for information but he claims that Diana sent him the palace directory directly.
He said: ‘She was going through a very, very tough time. She told me she wanted me to see this document, she wanted me to see the scale of her husband’s staff and household compared to hers.’
‘She was in a very bitter situation with the Prince of Wales at the time and she felt she was being swamped by his household.’
He continued: ‘She was looking for an ally to take him on, to show the sort of forces that were ranged against her. We were quite a powerful organisation to have as an ally.’
Diana and Prince Charles separated in 1992 after 11 years of marriage. Their divorce was finalised in 1995 shortly after Diana gave a TV interview revealing that there had been three people in her marriage: Charles, Camilla Parker Bowles and herself.
Goodman revealed: ‘She was very close to Richard Kay at the Daily Mail, she was very close to Andrew Morton who went on to write her biography, and she was forming a relationship with Martin Bashir at Panorama.’
The journalist is not accused of phone hacking, though he is named as part of an alleged plot in which former News Of The World editors Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson have been accused of trying to hack phones.
Both Brooks and Coulson deny the charges.
The trial continues.