Princess Diana vs. Meghan Markle Bombshell Tell-Alls: Which Had Greater Impact? Expert Weighs In

Meghan Markle's sit-down with Oprah Winfrey brought back memories of Princess Diana's 1995 interview with Martin Bashir for some viewers, but one royal expert thinks the two televised bombshell tell-alls should not be compared to each other.

Pauline Maclaran, professor of marketing and consumer research at Royal Holloway, University of London, told E! News that the late Princess of Wales' infamous "Panorama" interview made more of an impact on viewers in the U.K. than Winfrey's tell-all with Markle and Prince Harry, who have more fans in the U.S. However, Maclaran believes that the events surrounding both interviews make any comparison unfair.

"I don't think the [Meghan and Harry] interview can be really rated in a similar way to the Diana interview, which really turned the public very much against the royal family here," said Maclaran, who co-authored the book "Royal Fever: The British Monarchy in Consumer Culture."

"When Diana did her interviews, that was after they had suffered many other things during that period, so that was a sort of culminating scandal or the culmination of a series of scandals, really. This time, I think it's just not quite the same and particularly because Harry and Meghan had already left."

In Princess Diana's interview, she said that her relationship with Prince Charles didn't work because "there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded," referring to his affair with Camilla Parker Bowles.

Maclaran also said that their positions in the hierarchy contributed to their influence. Prince Harry and Markle are much lower in the line of succession.

"Harry and Meghan are slightly more peripheral," the royal expert told E! News. "Diana was central in that she would have been expected to be queen had she stayed married to Prince Charles and is more connected with the immediate heir to the throne."

Maclaran continued, "So, his whole personal life being revealed and hers, it was in a sense a lot more sordid as well, with all the details about love, betrayal and the 'three of us in the marriage' and all these things, whereas Harry and Meghanareis different, really, in that respect. Harry is not an immediate heir to the throne and they have left."

Another factor that should be considered, according to Maclaran, was their involvement in the Firm. Princess Diana had been around longer than Markle and was the mother of the future king, Prince William.

"Oprah with Meghan and Harry: A CBS Primetime Special" was watched by 11.3 million viewers in the U.K. when it aired last month, Deadline reported. In the U.S., the interview pulled in 2.6 rating among adults 18-49 and 17.1 million viewers for CBS, according to the outlet.

The BBC's "Panorama" special with Princess Diana drew an audience of 22.8 million, per Variety. However, it should be noted that at the time, there were only four television channels in the U.K. so TV ratings back then were different than they are today.