‘I tell kids about Granny’
FOR Diana, nothing was too much trouble for the boys she adored, from exotic holidays to elaborate treats.
Her reasoning was simple: so much of their lives was infused with the rituals of their role as ‘heir and spare’ to the throne that she was determined to provide an outlet to them.
This might mean setting up an impromptu go-kart track round Prince Charles’s precious flower-beds at Highgrove, or letting William and Harry jump fully clothed into the swimming pool.
Harry understands that devotion and sacrifice very clearly. It was mixed, too, with her own sense that childhood should be a time of innocence and joy. Above all, she led her life according to the principle of the importance of having a free spirit. William says his mother’s spirit is constantly at his side. ‘My mother lives with me every day. I give thanks that I was lucky enough to be her son and I got to know her for the 15 years that I did.’
Until this year, many feared Diana had been airbrushed from the royal story, an inconvenient reminder of unhappier times. But since the beginning of 2017 both princes have spoken out about her continuing impact on their lives. Now, William says he is instilling those memories of his mother in his own children. Indeed, it is fascinating that the prince uses the phrase ‘Granny Diana’ more than once.
For her first grandchild, Prince George, wasn’t born until more than 16 years after her death. William says he talks often to his own children, George and Charlotte, about ‘Granny Diana’ who, he says, would have ‘loved them to bits’.
William says the most important message he takes from his mother is the importance of a child’s first few years.
‘I want to make as much time and effort with George and Charlotte as I can because I realise these early years particularly are crucial for children, having seen, you know, what she did for us,’ he says.
Granny Diana would definitely be very proud.