WARRING PRINCES PUT DUTY FIRST
PRINCESS DIANA’S LEGACY STILL IMPACTS THE ROYAL FAMILY TODAY. BUT 23 YEARS AFTER HER DEATH, CAN A MOTHER’S LOVE REUNITE THE WARRING PRINCES?
Much has changed since Prince William and Prince Harry supported each other while walking through the streets of London behind their mother’s coffin, following her tragic death in 1997. Once the best of friends, the brothers are barely on speaking terms following a dramatic 18 months of scandal, which has included tell-all interviews and accusations of racism and bullying.
But on July 1, William, 39, and Harry, 36, will put their differences aside as they come together to honour Princess Diana on what would have been her 60th birthday. The siblings will unveil a statue dedicated to her memory on the grounds of Kensington Palace.
Though the princes have started to communicate more, their reunion is expected to be extremely tense as their relationship continues to be “very strained”. The brothers aren’t expected to put on a completely united front, with the Duke of Sussex reportedly insisting on being able to give his own speech and have an independent reporter of his choice covering the event.
“They know the eyes of the world will be on them – watching their every move
– so what you’ll see is a carefully choreographed show of unity for that day, at least,” a friend of the siblings told
Vanity Fair magazine.
While the brothers will be reunited, it’s expected to be fleeting, with Harry wanting to rush home to rejoin wife Meghan Markle, who remains in the US with their son Archie, 2, and newborn daughter Lili.
“We all hope that their mother and her memory will bring them together, which would be great,” a palace insider told WHO’s sister publication People magazine. “But they are on separate paths at the moment,” the insider added.
As the brothers forge ahead on their own, each believes they are best living in the right way to honour their mother’s memory. Here, WHO examines the princess’ legacy, 23 years after her
shocking death and how she continues to impact the royal family.
THE ROYAL REBEL
Never one to go with the status quo, Diana refused to adhere to what she felt was “stuffy” and “outdated” royal rules and always chose to do things her own way – especially when it came to raising her sons. While it wasn’t uncommon for the Queen, 95, and the late Prince Philip to leave a young Prince Charles at home for months while they went on tour, Diana refused and insisted that a 9-month-old William accompany her and Charles on a six-week tour of Australia and New Zealand in 1983.
“William and Harry were very, very fortunate with Diana as a mother because her ideas were so different from the previous generation,” royal expert Christopher Warwick told Harper’s Bazaar magazine.
But it wasn’t all visits to theme parks and McDonald’s where Diana’s parenting style differed. The princess – who was notorious for choosing to champion unfashionable charities, such as those dealing with HIV and homelessness – took her young sons along on visits to hospitals and shelters. “I want my boys to have an understanding of people’s emotions, their insecurities and people’s distress and their hopes and dreams,” Diana once said.
WILLIAM PUTS DUTY FIRST
“All my hopes are on William now,” Diana said of the future of the monarchy to journalist Tina Brown, shortly before her death. Knowing how important it was to his mum that he would be king, William has lived in a way to try to honour his
mother’s work. In 2005, the Duke of Cambridge became patron of Centrepoint, a homeless charity that Diana took him and Harry to visit as children.
“[Mum] wanted us to see the rawness of real life and I can’t thank her enough for that,” the prince said.
Through their Duke and Duchess of Cambridge foundation, William and wife Kate Middleton, 39, have chosen to champion issues around mental health. The couple launched Heads Together, a campaign tackling the stigma surrounding talking about mental health, along with Prince Harry in 2016.
“There is something very moving that Diana’s sons would take on the issue of mental health, knowing their mother struggled with depression during various part of her life,” a friend of Diana’s told website British Heritage.
HARRY ON HIS OWN PATH
“I’ve got a hell of a lot of my mum in me,” Harry recently told Oprah Winfrey during their interview for their mental health TV special, The Me You Can’t See.
Since Diana’s death, his mum has never been far from his mind. In 2006, Harry set up Sentebale, a charity that offers support to the children of Lesotho, a country in Africa that has been hard hit by AIDS. Not only was the disease an issue that Diana was famous for destigmatising, by shaking hands with HIV patients while she wasn’t wearing gloves, the word “sentebale” means forget me not, which was also her favourite flower.
While Diana would no doubt be proud of Harry’s charity work and the way he has stood up for wife Meghan, there is one area that many of those closest to the princess feel she would “no doubt” be disappointed in him – not supporting his brother.
“[Diana] would’ve been very upset at the way these two have split apart,” said Diana’s biographer Andrew Morton while speaking on UK talk show Loose Women. “Diana said to me quite clearly on several occasions that she saw Harry as the wingman for William in what ultimately would be a very solitary, sombre job as future king,” he explained.
• By Kylie Walters