Princess Diana Gave Prince William Some Vital Advice About His Love Life Before She Died

Before she died, Princess Diana gave her sons, particularly Prince William, advice about maintaining love as senior royals, telling them to protect it.

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  • Even though she's no longer with the royal family, Princess Diana's presence is still very much felt, especially for her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry.
  • During her infamous BBC1 Panorama interview in 1995, the late royal revealed that she had already passed on some wisdom about love to her oldest son, William.
  • "If you find someone you love in life you must hang onto it and look after it," Diana told Will. "And if you were lucky enough to find someone who loved you, then you must protect it."

Princess Diana's death in 1997 was tragic in every conceivable way, but the most enduring aspect of the tragedy are the milestones she's missed in the lives of her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry.

Even though she wasn't able to meet her daughters-in-law, Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle, Diana's presence is still felt in her sons' love lives—especially William's. In November 1995, less than two years before she died, Diana gave an explosive interview with BBC1 Panorama in which she got very, very real about the breakdown of her marriage to Prince Charles. At one point in the interview, host Martin Bashir asked the beloved royal how she explained the breakup to Will and Harry.

"I went to the school and put it to William, particularly, that if you find someone you love in life you must hang onto it and look after it," Diana said, according to People. "And if you were lucky enough to find someone who loved you, then you must protect it."

Will was only 10 years old at the time, but he was clearly already an old soul because he dug in and asked Diana some tough questions about life and love.

"William asked me what had been going on, and could I answer his questions, which I did," Diana explained. "He said, 'Was that the reason why our marriage had broken up?' And I said, 'Well, there were three of us in this marriage, and the pressures of the media was another factor, so the two together were very difficult.' But although I still loved Papa, I couldn't live under the same roof as him, and likewise with him."

Clearly, Diana's advice stuck with Will, who has always made a point to protect the people he loves most, including Kate and their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.

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Kayleigh Roberts
Contributing Editor at Marie Claire

Kayleigh Roberts is a freelance writer and editor with over 10 years of professional experience covering entertainment of all genres, from new movie and TV releases to nostalgia, and celebrity news. Her byline has appeared in Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, The Atlantic, Allure, Entertainment Weekly, MTV, Bustle, Refinery29, Girls’ Life Magazine, Just Jared, and Tiger Beat, among other publications. She's a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.