Princess Diana Would Be "Mortified" by Prince William and Prince Harry’s Ongoing Feud

Princess Diana Prince Harry Prince William

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published 26 June 2022

It’s a question countless royal followers have asked themselves: If Princess Diana were alive today, what would she think of this mess between her sons, brothers Prince William and Prince Harry?

According to the late Princess of Wales’ biographer, Andrew Morton, she would be “mortified” by her sons’ “emotional tangle.”

Speaking on a recent episode of The Mirror’s podcast, “Pod Save the Queen,” Morton says “there is no question about it, she’d be mortified that William and Harry have got themselves into this emotional tangle. She always said to me on numerous occasions that Harry was William’s wingman, that he was the second boy born into the royal family. She even looked at the past and pointed out that most members of the royal family just have a girl and a boy like Princess Margaret, or two girls like Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother.”

Diana saw her younger son as a support pillar to her elder son, who will one day inherit the throne and all of the highs and lows that come along with having the top job.

“She really felt that Harry was there to support William in a very lonely job,” Morton says. “She would find it very difficult that they are not communicating, at least not in public.”

Morton also says he sees Diana in her younger son, especially when the Duke of Sussex once appeared at royal engagements prior to his step back as a working royal in January 2020.

“Prince Harry was and is a natural,” he says. “He and his wife have got charisma, and there is no denying that. People do respond to them in a very positive way when they meet him. There is obviously a lot of negativity surrounding their behavior and their policies, but Harry has always been someone who connects. And when I see Harry kneeling down with his arm around some kid, I am just watching Diana. It transports you back 25, 30 years.”

Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.