What ‘Diana Got Wrong About Harry’: Late Princess Feared for William as a ‘Happy-Go-Lucky’ Harry Offered to Take the Crown
Princess Diana was historically far more concerned about Prince William’s future as monarch than she was about Prince Harry, according to seasoned royal biographer Ingrid Seward. Speaking on the Daily Mail’s Palace Confidential show to discuss her new book Catherine & Diana, Seward revealed that Diana frequently worried about William’s reticence and deep discomfort with the public glare that came with his destiny.
By contrast, Diana felt certain her younger son’s laid-back temperament would shield him from the pressures of royal duty, regularly reassuring Seward that “Harry will be fine” because he was happy-go-lucky and took the world as it came. History proved that assessment mistaken, Seward observed, pointing to Harry’s seismic transformation and his decision to quit the royal family alongside Meghan Markle six years ago.
Seward also highlighted how the childhood dynamics between the brothers stood in stark contrast to their present-day roles, recalling Harry once boldly telling William: “If you don’t want to be King, I will be.” While Harry was captivated by the pomp, pageantry, soldiers, and castles of royal life, William was naturally pensive and hesitant. Their former protection officer Ken Wharfe neatly encapsulated the divide, noting that if an accident occurred, Harry would instinctively run into the street to help, while William would immediately dial the police.
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This aligns closely with recollections from Daily Mail Editor-at-Large Richard Kay, a close confidant of Diana who spoke to her hours before her tragic 1997 death. Kay revealed that Diana genuinely believed William never wanted the “top job” and privately envisioned a path for “good King Harry” to succeed his father. Despite Diana’s early musings, contemporary consensus firmly views William as the ideal Prince of Wales, having grown into his monumental responsibilities with remarkable resolve.
Relations between the estranged brothers, however, remain at a total impasse following the damaging fallout from 2020’s “Megxit” and Harry’s explosive memoir Spare. Although Harry publicly expressed a desire to end the ongoing conflict, sources close to the Prince and Princess of Wales claim the couple cannot easily overlook the deeply personal attacks, including Harry’s explosive claims of a physical altercation that left him injured over a dog bowl.