
How Prince William and Prince Harry Are Honoring Their Mother on the 25th Anniversary of Her Death
Five years ago, Prince William and Prince Harry honored the 20th anniversary of Princess Diana’s death by appearing in Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy, a touching HBO documentary where they shared memories of their close bond with their mother. Wednesday marks 25 years since the car crash that took her life in Paris, and after a very public falling out, the brothers will be honoring the day thousands of miles apart.
According to a royal source who spoke to People, William will be spending the day quietly with Kate Middleton in Windsor, where they are settling into a new home, Adelaide Cottage, and preparing for their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, to begin attending a new school next week.
Harry, on the other hand, will spend the day with his wife Meghan Markle, and their two children, Archie and Lili Mountbatten-Windsor, in California. In a speech for his charity Sentebale last week, Harry elaborated on their plans. “I want it to be a day filled with memories of her incredible work and love for the way that she did it,” he said. “I want it to be a day to share the spirit of my mum with my family, with my children, who I wish could have met her.”
Though the brothers were both in London to celebrate Queen Elizabeth and her Platinum Jubilee in early June, they were not seen together publicly, and William and Kate were not present at the birthday party Harry and Meghan threw to celebrate Lili’s first birthday, due to their trip to Wales to take part in jubilee celebrations. Later that month, when William turned 40 on June 21, an insider told Us that Kate had been “trying to play peacemaker” between the brothers without much success.
“[She] had a quiet word with the boys separately, even going as far as calling Harry in Montecito and suggesting that he reach out to William on his birthday,” the magazine’s source said. “The issue is William and Harry are both overly stubborn, so there’s not much hope.”
Last July, the brothers did meet in London to unveil a statue dedicated to their mother on what would have been her 60th birthday. Though they met at Kensington Palace, they only exchanged a few words, and William reportedly did not invite Harry to a party he threw afterward to honor some of the palace’s employees.
Ultimately, the brothers’s rift is a reminder of what was lost when Diana died. In an interview with CBS News, Richard Kay, a Daily Mail columnist and friend of the late princess, said he thought her presence would improve their relationship. “If she was still with us, there would have been no split between Harry and William,” he said.
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