Diana and the first-in-line to the throne Prince Charles went through a messy, high-profile divorce in 1996. Although both had agreed not to divorce after their separation in 1992, the subsequent sniping and scandalous interviews they gave forced the Queen to order them to make the split official – even though, as Charles is such a senior royal, it would be highly frowned upon. In the highly-disputed divorce settlement, Diana received a £17 million lump sum and £400,000 per year – but she lost the use of her title Her Royal Highness.

In her 2018 biography, ‘Harry: Conversations with the Prince’, Angela Levin explained the significance of such a title and how it affected Diana’s relationship with the Royal Family.

Ms Levin said: “Diana could also retain the title of Princess of Wales but could no longer be called Her Royal Highness, a title that shows that the individual has direct family connection to the crown and assures they will be automatically included in state occasions, which Diana was not.

“William has never accepted this snub.”

Diana’s former butler Paul Burrell also revealed in his 2001 book ‘A Royal Duty’ how William reportedly tried to reassure his mother that it would not be like this forever.

Mr Burrell wrote: “She told me how he had sat with her one night when she was upset over the loss of HRH, put his arms around her and said, ‘Don’t worry, Mummy. I will give it back to you one day when I am king.’”

In May 2017, Good Housekeeping pointed out this would technically mean the Diana had to curtsey to her children and the rest of her family, although it is unlikely this would be enforced in practice.

When Diana and Charles divorced, William was 14. He was only 15 when she died in a car crash the following year.

Yet, Diana’s former royal protection officer Ken Wharfe revealed in ‘Prince William at Thirty’ – a documentary unloaded to Youtube in 2012 – how the Princess of Wales relied on her eldest son throughout the difficult divorce proceedings.

Mr Wharfe said: “Diana did put tremendous responsibility on William’s shoulders, as someone to comfort and to talk to and to be with.”

Royal expert Katie Nicholl also commented on their close relationship in the documentary.

She said: “There’s one really moving story where Diana was in tears in the bathroom and William was pushing tissues under the door because he could hear her crying.

“William was just about to enter those very difficult teenage years and had to do so with the backdrop of his parents’ marriage disintegrating in the most publicly awful way.”

DON’T MISS
Royal shock: How Diana felt when accused of siding with Labour [INSIGHT]
Charles and Camilla’s adorable reaction to Kate and Will’s engagement [ANALYSIS]
How Harry showed ‘exasperation for William’ with eye-opening jibe [REVEALED]

Former BBC royal corespondent Jennie Bond said that William would comfort her with the words: “It will be alright Mummy, I will look after you.”

She added: “It was all the wrong way round for William. He was having to comfort his mother when she should have been looking after him. He was just a little boy.”

Diana and Charles were both suspected of having extramarital affairs throughout their marriage. The Princess of Wales confirmed that she was aware Charles had returned to his ex-girlfriend Camilla Parker Bowles in her 1995 Panorama interview.

However, William was reportedly displeased with his mother’s confessions.

Ms Nicholl said: “For him, the idea of playing out one’s troubles and wearing one’s heart on one’s sleeve and bringing humiliation to the Royal Family, well, that was a big no-no.”

The royal commentator said William then refused to speak to his mother for a few days afterwards.

Source: Read Full Article