Prince Harry has been warned that making a new documentary about his mother Princess Diana risks deepening his rift with his brother Prince William.
The Duke of Sussex wants to honour Diana's legacy “in the most meaningful way” as the 30th anniversary of her death approaches next year. It is understood he has already approached a number of her friends and relatives about taking part in a potential programme, including her brother, Earl Spencer.
Sources close to Harry say he is still deciding on the best way to honour his mother, with nothing yet finalised.
Royal expert warns of risks
Royal expert Jennie Bond believes it could be a risky move if Harry is thinking about reconciliation. The former BBC royal correspondent told the Mirror: “Harry obviously has every right to mark the anniversary of his mother’s death in any way he sees fit. I’m sure the world would love to see another documentary about Diana, once the most famous woman in the world who remains an icon for many.
“There are reports that Harry has approached family members and close friends of the Princess and if they agree, it could give a new perspective on her life and her death.
“If Harry does go ahead with a new film, William, I’m sure, will maintain the dignified silence he has kept through all the bitterness of the past few years, including about the incendiary claims in Earl Spencer’s book.
“But I’m afraid it would deepen the rift between the brothers — which is surely the exact opposite of what their mother would have wished. It could also make difficult viewing for the Palace, especially after Earl Spencer’s broadsides against King Charles and the Palace machine.”
Production and past documentaries
If any documentary were to go ahead, it would be expected to be produced through Harry and Meghan’s Archewell Productions, which has a first-look deal with Netflix.
The project could become part of the wider public conversation around Diana’s legacy, with Kensington Palace yet to comment on how William may choose to mark the anniversary.
Nine years ago, the brothers worked together on two documentaries about their mother to mark the 20th anniversary of her death. A joint project now appears unlikely given the deterioration in their relationship.
Jennie added: “When William and Harry appeared in documentaries to mark the 20th anniversary, William said they wouldn’t speak as openly or publicly about her again.
“Those films had also included interviews with some of their closest family and friends, and the princes themselves talked movingly about how much fun Diana had been and how they regretted that their final conversation with her had been so brief. They had wanted to get back to the game they were playing with their cousins at Balmoral.
“Since then they have marked the anniversary privately. And now, of course, they are not even talking to one another.”
Earl Spencer’s memoir
It comes as Harry’s uncle Earl Spencer claimed that his nephew is “completely fine” with his new memoir, chronicling the life of Diana that was released earlier this week.
The earl has made a series of claims about the King in Swan Song: Diana, My Sister – including that Charles said “we’ll forget her soon enough” after she died – which has prompted a war of words between him and Buckingham Palace.
A palace spokesman said last week that the King is “mindful that the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and colour memory in ways others do not recognise”.
Asked about telling Harry and the Prince of Wales about the book, the earl told People magazine: “I can say that Harry is completely fine about it. He said, I hope there’s nothing embarrassing about him in it. I said, ‘There isn’t’.
“I think they were actually worried where I was going up to with the book. It pretty much ends in 1997 with Diana’s death, and there’s a tiny postscript by the grave.
“So I think there was this, ‘Gosh, what’s he written about?’ And I think it’s natural that people so in the public eye are concerned how they will come across in the book.
“But I could reassure both of them that they’re of course in the book, but really as examples of two little boys who had the most exceptional mother, I’m not in any way compromising their privacy at all.”
