Former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond has said Princess Diana would be 'distraught' by the ongoing rift between her sons, Princes William and Harry, as the late princess would have turned 65 today.
Diana's Love for Her Sons
Bond, who spent nearly a decade reporting on Diana and often chatted with her privately at Kensington Palace, recalled that Diana's love for her sons was always evident. 'As we chatted, we were surrounded by photographs of William and Harry, and she was immensely proud of them. So I'm sure she'd be distraught by the rift between them,' Bond told the Mirror.
Diana died in a car crash in Paris in August 1997 when William was 15 and Harry was 12. Bond believes Diana would have tried to broker peace between her sons. 'If anyone could sort things out, it would have been Diana. I think she would have understood both their points of view. After all, she'd considered moving to the USA herself, but she also believed strongly in the monarchy and loyalty to the Crown.'
No Joint Tribute on Diana's Birthday
Exactly five years ago, William and Harry unveiled a statue of their mother together. But this year, there are no signs they will commemorate her jointly. Their feud, which has seen them barely speaking since the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, makes a meeting unlikely even when Harry visits the UK from California next week.
'In the past, we have seen Harry and William coming together to honour their mother, even when their relationship was strained. But that's not going to happen this year,' Bond said. 'I'm sure they will each remember her in their own way – it's thought that Harry at least will visit his mother's grave when he is in the UK next week. And I'm sure William makes his own pilgrimages to her graveside, but in complete privacy.'
Diana as a Grandmother
Bond added that Diana would have been 'absolutely torn' if she had grandchildren on both sides of the Atlantic. 'I think she would have relished being a hands-on Granny and would have wanted to scoop up her grandchildren and shower them with love, just as she had with her sons.'
Carrying Diana's Legacy
Despite their differences, Bond believes both princes still 'carry their mother in their heart.' They have continued her work by campaigning against homelessness, prioritizing mental health, and in Harry's case, walking in her footsteps across minefields. 'There's every chance that her legacy will continue into the next generation with her grandchildren possibly taking up the same causes.'
Bond's Personal Memories of Diana
Bond first met Diana after asking for a 'get to know you' coffee meeting, and was surprised to be invited to Kensington Palace. They discussed everything from children to Diana's broken marriage and her feelings about Queen Camilla. 'I was astonished by how open and frank she was about all that had happened, and how she felt about it. She told me almost everything she later said in her Panorama interview, including that there were three of us in this marriage.'
Bond recalled Diana's down-to-earth nature: 'She was the sort of woman you felt you could invite over: she was down-to-earth, chatty, funny and fun, when she wasn't angry or sad. Her sadness from the fact that her marriage had failed. 'We would have made such a great team' was her constant refrain.'
Even during the height of her split from Charles, Diana could be 'giggly and girlish.' Bond shared an anecdote: 'She dissolved into giggles when she told me about how, after dispensing with her chauffeur and protection officers, she jumped in her car to go shopping and realised there was hardly any fuel. She'd forgotten, she said, that you had to put petrol in the tank!'
