The Prince of Wales has reportedly declined several offers to make or appear in tribute films about his late mother, Princess Diana, to mark the 30th anniversary of her death next year, as he wants to avoid potential drama with his estranged brother, Prince Harry.
Concerns over being pitted against Harry
The Sunday Times reported that Prince William wants to avoid a situation where he and Prince Harry are “pitted against each other” in a film about their mother. William was only 15 when Diana died in August 1997, in Paris, France.
It comes after sources suggested the Duke of Sussex had discussed “a number of possible projects” to mark his mother’s death anniversary in the “most meaningful way”.
Friends describe anniversary as difficult
The newspapers claimed that friends of William said that next year’s anniversary will be “difficult” for the future King, who still remains “very emotional” about his mother’s death. It is not yet clear how William will mark next year’s anniversary; he may choose to do so formally somewhere, but friends firmly believe he will most likely mark it privately.
Kensington Palace has not commented on the claims.
Earl Spencer's new book adds to tensions
It comes amid Diana’s brother, Earl Spencer, releasing a bombshell new book about his sister. William is understood to have found the fallout of his uncle’s book “difficult”, with sources speaking of “multigenerational” fury.
The earl last week told the BBC he felt it was his “duty… as an eyewitness to history” to write a new memoir chronicling the life of his sister. He said: “I’m aware of mortality and I wanted to just put things down once and for all that were true. This is not a threat, it’s a fact, I know lots of things about the King which I chose not to include in the book because they were not relevant.”
