Diana at 60: How she would have handled Prince Harry and William’s feud

This is how the late Princess Diana would have dealt with the feud between her sons William and Harry, as a royal expert reveals why she never trusted Oprah.

On July 1, the day that would have been the 60th birthday of Diana, Princess of Wales, her sons will unveil the statue they commissioned for their late mother in the gardens of Kensington Palace.

The eyes of the world will be on Prince William and Prince Harry, who is returning to the UK for the first time since his strained and somewhat awkward appearance at Prince Philip’s funeral in April.

The fallout from Megxit, combined with Prince Harry’s extraordinary and unprecedented Oprah Winfrey interview slap-down of the royals and allegations that Meghan Markle bullied Kensington Palace staffers, has left the relationship between the once-close brothers in tatters.

But what would Diana, who so famously adored her boys, think of her warring sons if she had survived the car crash in Paris that took her life at the age of 36? And what would her world look like if she had made 60?

Best-selling author and royal expert Robert Lacey, a historical consultant on Netflix’s smash-hit series The Crown, said Diana “did not trust Oprah” and would have been “torn” by her feuding sons if she had made it to her 60th birthday.

Diana, Princess of Wales, as she may have appeared at age 60 in a digitally-enhanced image. Picture: Supplied

Diana, the late Princess of Wales in Kensington Palace on February 1, 1983. Picture: Getty

Lacey, who has released an updated edition of his best-selling book Battle of Brothers, said he doubted the split between Prince William and Prince Harry — which he described as more of a challenge for the royal family than the abdication crisis of 1936 — would have occurred if their mother was still alive.

“I would go so far as to say that it might not have happened if Diana were still alive to knock their heads together, but that’s pure speculation,” he said.

Lacey said the unveiling of the Diana statue, created by Ian Rank-Broadley and commissioned by the princes in 2017 to mark the 20th anniversary of their mother’s death, would be “a very important moment” for her legacy.

The Prince and Princess of Wales on holiday with their children, Princes William and Harry, at the Spanish royal residence Marivent Palace, in August 1987. Picture: Getty

“The unveiling of this statue is important, more than just in terms of the brothers and as a possible focus for the beginning of some sort of healing,” Lacey saidfrom London.

“If 25 years ago you would have said there’s going to be a statue of Diana in the grounds of Kensington Palace, people would have laughed.

“Diana was the royal rebel, she died the royal rebel and the fact that this statue is being erected, this is a new centre of royal pilgrimage in London for people from all over the world.”

Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex follow Britain's Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge as they depart Westminster Abbey. Picture: AFP

Lacey said there was some controversy over the fact that the statue, which will stand in the White Garden, will not be visible to members of the public unless they pay for entry to Kensington Palace.

“This statue shows the changing identity of the British monarchy, that this rebel, this woman who reached out her hand to AIDS victims, who walked through minefields, should be honoured with a statue,” he said.

“It would never have happened without the joint resolve of the brothers to raise a monument to her and the joint decision was made in happier days before the rift and the hope that we all have is that this will be the beginning of some sort of reconciliation process,” he said.

Australian royal expert Dr Gisele Bastin, from Flinders University, said she believed Diana, who was such a guiding influence on her sons’ lives, would have helped her beloved boys manage their adult lives.

The late Princess Of Wales, Prince William and Prince Harry in Lech, Austria. Picture: Getty

“Had she lived, Harry and William would not have had to negotiate the grief-ridden and difficult terrain of a life without her,” Dr Bastin said.

“The fact of her absence from their lives has been such a shaping influence, that had she lived Harry and William would not have had to configure their lives in the shadow of the profound loss of their mother. This is the same for nearly anyone who has lost a beloved figure in their lives, not just the royals.

“Like any loving parent, she would have been deeply saddened by any notion of a feud between William and Harry. Had she lived, however, it’s less likely that this ‘feud’ would ever have come about.

“So much of it seems, based on Harry’s own words, a result of Harry’s own grievances and regrets about the way that Diana was treated by the royals and by the British media.”

In the updated version of Battle of Brothers, Lacey has written about the pact or “swearing ceremony” that Diana reportedly made William and Harry take as children.

Harry and Meghan seen during interview with Oprah Winfrey. Picture: CBS

The late Princess’s trusted psychic and friend Simone Simmons has claimed that Diana told William and Harry: “You must promise me that you will always be each other’s best friends.

“And never let anyone come between you.”

Britain's Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, arrive for the funeral service of Britain's Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh inside St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle. Picture: Getty

As for what the late Princess of Wales would make of Harry’s decision to tell all to Oprah Winfrey and co-produce a mental health documentary series with the talk-show host, Simmons told Lacey that Diana did not trust the US media personality.

“Oprah was waltzing around her in the late 1990s trying to persuade her to have an interview. Diana actually invited Oprah to lunch at Kensington Palace and decided that she didn’t trust her,” Lacey said.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announce they are having a girl with Oprah Winfrey. Picture: CBS

Both royal experts said Diana’s driving desire to campaign for causes would have made her still active on the world stage if her life had not been so tragically cut short.

Lacey said Diana would have seen daughter-in-law Meghan as a kindred spirit in that they both wanted to break free from the constraints of royal life.

“I’m sure Diana would have maintained her work in the charity field although she did give up a lot of her charities towards the end of her life,” he said.

Diana, the late Princess Of Wales, at Neves Bendinha Orthopaedic Workshop In Luanda, Angola. Picture: Getty

“But I think she would have maintained that role and I think her dynamism and her crusading wold have raised the same sort of issues and controversies that we see with Meghan, she would have been a polarising figure.”

Dr Bastin said: “Diana understood that her fame was such that she could draw attention to the causes that she was interested in, and she would have wanted to capitalise on that.

“She would have remained a leading figure as a humanitarian, and she would have become more adept at understanding and negotiating the sensitive geopolitical world of global movements and global politics.”

*Battle of Brothers (updated version), by Robert Lacey, will be released by Harper Collins Australia on July 1.

Originally published as Diana at 60: How she would have handled Prince Harry and William’s feud