Princess Diana’s stern warning to Princes William and Harry about realities of royal life

Princess Diana allegedly left a roadmap for Prince William and Prince Harry to navigate royal life. 

According to her former private secretary Patrick Jephson, the late Princess of Wales offered Prince William and Prince Harry “important warnings” about the realities of royal life long before her tragic death in 1997. 

Jephson told People that if the brothers study their mother’s life, they’ll find both “good examples to follow” and clear cautions: “Public affection and the rich rewards of royalty must be earned with self-sacrifice and service.”

More than 25 years on, the brothers’ paths could hardly be more different. 

Prince William, 43, remains front and centre with Kate Middleton and their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis; while Prince Harry, 40, stepped back in 2020 and now lives in California with Meghan Markle and their kids, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.

Historian Amanda Foreman adds that the one value the brothers still share is pure Diana: an insistence on a grounded, authentic upbringing for their children. 

“They are both very good role models as parents,” she notes, a legacy Diana would likely applaud.

Jephson believes Diana’s guidance still lights their way: “Every day she can still guide, comfort and inspire them along the difficult path they were born to follow.”

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