Princess Diana “willingly gave up” Prince William and Harry after her divorce from Charles. The Prince’s butler revealed how the late royal only ever “briefly” saw her sons.
Prince Charles and Princess Diana started leading their individual lives after their extremely publicized divorce in 1992. The pair agreed on shared custody of their sons. Paul Burrell, who was William and Harry’s longtime butler, shared how their parents divided their time with them.
While talking to Marie Claire, he noted how Diana “only ever had the boys for two weeks every year because she gave them up.” Burell shared how the Princess thought it was important for her sons to grow up around their cousins, the Royal Family at Balmoral.
According to the royal staffer, the mother of two’s decision was backed by her consideration for William. “Summer was fun for her, but she realized that the rest of the year and the time away from boarding school, that they would be with their father and their friends,” he shared.
Burell recalls how Diana had the realization that both her sons had to be “integrated” into the Royal family. He adds how their mother knew that “William one day will be King and Harry will be there to support him.”
Princess Diana plays outside with her young sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, while relaxing at their country home, Highgrove House, in 1986. pic.twitter.com/OP8eVS8cNK
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The Princes’ butler claims that their mother “willingly gave them up” because she knew what was best for them. “She missed them,” Burell added. He also noted how Diana didn’t really own a place of her own to take her sons to.
“She only had Kensington Palace, so she had to take them away on a holiday, and it was usually a beach holiday,” he recalled. He goes on to recall how both the Princes shared one last memorable summer with their mother in the Mediterranean.
Their vacation included the trio going on jet skis, which was extremely fun for the young William and Harry. “Then she brought them back home so that they could go to Balmoral,” Burell notes. He recalls the Princes still being in Balmoral when they received the tragic news of their mother’s passing away.
Prince Charles and Princess Diana with their children Prince William and Prince Harry at Highgrove House. (14 June 1986) pic.twitter.com/BwVx28AGTm
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The butler shares how the trio would usually spend their two weeks of summer together on Necker Island or somewhere just as remote. He noted how Diana dutifully played the role of a “devoted mother.” Burell adds how the mother of two “kind of lost them” when they enrolled in a boarding school.
“She began to lose them to the outside world and to the Royal Family. Not emotionally, but physically, which was very sad,” Burell notes. He went on to note that it’s now a “different world” for William and Kate and their kids. The pair has learned from the mistakes in the past and tries their best not to repeat those mistakes.
Scroll below to see pictures of Princess Diana with her sons.
