Prince Harry Made U.S. Move Princess Diana Was on the ‘Brink’ of Making — Bodyguard
Prince Harry’s U.S. move might have a family connection. His late mother, Princess Diana, was on the “brink” of doing the same thing before dying in a 1997 car crash, a former bodyguard says. In a new book, Lee Sansum recalls how Diana mentioned moving to the U.S. to “get away from it all.”
Princess Diana wanted to ‘get away from it all’ in the U.S., according to former bodyguard
In Protecting Diana: A Bodyguard’s Story, out Aug. 30, Sansum details what it was like looking out for Diana in the final months of her life. At the time, he’d been employed by Mohamed Al-Fayed, the father of Diana’s then-boyfriend, Dodi Fayed.
Per Newsweek, he remembers the late royal commenting on wanting to move stateside during a vacation in the South of France.
“‘There is nothing I can do in the UK. The papers there attack me no matter what I do,'” Sansum claimed Diana told him during a boat ride from Al-Fayed’s Jonikal yacht to a villa. “‘I want to go to the US and live there so I can get away from it all. At least in America they like me and will leave me alone.'”
Prince Harry made the ‘same decision’ Princess Diana had been on the ‘brink’ of making
Sansum continued, commenting on how the Duke of Sussex’s U.S. move mirrored what his late mother wanted to do.
“When I look back on it now, it’s amazing to think that Diana was very seriously considering leaving her country for good because of the damaging effect the press was having on her life,” he said. “Now, more than twenty years later, one of her own sons has taken the same decision she was on the brink of.
“Harry has effectively abdicated from his royal duties, left his country, and resettled his family in America to keep them away from the paparazzi and the tabloid press he still blames for killing his mother,” he added.
Sansum went on to reference the “bombshell” Oprah Winfrey interview that aired in March 2021, where Harry shared his biggest fear was history repeating itself.
Prince Harry has lived in California since 2020
After announcing their intention to step away from senior “working” royal duties in January 2020, Meghan Markle and Harry bought a sprawling home for their growing family. They purchased a $14.7 million-dollar mansion in Montecito, California.
Today, they share the 19,000-square-foot home with their son, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, 3, and daughter, Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, 1.
Harry’s U.S. move with the Duchess of Sussex came after stays elsewhere. At one point, Harry, Meghan, and Archie were staying at a house producer David Foster helped secure. Then, when they headed to the U.S. because of coronavirus (COVID-19) and security concerns, they stayed at Tyler Perry’s $18.7 million dollar Beverly Hills mansion. Finally, in the summer of 2020, Harry and Meghan bought their Montecito home.
Since then, Harr’s remarked on his move to the U.S., calling life in California “fantastic.”
