Prince Harry Reveals the Heartbreaking Traits He Shares with Princess Diana
Princess Diana left a lasting impact on her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, and shaped their lives in profound ways. While Prince William has remained private about the deep pain of losing his mother, Prince Harry has been more open about his grief. In his memoir, Spare, Harry shared heart-wrenching details about the traits he inherited from Diana, offering a rare glimpse into their unbreakable bond.
Princess Diana and Prince Harry’s lasting bond
Prince Harry and Princess Diana shared a deep and lasting bond. The Duke of Sussex and his mother shared many similarities that link them beyond death.
In Spare, Harry discussed these traits. He shared these details in a passage describing the moment King Charles told him of Diana’s 1997 car accident.
Harry discussed how he was in bed at Balmoral Castle when Charles entered the room. He described the room in great detail and said how in bed, he pulled the sheets to his chin because he feared the dark.
Harry wrote, “I loathed the dark, Mummy did too. She told me so. I’d inherited this from her, I thought.”
“Along with her nose, her blue eyes, her love of people. And her hatred of smugness and fakery and all things posh,” Harry concluded.
Diana insisted her sons know life outside of the palace walls. Her parenting choices reflected that.
Harry and Diana both broke royal traditions
Unlike previous royal mothers who followed strict protocols, Diana broke traditions, insisting on raising Prince William and Prince Harry with a sense of normalcy. She took them on trips to amusement parks, McDonald’s, and even homeless shelters and exposed them to the real world beyond palace gates.
Diana remained groundbreaking by her involvement in controversial humanitarian causes. The late Princess of Wales famously walked through a live minefield in Angola to support landmine victims and held hands with AIDS patients at a time when there was widespread fear and misinformation about the disease.
Harry followed in her humanitarian footsteps by launching the Invictus Games for wounded veterans. He also continued Diana’s landmine work in Africa and championed causes regarding HIV/AIDS awareness and mental health advocacy.
Prince Harry broke free from the royal family in 2020, when he and his wife, Meghan Markle, stepped back from their roles as senior royals. This was an unprecedented move, as no high-ranking royal had voluntarily distanced themselves from the monarchy in decades.
After her divorce from Prince Charles in 1996, Diana lost her royal title but gained a sense of independence. She cut back on royal engagements and focused on her philanthropic passions.
However, Diana also took a stand against how she was portrayed by the royal family in the press. She spoke out during a time when royal family members kept quiet.
Mother and son bared their soul on television
While on a press tour to promote Spare in early 2023, Prince Harry didn’t hold back on commentary regarding the royal family, his marriage, and his relationship with the press. His remarks were reminiscent of a 1995 interview Princess Diana gave to Martin Bashir for BBC’s Panorama.
“I don’t sit here with resentment: I sit here with sadness because a marriage hasn’t worked. I sit here with hope because there’s a future ahead: a future for my husband, a future for myself, and a future for the monarchy,” Diana said to Bashir of her marriage’s end and looking forward.
Twenty-eight years later, Harry echoed the same sentiments of sadness regarding his relationship with the royal family. He told ITV, “There have been decisions that have happened on the other side that have been incredibly hurtful. I wish that it would stop. I want reconciliation, but first, there needs to be some accountability.”
Princess Diana died in August 1997 at 36. Prince Harry is married to Meghan Markle. They have two children and live in California.
