Princess Diana Had 2 Words to Describe Prince William and Prince Harry, Former Bodyguard Says
TL;DR:
- Princess Diana tried to give her sons as normal a life as possible.
- Her former bodyguard, Ken Wharfe, says she told him Prince William and Prince Harry could be a “bloody nuisance.”
- Princess Diana reportedly left disciplining her sons to staff.
There’s no denying Princess Diana loved kids. She even worked as a kindergarten teacher early in her relationship with Prince Charles. However, when it came to watching her own kids, Prince William and Prince Harry, she “didn’t envy” her former bodyguard, Ken Wharfe. Ahead, find out how the Princess of Wales described her sons to her royal protection officer.
Princess Diana raised her sons differently
Diana changed royal parenting. She raised the Dukes of Cambridge and Sussex, now 40 and 37, to have as normal a life as possible.
That included doing everyday activities together. Diana did school drop-off and pick-up. She also took William and Harry to McDonald’s for Happy Meals.
Additionally, Diana showered them with love and affection when previously royal parents were more reserved.
Princess Diana’s former bodyguard says she described William and Harry as a ‘bloody nuisance’
Diana reportedly didn’t mince words when it came to describing William and Harry. In an excerpt of his book, Diana: Remembering The Princess, which Wharfe co-authored with journalist Ros Coward, he recalled meeting Diana at Kensington Palace.
“I was shown into a drawing room where Diana was sitting on the sofa,” he wrote, according to the Mail on Sunday. “William was attempting to play a piano and Harry was being an entertaining pest, standing on a table, picking apart some lilies in a vase.”
Wharfe, who served as Diana’s personal protection officer from 1987 to 1993, continued. “Immediately, Diana said to me: ‘I don’t envy you, Ken, looking after my kids—they can be a bloody nuisance.'”
“That candid, informal exchange set the scene for the rest of our working relationship,” he added. “There wasn’t this barrier between royalty and me, the policeman, the servant, or whatever. It was more as though a sister or friend was speaking to me, and that was extraordinary.”
Staff reportedly disciplined William and Harry
Supposedly, Diana wasn’t much of a disciplinarian. Author Robert Jobson wrote in his book, William at 40, that her staff disciplined William and Harry because she wouldn’t.
“She adored her sons and was always hugging and kissing them. But care of the boys, when they were home from school, was often left to the staff,” Jobson wrote.“Fully aware that her younger son was especially willful and stubborn, Diana also tended to leave discipline to his nannies and protection officers.”
“When Harry was a little older, I remember one of her classic phrases to him was, ‘Harry, I love you, but I don’t like you’ — because he was a nuisance,” Wharfe was quoted as saying. “But she was strong with him, and I think children like that because they know where they stand.”
