Princess Diana never got to see Prince Harry go to Eton or become a part of the military or get married, but her words still ring true.
There's nobody who knows their children better than a mother. In most cases, the mom is the primary caregiver who knows the ins and outs of her child's personality. They know what their child needs, at least until a certain age. They know what their children are like and where their talents lie. Just like any other dedicated mom, Princess Diana knew what her children's strengths and weaknesses were.
The Princess of Wales had a special bond with her two boys, Princes William and Harry. She made sure that she gave them time every morning when she went to drop them to school. She also wanted to ensure that her two boys were treated equally, even though only one of them would become the king in the future. There were many royals who didn't understand why she showered her younger child the same love she gave to her older one.
Prince Charles was reportedly disappointed in having a second son. "Oh God, it’s a boy," is how he reacted after Harry's birth, reports CheatSheet. He apparently told Princess Diana’s mother that they were "so disappointed" as they wanted a girl.
Princess Diana always tried to make up for the behavior of the other royal members by showing her sons a life beyond the walls of the palace and giving them the same amount of love. "Prince Charles shared Diana’s concerns about making sure the boys shared things in their early years," journalist Richard Kay said in a documentary, according to Mirror UK. "But certainly more senior members of the royal family in private were saying: 'This is nonsense. William is the future. All our efforts must go into educating William.' It was William the Queen would invite for lessons in kingship when he was at Eton and she was at Windsor Castle," he added.
While Diana wanted to shield her younger boy from this attitude, she was also a realist about his abilities. A statement she made about him, dubbed as prophetic, was very insightful given how turbulent the past year in his life has been.
Ingrid Seward, author and editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine, brought attention to a comment Diana had made about Harry’s future. She reportedly said, "Harry’s full of energy, but he flips from one thing to another and then loses interest." Seward added that Diana confided in her. "Diana told me William was very sensitive, and Harry was the artistic and lively one who could come with anything," she said, as per Express UK.
"William was more academic than Harry but he wasn’t finding Eton very easy at that time, although he had lovely friends there. She said Harry would go to Eton, otherwise, he’d be singled out as the one who wasn’t so bright and she worried about his lack of concentration," she added.
Diana was right that William was more academic and Harry wasn't. The older brother went to college and the younger didn't. However, Harry did dedicate himself to the military for a decade. His relationship with Meghan Markle also comes into focus here as they dated for a short period of time before deciding to get married. However, he dedicated himself again to following his mother's footsteps when it comes to charity work but not as part of the monarchy.
"We will do everything we can to make sure that she's never forgotten and carry on all of the special gifts, as such, that she portrayed while she was alive. I hope that my mother's talents are shown in a lot of the work that I do... I hope she's looking down with tears in her eyes being incredibly proud of what we've established," he once said, as quoted by Heart.co.uk. Reminiscing about the special moments with his mother like riding the Space Mountain at Disney World 14 times, he said, "There's a kid inside of me, I want to keep that."
Early in 2020, the younger Windsor brother left his old life in pursuit of something new and unfamiliar. He and Markle are also reportedly turning producers after a Netflix deal, which is running into many problems. They have purchased a home in Los Angeles and want to continue raising their son Archie away from his roots and history, but also from the limelight.
References:
https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/queen-mother-treated-spare-heir-22354180
https://www.heart.co.uk/news/royals/prince-harry-princess-diana-queen-birthday-royal/
