Next summer will mark the 30th anniversary of Princess Diana’s tragic death. But what was once an event that united her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, in their grief is now threatening to drive an even deeper wedge between the warring brothers.
With Harry, 41, now back in the UK with Meghan Markle and their children, he appears to be wasting little time getting to work on what is reportedly a major tribute to his beloved late mother.
Earlier this week, he was spotted at a London production studio, and claims have now been made that Harry is developing a television project that will ‘occupy a lot of his headspace’ for the coming year.
The Daily Mail newspaper’s Senior Editor-at-large Richard Kay revealed, ‘I am told that one of the reasons Harry’s here is to make a television film, his own film, about his mother…That’s going to occupy a lot of his headspace over the next 12 months.’
Not only that, but after staying with Diana’s brother, Charles Spencer, at Althorp House in July, Harry is also reportedly reaching out to friends and former acquaintances of Diana as he quietly forges ahead, despite the rumoured project inevitably putting his broken relationship with William back under the spotlight.
And we’re told William is ‘horrified’ by the idea that his younger brother is somehow ‘hijacking’ their mother’s memory, especially at a time that their mutual love for Diana should be pulling them back together – not further apart.
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An insider says, ‘Apparently, they [Harry and Meghan] have been collecting footage and reaching out to people to arrange interviews with the full support of the Spencers, so there really isn’t anything standing in the way of this, aside from William. Of course, he is horrified at the whole prospect.
‘Hearing that Harry and Meghan are hijacking this tribute to his late mother, and on U.K. soil, no less, has sent him around the bend.’
Above all else, we’re told the biggest point of contention for William is Meghan’s reported involvement. Meanwhile, we’re told that having Meghan by his side makes ‘perfect sense’ to Harry, given that he has on many occasions praised his wife’s likeness to his mother.
During the Sussexes’ 2022 Netflix documentary, Harry said, ‘So much of what Meghan is and how she is, is so similar to my mum. She has the same compassion. She has the same empathy. She has the same confidence. She has this warmth about her.’
Now the insider adds, ‘From Harry’s perspective, it makes perfect sense to have Meghan heavily involved in this project. She’s his producing partner, and she brings a ton of expertise to the table, and on top of that, she really does remind him so much of his mother; he feels like her perspective on things always adds a layer he didn’t think of.’
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Comparatively, William was previously reported to have been ‘disgusted’ by US reports that Meghan could be set to launch a fashion line inspired by Princess Diana, after her visit to Switzerland earlier this year sparked a flurry of reports comparing his sister-in-law to Diana.
And we’re told that, from his perspective, he feels that his own wife, Princess Kate – the new Princess of Wales – shares much more attributes with his late mother than Meghan ever will.
The source says, ‘He can’t stand the narrative that Meghan is somehow this Diana 2.0. He says if anyone is like Diana, it’s Kate, who is just as devoted to her memory but in a much less showy way, which to William only proves his point, since Diana was never interested in the spotlight.’
Meanwhile, we were previously told that Harry had approached William about the prospect of teaming up on a new project following their previous 2017 BBC documentary, Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy, which saw the brothers come together to mark the 20th anniversary of her tragic death in 2017.
At the time, any proceeds from the documentary are reported to have been donated to charity, and neither Harry nor William were paid. But this time around, we’re told the approach could be very different.
While the insider says William is expected to mark the anniversary with a ‘more understated’ tribute to his mother, it has been claimed Harry is looking to ‘cash in’ on the huge interest that still surrounds Diana and her life, although Harry has not confirmed any project.
‘If Harry does go ahead with the project, there’s no doubt it’s going to be a big-scale production with a ton of money behind it. It’s expected they will work with Netflix, and they will want to get as many viewers worldwide as they can to cash in, so they’re bound to be huge,’ the source says.
‘William tends to be a lot more understated about things, so it’s hard to imagine they will be on the same page even from a production perspective.’
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As a private citizen, Harry is free to pursue commercial opportunities surrounding his mother’s legacy, but of course, all of this background is before we even arrive at the gritty dilemma that is Netflix.
William is widely reported to have been ‘sickened’ by some of the scenes surrounding his mother’s death as depicted in The Crown – the fictional royal drama that won the streaming giant many accolades and millions of viewers.
Meanwhile, Harry and Meghan still retain a ‘First Look’ deal with Netflix, meaning that the media giant may have first dibs on any content the Sussexes produce – a prospect that we’re told only ‘sickens’ William further.
The insider says, ‘You also have to remember how angry William still is at Netflix. He says the way the family was betrayed on The Crown was unforgivable; it was a hatchet job in his view, and he finds it pretty sickening that his brother would team up with them. There is no way he’d sign off on them having anything to do with it.’
The sad reality, however, is that after four years of silence, there appears to be no hope in sight of the brothers fixing the bitter rift between them anytime soon.
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On one hand, William is reported to remain ‘furious’ with Harry following his scathing tell-alls, while Harry is said to be holding out for an apology from the Waleses – something most royal observers would agree is not likely to happen now, if ever.
‘There are still so many obstacles; the chances of them being able to come together and agree on anything are less than slim. They aren’t even on speaking terms right now, how could they possibly produce any sort of tribute? It will be a miracle just to get them in the same room at this stage,’ the source says.
‘It’s very sad because the last time they did a tribute to their late mother, things were so much different. They happily worked together and were totally in step on nearly everything. They were very, very close. And now, they won’t even communicate; it’s very hard to believe that things have deteriorated so much.’
Behind their anger, we can only imagine, is the deep pain that William and Harry must both be feeling as they remain at loggerheads. And the source says that, in a twist of fate, the only thing that may bring them back together is the memory of their mother, and what she would have wanted for her sons.
‘William puts on a very stoic front when it comes to anything to do with his brother, but there’s no denying it’s taking a toll on him to be feuding like this,’ the insider says.
‘Kate knows it, and she knows how much this is upsetting the King, and Harry, too. If anything could bring them together, it would be the love and respect they both have for their mother. But things are so bad, even that doesn’t seem to be moving the needle on this war they have going on.’
