Last year, 2017, was the 20th anniversary of Princess Diana’s death. Both of Diana’s sons decided to mark the moment with a series of interviews, and by participating in a few documentaries, as well as the dedication of a new garden and more. There was a lot happening around the anniversary and William and Harry were both steering the ship. Prince Charles was not steering anything, nor did he participate in anything marking the occasion. That was by design – I don’t think he wanted to pull focus and remind everyone about how badly he treated Diana, and I don’t believe that Harry and William wanted him involved in any way. But even now, Charles is still rather hurt that he was excluded from everything:
Last year, the relationship between Charles and his sons became frosty. The cause? In the run-up to the 20th anniversary of Diana’s death in a Paris tunnel, William and Harry had decided to take part in an ITV documentary — Diana, Our Mother: Her Life And Legacy. And consciously or not, they did it without once mentioning Charles.
The Prince, of course, was fully aware he was never going to win the never-ending PR fight against his now iconic dead wife. But what did upset him was his sons’ decision to write him completely out of their history.
‘It was as if he had never existed,’ said one of his friends. An insider remarked: ‘It would have been nice if they had acknowledged his contribution to their upbringing. He was, and tries to be, a jolly good father after all.’
Even when Harry and William appeared at a press launch for the documentary, they failed to give him so much as a mention. And in the programme itself, when Prince William said that his mother gave him ‘the right tools’ for life, some heard a hint that his style of monarchy will perhaps be different from his father’s and grandmother’s. Touching as the documentary was in many other ways, it also had another important omission. In the months before it was shown, William and Harry had led calls for openness about mental health issues — yet the film signally failed to tackle their mother’s mental frailties, let alone her clandestine affairs. It was, in short, a candy-coated portrayal of somebody who in reality was far more complex.
Prince Charles oftens uses the papers, like the Daily Mail, to send a message to his sons rather than speak to them directly. He usually does that to William, because Charles doesn’t like to confront William directly about anything (nor does anyone else, because of Big Willy’s temper). So is it possible that Charles is sending a message to his sons that he still hasn’t forgotten that they wrote him out of the narrative of their childhood? Perhaps. And if that’s the case, Charles needs to get over it. He’s alive, and Diana has been gone for 21 years. He got to raise his sons his way, and of course they’re going to have complicated feelings about all of it.
What will be interesting to see is if Harry in particular becomes a lot closer to Charles in the years to come. Reportedly, Meghan is a big fan of Charles and she’s encouraged Harry to give his dad a break. It genuinely feels like there’s been a lot of softening between Harry and Charles in particular, and I’d be willing to bet that Meghan wants Charles to be a hands-on doting grandfather to the Polo Baby. She will want that especially because… her own father is such a douchebag.
Photos courtesy of WENN, Backgrid.
I’m kinda impressed that Meghan knew from the get-go to not even try to butter up to William. He’s not going to throw Harry much of a bone when he’s King and she knows it. She’s putting all her eggs in the Charles basket in the hopes of maximizing her efforts b/c she knows she’ll get more out of that in the few years Charles is King than she will in all the years William is King.
Meghan is an Olympic level networker, for real. And she makes all that heft look effortless.
I am willing to bet that Meghan has buttered up all the BRF members that she’s come in contact with. It is not rocket science to figure out that Charles currently and in the future, even after he’s dead and gone, is the source of Harry’s funding and if Harry becomes wealthy in his own right, that will come from Charles as well.
You know Meghan could actually just genuinely like the members of the royal family and its not about networking or using people to make sure her and harry are set for life.
Haryy has a reported net worth of approx 40 million dollars which sounds pretty wealthy to me. I believe Meghan genuinely like and admires Charles because they share similar interests and next to her father he’s a saint.
21 years later, and he is still bitterly jealous if Diana gets good PR. He finally had people like me on his side, after the wonderful way he treated Meghan and her mother, and he just couldn’t help throwing a tantrum about Diana again. I don’t blame William for gravitating more towards the Middletons over Charles.
Well it could be that or it could simply be that he felt hurt as a father. Many fathers feel eclipsed in their children’s affections by moms–especially in cases of divorce. And let’s face it. Those millennial brats William and Harry, especially William, have been terrible to Charles. We all feel a dig when someone delivers it.
It doesn’t help that Diana painted him to be a horrible father and discuss their marital problems with William
Some people wouldn’t be happy unless the documentary had a big segment on how Diana was a crazy whore who shouldn’t have been running around in Paris anyway.
**Of note, that’s not my opinion. Just the worst conjecture I could come up with that would satisfy some people.
Seriously. I know exactly what you mean. It was the 20th anniversary of her death, and it was put on by her sons. It was never going to be anything other than a gushing piece about her. Most people know her faults, but choose to remember her good qualities,, given that she’s no longer with us.
I know everyone needs to grow up a bit, but never forget William was older than Harry. Diana was a complex person, but her own fragilities have been used against her for decades, so I see why the don’t mention them.
If this is true he’s being so unreasonable and petty. They were memorializing their mother, of course they didn’t mention him. I’m sure they won’t be talking about Diana in the interviews that will inevitably follow Charles’ death. It’s kind of par for the course that it be all about that person when they die.
I’d say someone should really explain that to Charles, but after seven decades of being centerstage (or at least centerstage right) I doubt it would do any good
I’ve always wondered if some of the tension, particularly between Charles and William, is because William is unsure whether his father had anything to do with Diana’s death. I’m not saying he did. I simply question whether William questions it somewhere deep within him. Who knows what Diana may have said to William.
I had to laugh at that second pic. The look on Meghan’s face. It reminded me of MIchelle Duggar and the adoring looks she gives Jim Bob. …. Or, Pence gives to Trump.
Charles being involved in her death?!!
Such as sending telepathic messages telling her to ignore her seatbelt, in a guaranteed-to-be speeding car with an unprepared driver? Yep. I can see it all, now.
My kids dad passed when they were teens, they weren’t close but he still was their father so I get where Charles is coming from. It’s tough being the parent left behind to raise two traumatized teenagers and after that’s all done and now their adults you get left behind so they can praise the deceased parent to the ends of the earth. Some day, probably when it’s too late, W&H will realize that their dad did the best he could and while they probably didn’t see it at the time, it’s time for them to grow up and see it now.
I’ll guess that William (especially once his kids are teens) will realize more of this-his dad was truly doing the best he could.
Very tough! I went through the same thing. Two boys. You deserve credit for what you’ve done, even though some on this site will just say that was your job.
OK that second picture belongs in the Wacky Windsors Hall of Fame. You have red-haired Harry talking to red-faced Charles while badly rouged Meghan gazes adoringly at her husband. And to top it off, there’s giantess Kate beaming at Charlotte’s barf face.
You’re right, that is a bad picture all around 😂
wuahahahahahaha. I am crying with laughter. So true
Ha! Charlotte’s face is there is how I feel when I see Meghan’s gaze in that photo…I like Meghan (and have loved the tour coverage!) but she really does go into actress mode a bit sometimes, no?
Bahahahahahaha! #bestcommentever
I don’t blame him for being a little hurt. I mean he had to take over while the boys were still young and had just lost their mother. That in itself was a huge task and he deserves credit for it.
I actually don’t blame him for being hurt either.
However, IMO, there is an appropriate time and place to show appreciation for their father. The anniversary of their mother’s death to celebrate her life was not the time to say “our dad was great and stepped in when our mum died”.
They had to be respectful of their mum and it couldn’t be easy to try and navigate the negative impact Charles had on her life so it was probably decided to omit him from the narrative so as to not stir up old wounds.
The programme was to acknowledge and honour their mum, to celebrate the life of their mum and the contributions she made in their lives.
Charles will have his time. This just wasn’t it.
You don’t deserve credit for doing what you are supposed to do.
Charles doesn’t get credit for raising his sons. That’s what you’re supposed to do, especially when you are the remaining parent.
Ever been a single parent?
This family is all kinds of messed up. All the talking in the press or through books.. its dysfunctional.
Charles has to sit down and STFU. It was a documentary about their mum, solely about her- this is not the time to jump up and down and cry: what about me, me, meeeee?
It does not mean, that they completly erase their father, but that this was a moment to talk about their mum and her contribution to their life and the world.
The argument, that its not a full portrait of who Diana was. Well, they are her sons, so they have the right to potray her the way they want. Also they described her the way, they knew her. Of course that differs from others people experience. Also I dont think its out of the ordinary, that her sons dont want to talk about their mothers love life. What the heck.
Charles is a piss ant. Always was, always will be.
This was the twentieth anniversary of THEIR MOTHER’S death, not a treatise on their opinion of their upbringing. Nor was it a time for an in-depth examinatiton of Diana’s foibles.
One of the things about grief, once you get through it, is that it often softens our view of the lost loved one. Blessedly, for many there is a tendency to remember the good things more strongly than the bad.
Whether he had a hand in Diana’s death or not – and many of us still wonder about that – Charles got what he wanted. No Diana around to steal his thunder, what little there is of it, and he has his understanding Camilla by his side.
Charles needs to shut up.
I wonder if Meagan gave Harry a new perspective, like “your dad isn’t. Bad guy, he tries, look at my dad” while Kate has no similar comparison and is happy just having her family as the primary one.
Here I was starting to like Prince Charles in the last few years and then he goes and participates in this book. I can’t imagine this will go over well with his sons.
Neither Diana nor Charles were saints – they used the media and their sons to trash and humiliate each other. Remember the televised interviews they each did trying to justify their adultery? Puhleeze….the 20th anniversary of Diana’s death was a total whitewash and given William and Harry both represent mental health issues maybe they should have been a bit more open about their mother’s mental and emotional issues.
Chuck was a lousy husband but he was a good father. As for the brothers relationship it’s oft said that William has one had a lot of influence over Harry, for good and bad. Harry’s marriage and separation of the households is a good thing as finally Harry. N be his own man stead of Williams brother.
William inherited many of his parents negative personality traits, he’s not really a nice person.
I think Charles cares for his sons but I don’t think that he was a good father to his young sons nor do I think that Diana was a good mother.
I think the boys would have had their issues with her if she had lived. I also think she would have been incredibly difficult as a MIL. But, they can continue to see her with rose colored glasses because she died when they were young and did not have the perspective you would gain as an adult.
Not making excuses because their experience was in such a gilded cage, but Diana was so young and Charles was a spoiled brat…some people are a NOT good together and even worse as parents…together…apart they may be better as parents. Plus, while Camilla May have been the Angelina of her time, many years have passed and both boys are grown. It’s time they all stop glamorizing their parents and develop healthy relationships while they can.