Nearly three decades after her tragic death, insiders say Princess Diana would be heartbroken over the ongoing distance between her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry.
Diana Spencer — the former Princess of Wales — died in a car crash in Paris on August 31, 1997. She left behind two young boys who are now grown men navigating very different paths: William, 43, the future king, and Harry, 41, who stepped away from royal duties and moved to the United States.
According to sources close to the late royal, seeing her sons estranged would have been almost unbearable for her.
“She felt everything so deeply,” one insider said. “The division between William and Harry alone would have broken her heart.”
During her lifetime, Diana became known as the “People’s Princess” — not just for her glamour, but for her emotional openness. At a time when the royal family was defined by restraint, she broke tradition. She hugged AIDS patients when others wouldn’t. She comforted landmine victims face to face. She spoke publicly about her struggles with bulimia and mental health.
Her vulnerability changed the monarchy’s image forever.
“Diana would fly into crying fits at the drop of a hat,” a source who knew her personally claimed. “A bombing on the news, a hospital visit, even a family issue — it went straight to her heart. That emotional transparency wasn’t weakness. It was her power.”
But that power, insiders say, also made her fragile.
“If she were alive today, seeing war, division, and the distance between her boys, it would have devastated her,” the source added. “She internalized global pain as if it were personal.”
Broadcaster Eamonn Holmes has also spoken about Diana’s sensitivity. He once recalled complimenting her outfit during a meeting. The conversation quickly shifted to tragedy in Northern Ireland.
“She started crying about a bomb explosion that had happened,” Holmes said. “She was very connected to what was going on.”
He said the discussion eventually turned to her sons — and even talking about them going off to boarding school upset her.
“She adored her boys,” an insider said. “Even the thought of them struggling away from home could reduce her to tears.”
Both William and Harry have publicly acknowledged their mother’s deep compassion.
In 2023, Harry reflected on her ability to lead with empathy “in the face of fear.” William has also spoken about wanting a more modern, impact-focused approach to royal work — and emphasized empathy as central to leadership.
“I really care about what I do,” William said during a visit to Cape Town. “I think we could do with some more empathetic leadership around the world.”
Still, royal watchers can’t help but wonder what Diana would make of today’s reality — a fractured relationship between the brothers she once held so tightly.
“She absorbed the pain of others — from global crises to family tensions,” one insider said. “That empathy made her extraordinary. But in today’s world? It may have overwhelmed her.”
One thing remains clear: nearly 30 years after her death, Diana’s emotional legacy still shapes the royal family — and the conversation around it.
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