The Princess of Wales and her eldest son feared what could happen if Harry felt 'overshadowed'
Just hours before her death, Princess Diana reportedly had a vulnerable talk with Prince William about the prospect of his younger brother, Harry, being overshadowed in the royal fold – highlighting the bond the pair once used to share.
The talk occurred not long before Diana tragically died in the Pont de l’Alma Tunnel in Paris, France on August 31, 1997, leaving behind her two young sons as the United Kingdom was plunged into mourning.
That fateful afternoon, Diana and her partner Dodi Fayed had traveled to the Ritz Hotel in central Paris, where they settled into the Imperial Suite, and while at the hotel, Diana made her last recorded conversation with the heir to the British throne.
According to Andrew Morton, her biographer, in Diana: Her True Story – In Her Own Words, the conversation highlighted both her and her eldest son’s shared worry that Harry might be overshadowed by his older brother.
“William was worried that there was a danger that his younger brother, Prince Harry, was being overshadowed. It was a concern shared by Diana,” Morton writes in the book, adding the call took place while Diana was having her hair done at the Ritz.
Meanwhile, Dodi Fayed left her to attend to other matters as he visited a nearby jewellery store, Alberto Repossi, to pick up the ‘Tell Me Yes’ ring he had sent to be altered.
The ring, valued at approximately £11,000, had been selected by Diana during a shopping trip with Dodi in Monte Carlo on their Mediterranean cruise as it now seems apparent that he was planning to propose to King Charles III’s ex-wife.
“‘It’s serious. We’re going to get married,'” Hassan Yassin, Dodi’s stepfather’s brother, paraphrased. “I was happy for him, for both of them.”
Later plans included a visit to Dodi’s apartment on the Champs-Elysees, followed by supper at Le Benoit restaurant near the Pompidou Centre, which is reportedly where the British-Egyptian planned to pop the question.
Princess Diana’s concern for Prince William and Prince Harry becomes true
Diana’s final conversation underscores a dynamic that would continue to shape the relationship between William and Harry as from childhood, the brothers were often compared and this has not changed into their 40s.
William, as the elder, was groomed as the heir, while Harry navigated his own path with more freedom but also more public speculation about his role – something that remains in position to this day.
Now the pair are no longer on speaking terms with disagreements over public appearances, family duties, and media portrayals making headlines, such as Harry’s infamous Oprah Winfrey interview and his decision to release Spare.
Diana’s concern during that last conversation reflected not only a mother’s instinct to protect her younger son but also an awareness of the pressures placed on both boys by royal tradition and public expectation.
Experts suggest that her foresight in discussing Harry’s potential to be overshadowed was prescient, as the brothers’ differences would later surface, highlighting not just her overall shrewdness, but her emotional intelligence too.
