Why Prince Harry didn’t like his mother Princess Diana’s royal title

Diana, the former Princess of Wales, is a name known the world over. The royal, who was dubbed ‘The People’s Princess’, was much-loved across the globe and adoration for her has continued long after her death in 1997. However, it came to light in Prince Harry’s deeply personal memoir, Spare, that he never liked his mother’s royal title of princess – and here’s why

Within the book he penned: “Although my mother was a princess, named after a goddess, both those terms always felt weak, inadequate. People routinely compared her to icons and saints, from Nelson Mandela to Mother Teresa to Joan of Arc, but every such comparison, while lofty and loving, also felt wide of the mark. The most recognizable woman on the planet, one of the most beloved, my mother was simply indescribable, that was the plain truth.”

Princess Diana certainly left a legacy as a humanitarian force, with iconic moments such as shaking the hand of a patient with HIV at London Middlesex hospital in 1987 to help end the stigma around the disease and walking through an active minefield in Huambo, Angola, to make a stand against landmines. 

Did Princess Diana like being a member of royalty? 

Despite many young girls dreaming of being a princess one day, with tales of dreamy weddings and fancy jewels, it turns out that the reality can be a little different, and Princess Diana often spoke about her struggles with being part of the monarchy. 

 “I felt that my personality was taken away from me, and I was taken over by the royal machine.”

“The day I walked down the aisle at St. Paul’s Cathedral, I felt that my personality was taken away from me, and I was taken over by the royal machine,” she admitted in that now-iconic BBC Panorama interview. 

With many royal engagements, Diana also said she felt “compelled to perform.” She added: “I was compelled to go out and do my engagements and not let people down and support them and love them.”

However, her passions and humanitarian efforts helped her find her way within the royal fold, and that’s where she truly shone. “Nothing brings me more happiness than trying to help the most vulnerable people in society,” she said in the same interview. 

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Her two sons, Princes William and Harry, despite not being on talking terms at the moment with each other, are both pursuing paths of endorsing great charities and supporting good causes, ensuring Diana’s spark lives on. Prince Harry has his Invictus Games, where he provides hope for injured soldiers and Prince William is on a dedicated mission to end homelessness, and these are just two examples.