Princess Diana is the ‘only person’ who could end her sons’ Prince William and Prince Harry’s feud

“Diana is the missing piece”

Princess Diana, Prince William and Prince Harry
(Image credit: Dominic Lipinski - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Princess Diana's former royal butler has shared his belief that the late Princess is the ‘only person’ with the power to end her sons’ Prince William and Prince Harry’s feud.


It's heartbreaking to think that this week Prince Harry will be touching down on UK soil yet won't be spending any time with his brother Prince William. It reportedly goes deeper than the pair simply not crossing paths, with William said to have been left 'irritated' by Harry's choice to come to the UK specifically on the eve of the first anniversary of the late Queen's death as he's worried an 'outburst' from his brother will 'overshadow' the important day.

So we can guess that Harry and William's feud is raging on as strong as ever despite the fact it has been reported that William now 'understands' Harry's hurtful actions have been caused by the 'harder upbringing' he endured after Diana's death

Now, one former royal butler has revealed his belief that, if Diana was still here today, the brother's would not be arguing as they are as their mother would be 'devastated' to know they were not supporting one another as she always 'expected' them to do. 

Diana, Prince Harry and Prince William

(Image credit: Julian Parker/UK Press via Getty Images)

Speaking about the brothers' current relationship, Paul Burrell, who worked as Princess Diana's butler for the last decade of her life and became her closest friend, told The Mirror US, "In this whole equation, Diana is the missing piece and if she had been part of it, none of this would have happened.

“It's just a sad, sad time for them that they can't share it together. Their mother would love to bang their heads together and say 'Boys grow up. This is not what I wanted from you, not what I expected of you. So come on, get your act together and sort it out.' And she's the only person that could do that.”

Diana's former pal then shared his heartbreaking opinion that 'Diana would be devastated to know that her boys were so far apart now.' He said, "She lived for her boys, she called them ‘ma boys’. Her every waking thought was about her boys.”

It's not just the brothers' relationship that would be different, Paul believes, but Harry and Meghan's entire royal life. For one, he thinks the couple would never have stepped down as senior royals in 2020 or moved their family to LA if Diana had still been alive.

He said, "If Diana was still here Harry would still be part of the royal family. She would have ruled and she would have pulled them back together. Diana was proud that her boys were royal princes, that they would continue the tradition and they would be part of the royal family for the rest of their lives."

Princes William and Harry with Princess Diana

(Image credit: Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)

Elsewhere in the interview, the former royal butler shared that he often thinks about the late Princess and misses the friend he calls a 'a unique, inspirational, incredible human being.' 

He said, “When you love someone in your lifetime and you lose them, you never really forget them and you carry them carry them with you for the rest of your days. Diana for me is one of those people because we were very close, it just so happened that she was a Princess and she belonged to all of you but actually, she didn't she belonged to me. Because I was always there at the end of the day, and I was always there to pick up the pieces. So I was a very lucky man to be in that position. And we relied on each other.

“If I smell her perfume Faubourg 24 by Hermès I think of her of course,” he says. “If I hear a slight intake of breath, someone beginning a sentence with, 'Yes I think so,' that is her. If I hear a high-pitched giggle, I'll turn around and think, 'Is that her?' So simple things in everyday life still remind me of her. How can I forget such a unique, inspirational, incredible human being.”

News writer

Charlie Elizabeth Culverhouse is a news writer for Goodtoknow, specialising in family content. She began her freelance journalism career after graduating from Nottingham Trent University with an MA in Magazine Journalism, receiving an NCTJ diploma, and earning a First Class BA (Hons) in Journalism at the British and Irish Modern Music Institute. She has also worked with BBC Good Food and The Independent.