The popular version of the Windsor family story is that Diana was the nurturing parent while Charles, 58, could be distant. In fact, says a royal source, William and Harry (in Switzerland in 2002) were very close to Charles throughout their childhoods. Photo by: Andy Mettler / Corbis |
Diana also taught her sons to accept the inevitable burdens of being royal. "She dealt with the media incredibly well and taught Will and Harry that it's part of their life too," says Wharfe, who recalls Diana lecturing Will after the youngster cowered from photographers. "She said, 'You better get used to it. Just smile and wave and move on.'" But Diana made sure their childhoods did not resemble their father's strict, isolated upbringing; she dressed them in jeans and took them to movies and amusement parks. Today neither Will nor Harry "live in a gilded cage like their father did," says a family friend. Harry in particular "is desperate to be like everyone else," says Ingrid Seward, author of a book on the princes,
William & Harry – a wish reflected in Harry's desire to be sent to Iraq to fight with his regiment.
Yet it was having to grow up without their mother – Will was only 15 when Diana died, and Harry 12 – that perhaps most shaped the princes. "I always thought William and Harry were lost boys without Diana," says royals writer Judy Wade, noting how quickly each entered into long relationships with the first women they seriously dated. Will recently broke up with Kate Middleton, 25, his girlfriend of nearly five years. But Harry and Chelsy Davy, 21, are still going strong after three years, often expressing their affection in a way Diana – who pushed her boys not to bottle up their emotions as she felt their father did – would have approved. "They seem very much in love," says someone who saw the couple hugging and kissing at the Badminton Horse Trials May 5. "You can see it in their eyes, their body language, how close they are."
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