Protecting Princess Diana’s Legacy 25 Years On
It was five years ago that Princes William and Harry made the decision to share with the world some of their most personal thoughts about their mother on the 20th anniversary of her death. Taking part in two landmark documentaries—by the BBC and ITV—they sat before the cameras and opened up about their last phone calls with Diana, how their father broke the news to them at Balmoral, and their feelings about walking behind her coffin. It can’t have been easy to share such intimate memories so publicly. But, as their aides made clear at the time, the brothers recognized the need for the right voices to be heard the loudest during a moment when so many people would want to talk about their mother.
"Part of the reason why Harry and I want to do this is because we feel we owe it to her,” William spelled out in the 90-minute BBC documentary. “I think an element of it is feeling like we let her down when we were younger. We couldn’t protect her. We feel we at least owe her 20 years on to stand up for her name and remind everybody of the character and person that she was. Do our duties as sons in protecting her.”
It would be an understatement to say that much has changed for the brothers since they gave their interviews back in 2017. Yet, as we reach the 25th anniversary of Princess Diana’s death on August 31, something that remains strong is William and Harry’s shared determination to protect her legacy. And the events of the past five years have emphasized just how important such ongoing efforts are.
Diana’s story is now more prolifically retold (and fictionalized) in popular culture than ever before, meaning that reminding people of who she really was is an increasingly necessary task. The record has only just been corrected on her infamous 1995 Panorama interview, with William describing the scoop, for which Martin Bashir was lauded for years, as a “false narrative.” And for the first time ever, in July 2021, the brothers unveiled their shared vision for a permanent memento to their mother: a statue showing her surrounded by children set in her former Kensington Gardens home.
“We continue to see how important it is for the Princes to preserve their mother’s legacy as they see it—with the emphasis being on all the good she brought to the world; her charitable work; her understanding, empathy and compassion,” says Zoe Magee, royals producer for ABC news. “This is something they agree on. We saw them coming together to unveil the statue of their mother last year despite their relationship being strained. They even issued a, now rare, joint statement.”
While the brothers continue to make their own announcements in memory of Diana from time to time, there is also one organization to which they have jointly given a mandate to continue her legacy. The Diana Award was established in 1999 as a response to the overwhelming sense of public grief following the Princess’s death and with the directive to act on her belief that young people have the power to change the world. It recognizes exceptional 9 to 25-year-olds annually for their social or humanitarian work as well as collaborating on campaigns that aim to affect real change.
Curating Diana’s legacy, says Tessy Ojo CBE, Chief Executive Officer of The Diana Award, is “not static” and “has to revolve around the people that it serves.” “We often come back and say ‘If Princess Diana was here today, what are the issues that she would be championing?’” she explains. “I often say that she went where the pain was. It’s not sitting pretty, it’s not about going to the nice place, it’s about going to the uncomfortable areas. Who are the young people that need intervention?”
The organization’s post-pandemic blueprint, Future Forward, outlines a commitment to challenging systemic inequalities and to amplifying and recognizing young people as change makers, with an emphasis on mental health. “We could never be static because the issues that young people face are so fluid,” Ojo says. “What are the fundamental issues that when we create systemic change around those it will move the dial for every young person.”
The philosophy is an affecting reminder of Diana’s unrivaled capacity for and determination to move the dial. It is now 35 years since she shook hands with an AIDS patient and 25 since she walked through a minefield, but these moments continue to be acknowledged for their game-changing resonance around the world. And the way she approached her role continues to impact the future of the monarchy, with her sons following in her footsteps despite their now very separate paths.
“William and Harry show their mother’s influence in the causes they champion and their approach,” says Magee. “Harry walking through the minefield in Angola; William out on the streets selling magazines for the homeless. They both echo her physical warmth, hugging members of the public on walkabouts.”
There is a poignancy to the fact that 25 years after her death, Princess Diana is now almost entirely alone in her capacity to unite her sons. Having stood side by side to remember her on so many occasions, they have recently most often evoked her memory separately - with individual statements or tributes. For William, it seems that the decision to make the 20th anniversary of her death a one-off when it comes to sharing his personal feelings will continue to hold firm. He will, a source said, be spending the 25th anniversary of her death privately with his family. Whether Harry will make his own decision to share more memories of his mother for his upcoming memoirs remains to be seen.
Yet, for now at least, it appears that they do remain unified on the fundamental points of how her legacy should be protected. Their shared vision is now solidified in bronze in Kensington Gardens. But it also continues to live through the brothers' own work, the impact of The Diana Award and in many ways through all the people inspired by her.
"Fittingly, her favorite flowers were forget-me-nots," Prince Harry said just last week, paying tribute to his mother at a polo match in Aspen in aid of Sentebale, the charity he set up in her memory. "I hope we can remember my mother's legacy by recommitting to those that we serve, whoever and wherever they may be.”
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