Among the many qualities that defined Diana, Princess of Wales, everyone who spoke of her invariably included her love for her children, and her insistence on giving them as normal an upbringing as possible in their royal surroundings.
Now, Princes William and Harry will share some of those stories of cinema trips, the famous outing to Thorpe Park, as well as their daily life, in an intimate documentary about Princess Diana, being made to mark the 20th anniversary of her death.
ITV yesterday confirmed that both princes will participate in the documentary celebrating the late Princess’s life, work and legacy.
The royals last month opened up for the first time on how their grief for their mother, who died in August 1997, had affected their lives, with Prince Harry revealing it had contributed to years of bottled up stress and then “two years of chaos” for him.
The programme is being made by the same production company who gathered all the young royals on camera for last year’s ‘Our Queen at 90’.
The film will be built around contributions from the The Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry, both of whom talk openly about their mother and how her influence has shaped their lives.
Their Royal Highnesses will also offer their perspective on The Princess’ unique contribution to public life, including her charitable and humanitarian work. Areas including Landmines, Child Bereavement, Homelessness and HIV and AIDS, will be explored.
Other key figures in the Princess’s life will also take part, but presumably not her former butler Paul Burrell. Despite his enthusiasm for sharing his memories of his late employer, it is clear her sons do not consider him someone to be trusted.
When his first memoir, ‘A Royal Duty’, was published in 2003, the princes issued a statement saying their mother would have been mortified by his “cold and overt betrayal”.
The film, which will be broadcast on ITV later in the year, will also include individual contributions from many key figures in the Princess’ life.
ITV’s Controller of Factual, Jo Clinton-Davis, explains: “This new ITV film will offer viewers a fresh and revealing insight into Princess Diana through the personal and intimate reflections of her two sons and of her friends and family, many of whom have never spoken before, to bring together a definitive portrait of a unique person who touched the lives of millions.”
