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In their childhood, it’s likely that no one knew Prince William and Prince Harry better than their mom, Princess Diana, did, and it sounds like if she was still here, she’d be very surprised at the way things have shaken out between the brothers today. A royal insider claimed that Diana actually thought Harry was a better fit for the throne than William, and was actually preparing him just in case he ended up taking the gig over for his big brother.
Prince William was very “shy” in his younger years.
While appearing on the Daily Mail‘s Palace Confidential podcast this week, royal correspondent and friend to Diana Richard Kay said that during his time as a reporter, he was mostly in the thick of things as William and Harry were growing up, adding, “They were babies when I started and it has been very interesting to see them develop.”
In their younger years, Harry was the more outgoing one, and that lead to Diana telling Richard that she believed he had a personality that was more suited to becoming king someday.
‘William has been a bit of a surprise,” he said. “Certainly when his mother was still alive, he was a shy young man. Diana used to tell me she never really thought that William wanted the top job.”
Diana would call her youngest son “good king Harry.”
Just in case William ended up rejecting the role of king and passing it down to his younger brother, Richard claimed that Diana was preparing Harry for what his future might look like, just as any mom would do.
“In her mind, Diana was preparing the way for Harry to succeed his father,” Richard said. “She had a little nickname for him, good King Harry. A throwback to medieval days.”
Instead, Harry would be the one to grow up and reject royal life, electing for a more private existence in the states with wife Meghan Markle and their two children.
Richard added, “Of course, things didn’t work out like that. I think we’re all rather grateful that they haven’t worked out like that.”
In the end, William seems like the right choice.
He may have needed a bit longer to prepare, but William turned out to be “the right one” for the job, according to Richard — and according to the public, who seem to really love him (even more than they like his dad, King Charles).
Still, Richard believes that, when he’s king, William may end up expanding on some of his father’s plans for what the future of the monarchy should look like.
“I think William is going to take on some of his father’s ideas. For example, slimming down the monarchy even more,” he said.
This might not have been quite the future that Diana envisioned for her oldest son, but there’s no doubt she’d be proud of the way he stepped up.
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