Princess Diana was only a mother for 15 years before she tragically passed away in 1997, but she made every second of those years count. Princess Diana was an amazing mom — both according to outsider perspective, but also according to her own sons. Both William and Harry have spoken about how they’re sad that their mother didn’t get to see them grow up, get married, and have children, but they’ve kept her memory alive in many of the ways they parent their own kids.
Diana broke the mold when it came to being royal and having kids. She was a hands-on mom who wasn’t afraid to show affection in public or to try to give her sons a relatively normal upbringing. Here are 20 times she shined as a mother.
Putting her kids first
Bringing William on a royal tour
Long before Kate Middleton and William brought baby George to Australia, Diana did the same thing with baby Prince William. Before that, it was pretty unheard of for royal children to accompany their parents on trips. The Queen and Prince Philip once left their young children home for six months while they conducted business. Diana was not about that life.
Breastfeeding
In the history of the royal family, breastfeeding is not common. Queen Elizabeth was among the first to do it, and Diana followed in her footsteps. Whatever a mom chooses to do when feeding her children is up to her, and formula feeding is also alright. But we love that Diana followed her heart and did what she wanted to do, even if it wasn’t always popular for royal women.
Disney World fun
Even though they were royal, Princess Diana was so dedicated to giving her sons the most normal life possible, and part of that normal upbringing included trips to theme parks — like Disney World. She even rode the rides with them, because she wasn’t about to let them have all the fun by themselves!
Trips to McDonald's
Former royal chef Darren McGrady revealed that Diana used to take her sons to McDonald’s for some kid-friendly fast food. “I remember the princess came into the kitchen one day and said, ‘Cancel lunch for the boys, I’m taking them out, we’re going to McDonald’s,'” McGrady said. “And I said, ‘Oh my God — your Royal Highness, I can do that, I can do burgers.’ And she said, ‘No, it’s the toy they want.'”
Sneaking into the movies
Princess Diana would also sometimes sneak her sons out of the palace and into a local movie theater so they could experience a film the way everyone else got to. According to the International Business Times, Harry later called those outings some of his favorite memories. “Sneaking us into the cinema, or driving through the country with the roof down on her old-school BMW listening to Enya … all of that was her being a mum,” he said.
Encouraging fun
IBT also reported that Prince Harry revealed his mom’s very fun motto, which was “you can be as naughty as you want, just don’t get caught.” How cool would that be for a kid to hear? Over the years, Harry did get caught being naughty sometimes, but now we’re just wondering how many times he didn’t get caught.
