Sadly, Princess Diana died long before her son, Prince William, got married or had children, but the royal kids have kept their grandmother's memory alive in so many ways — and the Duke of Cambridge has made sure to pass on Princess Diana's legacy as well. According to People magazine, William has said that he goes out of his way to keep the idea of Diana — whom Will refers to as "Granny Diana" — present in his home.
"We've got more photos up around the house now of her, and we talk about her a bit and stuff," he said. "So, I do [when] regularly putting George or Charlotte to bed, talk about her and just try and remind them that there are two grandmothers, there were two grandmothers in their lives, and so it’s important that they know who she was and that she existed."
Prince William has mentioned in the past that becoming a father brought up some of the pain of his mother's death. Diana died in a car crash when Will was just 15 years old. "Having children is the biggest life-changing moment. It really is," he said, according to the Today show. "When you've been through something traumatic in life, that is, your dad not being around, my mother dying when I was younger, your emotions come back in leaps and bounds because it's a very different phase of life, and there's no one there to kind of help you."
But the prince has also been vocal about how much his mother meant to him, and he is definitely channeling some of her parenting techniques with his own kids — and how fun that the Cambridge kids have all honored Diana in their own ways to keep her memory alive for William.
Here are 15 times that Charlotte, George, and Louis favored Diana.
Charlotte's Namesake
Princess Charlotte's full name is Charlotte Elizabeth Diana, with her two middle names honoring Queen Elizabeth, and William's mother, Diana. From birth, Charlotte was connected to her grandma, even if Diana was not there to see her grow up. Princess Diana will always be a fixture of Charlotte's life by virtue of being her namesake.
Twinning Photo
Diana isn't just Charlotte's namesake, she's also basically her twin. A recent photo that the Duchess of Cambridge posted of the family showed Charlotte making a sassy, closed-mouth smile. It's a look that Diana was known for, and as everyone can see, they're practically identical in these photos. Princess Diana is 10 in this picture, and she shares such a similarity with her 5-year-old granddaughter.
Charlotte's Twinning School Pics
The mischievous smile photo isn't the first time that Charlotte and Diana have looked similar. When Princess Charlotte's first day of school pictures were released a couple of years ago, fans were quick to point out that she looked a lot like young Diana, from her face to her hair. Princess Di really gets to live on through Charlotte in this way.
... And at Prince Louis' Christening
Charlotte really is just the spitting image of Diana, huh? Here's Charlotte pictured on Prince Louis' christening day in 2018, alongside an old photo of her grandmother as a child. Princess Di's gorgeous looks live on in Charlotte. It must be nice for Prince William that his daughter is such a sweet reminder of his mother.
Prince George Can Also Be Diana's Doppelgänger
Charlotte isn't the only one who looks like Princess Diana. Many fans think that George's toothy smile is reminiscent of his grandmother's own beaming grin. Because George is a boy, he doesn't get compared to Diana as much as Charlotte does, but he definitely has some traits of hers — physically and personality-wise.
Prince George Took Up Dancing
Someone who has drawn a comparison between Diana and George is Prince William. As many fans know, George has taken some dance classes, and William commented on how it's something his mom loved as well. "George is doing dancing as well, he loves it. And it's kind of… my mother always used to dance, she loved dancing. And if it's something you love, you do what you love. Don't let anyone else tell you otherwise. Keep at it," William said.
Aww.
Charlotte's an Avid Dancer as Well
The dancing gene runs strong in the Cambridge family. Prince William and Kate Middleton shared Charlotte also loves to dance. William added that his family had been going through Diana's music collection and found "some quite eclectic stuff." We hope that the family is having some fun dance parties to Diana's music while in isolation together.
The Kids All Have a Regular Childhood
Part of Diana's legacy is that she helped bring a sense of normalcy to the royal family. She raised William and Harry to enjoy things — like McDonald's and Disney World — like any other young kid. So when William had kids of his own, he brought that parenting style with him. And since Kate was a commoner, she was also keen to give her kids a regular childhood. So every time Charlotte or George or Louis gets to be a regular kid, they can thank Diana for that.
George's Sense of Humor
According to the People magazine article, Princess Diana's good friend, Julia Samuel, thinks Diana would have just adored Prince George. "He's funny and feisty and cheeky and God [Diana] would have loved him so much," Julia said. Diana was known for her own cheeky sense of humor, so it wouldn't be a stretch to say she'd have loved that side of George.
Charlotte's Sense of Mischief
Charlotte has a bit of a cheeky side to her as well, like when she sticks her tongue out at photographers. It's something that Prince Harry used to do as well, and like Princess Diana, Charlotte's mother, Kate, couldn't help but laugh at her daughter's silly side. So much of royal life is about protocol and manners, but we love seeing the royal kids show off their fun personalities.
Loving Noise
People also reported that Diana's friend, Julia, likes to carry on a tradition of Diana's with the Cambridge kids. "I do to George what [Diana] did to us, which is give impossible toys that are really noisy," her friend said. "William then has to spend days putting [them] together. And then … it makes awful tooting noises and lights flashing and all of that. That makes me laugh, and it makes George laugh."
We bet it would make Diana laugh, too.
Bath Time Shenanigans
Prince William has said in the past that when George was little, he made bath time "quite painful." He apparently has that in common with his grandma. That same People article reported that William once joked of Diana, "She'd be a nightmare grandmother, absolute nightmare," and added, "She'd love the children to bits, but … she'd come in probably at bath time, cause an amazing amount of scene, bubbles everywhere, bathwater all over the place and — and then leave."
Like grandma, like grandson.
Prince George Has His Grandma's Patience
Another trait of George's that he seems to have inherited from Princess Diana is her patience — or lack thereof. According to Marie Claire, George has a habit of finding and opening his Christmas presents early.
It turns out, that's something both William and Diana are guilty of as well. As Diana said back in 1985, "I could not resist opening my present, as a parcel of any shape or form has never been safe with me and I fear that William has also picked up this dreadful habit from his mother, as I find wrapping paper undone in the most extraordinary places!"
Impatience runs in the fam!
Prince Louis' Library
Prince Louis is only 2, so he doesn't have a ton of connections to Princess Diana, yet, but he does have one. Prince Harry gifted his nephew a $10,000 copy of the book Winnie-the-Pooh, which is something Harry and William used to read with Diana.
"One of Harry’s happiest childhood memories was being read a bedtime story by his mother. She loved all the old classics and Harry had the brilliant idea of starting a little library of first editions for Louis, Charlotte, and George to enjoy as they get older," an unnamed friend of Harry's revealed.
So cute.
George & Charlotte's Charity Work
Kate snapped this photo of William heading out with Charlotte and George for some recent charity work. In April 2020, the children helped deliver packages of food to people self-isolating. They're learning early on how to be working royals, but also how to be empathetic and give back — which were some of Diana's strongest attributes. She'd be so proud of how her grandkids are following in her charitable footsteps.
