When Tony Blair referred to Diana as “the people’s princess” in a tribute following the news of her death in August 1997, he captured the mood of a nation in mourning.
Famed for her personable take on royal life, impeccable sense of style, and hands-on approach to raising her boys, Prince William and Prince Harry, Princess Diana was much loved by the British public.
When it came to parenting, Diana regularly broke from tradition. The princess chose to take William with her on her first overseas tour in 1983 when he was nine months old, despite the Queen leaving a young Prince Charles in the care of nannies when she went on royal visits. William and Harry also did not have any homeschooling as many royals before them had.
Diana’s love for her children has been well documented, with one royal expert recently telling The Independent that Diana would have been a “hands-on grandmother” to Harry’s daughter, Lilibet, because she always wanted a baby girl of her own.
“Diana herself wanted a baby girl, and she was always drawn to the daughters of her friends,” Ian Lloyd, royal photographer and author of The Duke said.
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On 1 July, to mark what would have been their mother’s 60th birthday, Harry and William will unveil a new statue in Kensington Palace’s gardens, to honour her “positive impact”.
Here, we took a look back at some of the best photographs capturing Diana as a mother.
The births of Prince William and Prince Harry
Prince William was born at St. Mary’s Hospital in London on 21 June, 1982. Following his birth, Diana posed for pictures outside the Lindo Wing wearing a flowing blue and white polka dot dress.
The Duchess of Cambridge paid homage to her husband’s late mother Diana after the birth of Prince George in 2013 when she sported a similar dress.
Two years later, Diana gave birth to Prince Harry in September 1984. Leaving St. Mary’s Hospital carrying Harry in a blanket, the Princess of Wales wore a red suit, with a white blouse and matching tie.
Taking the boys to school, and taking part in sports days
Prince William became the first royal to not have any homeschooled education, with his father, Prince Charles, being homeschooled by a governess until the age of eight. Both Harry and William attended the Wetherby School in Notting Hill from the age of five.
Diana was pictured taking part in races at her sons’ sports days on a number of occasions. Here, she’s seen running towards the finish line ahead of other mothers at William’s sports day in 1989.
Taking the boys with her when she travelled
Under the royal protocol, two heirs to the throne would never travel together in the same airplane to protect the line of succession in case of a tragedy.
Breaking from tradition, Diana chose to take William with her and Charles on their tour of Australia and New Zealand in 1983, when he was just nine months old.
Again, in April 1985, Prince Charles and Princess Diana took both sons on a 17-day tour of Italy, when Harry was seven months old. Here they are pictured aboard the royal yacht Britannia.
Diana also took Prince Harry on a trip to Scotland in March 1985, six months after he was born.
Doing regular fun activities with the boys
During an interview with Oprah Winfrey in March, Prince Harry revealed that one of the things he values most about his life in Santa Barbara is going on bicycle rides with his son, Archie.
In these photographs from a family holiday in the Scilly Isles in 1989, young Harry and William are pictured riding their bikes in front of their parents.
Aside from taking the boys along to formal engagements, Diana also made the boys did plenty of “normal” activities outside of their royal appearances. Here, they are seen leaving a cinema in Kensington having just watched Disney’s Jungle Book.
They also visited Thorpe Park, with a number of photographs from a trip in 1993 showing Diana laughing while aboard some of the rides.
In a 2017 ITV documentary, Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy, Prince Harry described Diana as a “total kid through and through”.
“When everybody says to me ‘so she was fun, give us an example’, all I can hear is her laugh in my head,” he said.
Diana on holiday with the boys
Both William and Harry have spoken about their mother’s love of fun, with Harry saying that her motto was “You can be as naughty as you want, just don’t get caught”.
Her fun-loving spirit is evident in photographs from family holidays, whether she’s riding a boat with Harry or allowing both of her sons to bury her in the sand.
Always the doting mother
Diana was often photographed taking the boys on royal engagements with her. Here, she watches the International Horse Show at Olympia in London while William touches his mother’s face.
Also in Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy, Harry recalled his mother’s hugs, saying “she would just engulf you and squeeze you as tight as possible”.
“Even talking about it now, I can feel the hugs that she used to give us,” he said. During a royal visit to Canada in 1991, Diana was seen running towards the boys after they had to fly to Toronto separately due to security concerns.
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