Prince William has always loved his mother. From a very young age, he and Diana had an incredibly close relationship. So it's no wonder that he has always been protective of her, even after her untimely death. Diana had a challenging life. Constantly being in the public eye never suited her, and the affair that ultimately ended her marriage took a heavy toll. But William was always there. From tensions with his father to promises of restored royalty, William always found ways to protect his mother's name. But there were even more interesting ways that the Duke of Cambridge has kept his mother's spirit alive. Now, a source reveals how a young Prince William supported Princess Diana in a surprising way.
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00:00How did a young Prince William use darts to show his support for his mom, Princess Diana?
00:05And how is he still honoring her legacy today? Keep watching for the details.
00:09It comes as no surprise to learn that William has always been fiercely loyal to his mother.
00:14After Diana's divorce from Prince Charles, she was forced to give up her title of her
00:18Royal Highness, which meant that people no longer had to bow to her,
00:21and she had to curtsy in front of other members of the royal family.
00:24This reportedly devastated Diana, and a 14-year-old William made a
00:28heartfelt promise to her. Express quoted him as saying,
00:32"'Don't worry, mummy, I will give it back to you one day when I am king.'"
00:36Diana was also hounded by the British press,
00:38which reportedly led William to give his mother some heartbreaking advice before her death.
00:43He said at the time that it might be a good idea for Diana to move out of the UK
00:47so she could live her life in peace. When William's father Charles married Camilla
00:51Parker Bowles, William wasn't exactly welcoming to his new stepmother,
00:55with whom Charles had carried on an affair while still married to Diana.
00:58A source told the Daily Mail,
01:00"[William didn't have the best relationship with his father back then,
01:03but he sees that Camilla had made his father happy and it is something he has come to terms with."
01:08Apparently, though, Camilla wasn't the only romantic rival of Diana's that William disliked.
01:13In the mid-1990s, reports surfaced that Diana was romantically involved with Will Carling,
01:18an English rugby player married to Julia Carling, a broadcaster.
01:22The Carlings divorced in 1996, and Julia publicly blamed Diana for the split.
01:27According to Newsweek, Julia told a reporter at the time,
01:30"[This has happened to Diana before. You hope she will do these things again,
01:34but obviously she does.]
01:36Apparently, William didn't appreciate anyone speaking ill of his mother. The prince joined
01:40Diana and Piers Morgan for lunch one day following the Carlings' divorce, and reportedly told Morgan,
01:45"[I keep a photo of Julia Carling on my dartboard at Eton.]
01:49The Duke of Cambridge now has the same protectiveness for his wife, Kate Middleton.
01:53According to Express, William invoked an EU law to shield his wife from the paparazzi.
01:58In her book, Kate, The Future Queen, Katie Nicholl wrote,
02:01"[William had seen firsthand how his mother had been harassed by the paparazzi,
02:05and was determined that Kate not be subjected to the same treatment.]
02:08Prince William is still finding ways to honor Princess Diana. The prince has made sure that
02:13Granny Diana is still a big part of his children's lives. In the 2017 documentary,
02:18Diana, Our Mother, Her Life and Legacy, William explained how he keeps her memory alive so that
02:23George, Charlotte, and Louis feel close to her. He said,
02:27"[We've got more photos up around the house now of her, and we talk about her a bit.]
02:31He added,
02:32"[I do regularly, putting George and Charlotte to bed,
02:35talk about her and just try and remind them that there are two grandmothers,
02:38there were two grandmothers, in their lives. So it's important that they know who she was,
02:43and that she existed.]
02:44William and Kate have also taken a cue from Diana's parenting style. It was important to
02:49Diana to always send thank-you notes after attending a dinner party or receiving a gift,
02:54and she taught the same etiquette rule to William and his brother Harry.
02:57Now, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are passing down those same lessons.
03:01A source told MyLondon,
03:02"[William and Kate have developed this brilliant knack of letting as much as they can seem
03:07spontaneous, and that's how the children see it. Table manners, thank-you letters,
03:11little courtesies are being drilled into the children so they become automatic."
03:15Princess Diana was known as the People's Princess,
03:17and her eldest son has aspirations of becoming the People's King. A source told Us Weekly that
03:22he's hoping to balance being respected as a decision-maker while also staying relatable
03:27to the public. Like Diana, William advocates for a variety of charities and is the patron
03:32for many of the organizations the princess once served, including The Passage,
03:36a homelessness prevention charity. The Duke of Cambridge spoke at the charity's 40th
03:40anniversary awards ceremony about how his mother introduced him to it. Express quotes him as saying,
03:46"[Over the many years that I have visited The Passage,
03:48first with my mother when I was just a small boy, I have developed a great affection for
03:52everyone who is here. Every time I come here I am touched by your warmth and friendliness,
03:57and the dignity and respect you show to every single person who comes through your door."
04:02It's clear Diana's memory will surely guide William when he becomes the head
04:05of the British royal family.