Diana’s letters reveal William’s feelings for Harry as a child

Princess Diana sent her parents’ housekeeper, Violet Collison, several letters, in which it was revealed that William loved Harry very much and often hugged and kissed his brother as a child.

One of Princess Diana’s letters to Collie. Photo: PA

Violet Collison (affectionately called Collie by the late princess) was the chief butler for Earl John Spencer and Frances Roche at Park House, where Diana spent her childhood years. The letters and handwritten cards between Diana and Collie will be auctioned next week, revealing a lot of information about William and Harry’s relationship as a child.

In a letter, estimated to be worth £1,200, written at Kensington Palace on September 25, 1984, Diana thanked Mrs. Collie for giving the bibs to Harry. Afterwards, the late Princess said, “William admired his brother, spending all his time giving Harry countless hugs and kisses.” Diana even joked that the performance was “amazing to witness”, but on the condition that she was allowed to get close because William was always clinging to her brother.

Diana with William and Harry in 1988. Photo: Terry Fincher

The description of the two princes’ mother of the level of closeness between them in the past is far different from what Harry wrote in his memoirs Spare. Harry calling the brother a mortal enemy, saying that the two brothers are always “competitive” and often fight.

British media believe that the cause of the growing rift between William and Harry, because the Prince of Wales advised his younger brother to take his time in love with Meghan in 2017. The two reportedly did not speak to each other for weeks after Harry’s wedding to Meghan.

The decision to give up the senior membership to work for the royal family of the Sussexes in early 2020 made William and King Charles III very heartbreaking. Appearing in the documentary Harry & Meghan: A Journey to Africa in late 2019, the Duke of Sussex admitted he and his brother were “on different paths”. A source also told People magazine at the time that the cousinship had “changed forever” and “will never go back to the way it used to be”. “Harry is just looking forward to his future with his little family,” the source added.