William and Harry (35 page)

William in Melbourne, Australia © Scott Barbour / Stringer / Getty Images

Berry, Wendy,
The Housekeeper’s Diary: Charles and Diana Before the Break-up
(Barricade Books, New York, 1995)

Brandreth, Gyles,
Charles and Camilla: Portrait of a Love Affair
(Century, London, 2005)

Burrell, Paul,
Remembering Diana: The Way We Were
(Harper-Collins, London, 2007)

Hardman, Robert,
Majesty
(Ebury, London, 2007)

Hoey, Brian,
Prince William
(Sutton Publishing, Stroud, 2003)

Jobson, Robert,
Harry’s War: The True Story of the Soldier Prince
(John Blake, London, 2008)

Jobson, Robert,
William’s Princess
(John Blake, London, 2006)

Joseph, Claudia,
Kate Middleton – Princess in Waiting
(Mainstream, Edinburgh, 2009)

Morton, Andrew,
Diana: Her True Story
(Michael O’Mara, London, 1992)

Pasternak, Anna,
Princess in Love
(Bloomsbury, London, 1994)

Saunders, Mark,
Prince Harry: The Biography
(John Blake, London, 2002)

Seward, Ingrid,
William and Harry
(Headline, London, 2003)

Simmons, Simone with Seward, Ingrid,
Diana: The Last Word
(Orion, London, 2005)

Wharfe, Ken with Jobson, Robert,
Diana: Closely Guarded Secret
(Michael O’Mara, London, 2002)

The Princess of Wales smiles at Prince Charles as he walks down the steps of St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington cradling their firstborn. Prince William Arthur Philip Louis of Wales was born at 9.03 p.m. on 21 June 1982. Not yet a day old, the future king was facing his first press conference.

Harry was considered the quieter of the royal brothers, but the three-year-old prince soon found his feet at Mrs Mynors’ nursery school in Kensington where he was a fan of the dressing-up cupboard, something that would land him in hot water later in life.

William and Harry loved playing in the Royal Flight helicopter. Harry, seated on the pilot’s lap, takes the controls while William looks out of the window.

Diana made a point of keeping her diary free so she could take William and Harry to school every morning. After Mrs Mynors’ nursery the princes were enrolled at Wetherby Prep School in Notting Hill Gate, a stone’s throw from Kensington Palace.

It was not just Diana who competed in parents’ day races. To William and Harry’s delight
Charles stripped off to a shirt and tie to run the the Wetherby School Sports Day Dads’ Race in June 1989. In the background his protection officers keep a close eye.

Diana embraces William and Harry aboard the
Britannia
in Toronto, October 1991. This was one of the family’s final holidays before the prince and princess were separated the following December.

William arrives for his first day at Eton in Windsor on 6 September 1995. Hundreds of press gathered outside the gates of Manor House, amid mounting speculation about the breakdown of the Wales’ marriage.

Diana in the south of France in July 1997 on her last holiday with her sons. They were guests of Mohamed Al Fayed and his children Dodi, Camilla, Jasmine and Omar. Aboard the yacht
Jonikal
the press interest was so relentless that William complained he wanted to go home.

Charles, William, Harry and Widgeon, William’s pet Labrador, take a walk by the River Dee in August 1997. Two weeks later Diana was killed in Paris and the boys stayed at Balmoral where they could grieve privately.

William and Harry read tributes to their mother at the gates of Balmoral. Harry, clasping his father’s hand, broke down in tears at one point as the Queen, dressed in black, watched on.