Princess Diana Was Reportedly Preparing Prince Harry to Be King — Because She Believed William Didn’t Want the Top Job

In the final years of her life, according to accounts shared with People in 2025 by those who knew her well, Princess Diana was quietly adjusting her thinking about which of her sons was more suited to the crown — and her answer was the younger one.

Diana’s close friend described a Diana who had formed the view, by the mid-1990s, that William was too shy, too private, and too burdened by expectation to truly want the throne. Harry, by contrast, was outgoing, direct, and possessed of what Diana apparently described as a quality of natural authority that she found compelling.

She began, the source said, to prepare Harry in subtle ways — giving him experiences and encouragement she believed the role would require.

Whether this account reflects Diana’s actual thinking or a retrospective construction is impossible to verify. What is clear is that neither son inherited the monarchy according to her expectations. William remained the heir and has built, decade by decade, the preparation his role requires. Harry left the institution entirely.

The friend noted something else: Diana died without having seen what either of her sons became. She was thirty-six. William was fifteen, Harry twelve. She was working from a snapshot of two adolescent boys.

She thought Harry would be better at being King. He has never been King. He probably never will be. William will be King and has been preparing for it his entire life.