Princess Diana ‘would have insisted William and Harry set their feud aside to present award in her name’, royal expert claims – as pair set to appear at memorial event, but not together

Princess Diana would have insisted William and Harry set their feud aside to present award in her name, a royal expert has claimed as pair set to appear at memorial event, but not together.

The brothers will make a rare joint appearance at the Diana Legacy Award event at the Science Museum in London tonight, but neither will be in the room at the same time, even virtually.

William is expected to give a speech in person to mark the charity’s 25th anniversary and present awards to 20 recipients. The Prince of Wales will appear at the awards event alone as his wife Kate is still recovering from abdominal surgery. 

Harry, who lives in California, will then join a video call with the winners, according to reports. However, his involvement will only take place after his brother has left the ceremony. 

But Ingrid Seward, the royal biographer and editor-in-chief of Majesty Magazine says that the pair’s mother – who the evening is in tribute to – would have forced the warring brothers to reunite to celebrate the prize’s winners.

‘And if she failed, I think she would have insisted that they came together however briefly by speaking over the video link in order to celebrate the winners of the prize organised in her name,’ she told the Mirror.

Princess Diana, pictured with Prince William and Prince Harry on holiday in Majorca, Spain on August 10, 1987

Ingrid Seward, the royal biographer and editor-in-chief of Majesty Magazine (pictured) says that the pair’s mother – who the evening is in tribute to – would have forced the warring brothers to reunite to celebrate the prize’s winners

‘She would understand that once again it will be the animosity between the brothers that grabs the media’s attention rather than the celebrated young winners. Some day Wills and Harry are going to have to confront one another. What a perfect opportunity this would have been to speak about their mother secure in the knowledge that they were 5,000 miles apart.’

The brothers’ reluctance to acknowledge each other’s presence at the event lays bare the depth of their feud as before their falling out they often appeared together in person to pose with the award winners. 

The Diana Award is a charity set up to reflect the Princess of Wales’ belief that young people have the power to change the world. 

Ms Seward added that their refusal to honour this confirms the depth of their continuing rift – but said them reuniting would have taken the focus away from the event.

She continued: ‘It is carefully timed so they don’t have the embarrassment of even having to acknowledge each other. Yet they are both honouring the award and their mother’s continuing legacy. The timing confirms their continued animosity. William has no wish to confront his brother on a video screen. It would take the attention away from the point of the evening. It probably will anyway such is the interest in their continuing rift.’

The charity runs anti-bullying and mentoring programmes and recognises young people’s inspirational work.

Dr Tessy Ojo, chief executive of the Diana Award, told The Times: ‘It’s a privilege to have the support of both the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Sussex — particularly as we mark our 25th anniversary year.’

While a spokesman for the award told The Telegraph that Harry will be a ‘key part’ of the celebration. 

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry attend the Diana Award’s at St James’ Palace on May 18, 2017

Earl Spencer, Prince William, Prince Harry and Prince Charles follow the coffin to the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales

‘He is scheduled to speak with the award recipients, virtually, on the evening of the awards to celebrate their accomplishments,’ he said.

A Kensington Palace spokesman said: ‘The Prince [of Wales] will meet key staff and supporters of the Diana Award, before joining the ceremony where he will hear about the recipients’ work, make a short speech and present Legacy Awards to this year’s winners.’ 

The legacy award was introduced by The Diana Award in 2017 to celebrate the life of Diana, Princess of Wales, on the 20th anniversary of her death. 

For most of their lives, the royal brothers have been close, united by the shared trauma of losing their mother who died aged 36 in a 1997 Paris car crash when William was 15 and Harry was 12. 

But since Harry’s 2018 wedding to his wife Meghan Markle, relations between them have soured. 

An explosive interview that the couple gave chat show host Oprah Winfrey in March 2021 marked a new low, while anecdotes about their relationship in  Harry’s bombshell memoir, Spare, which was released last year, also saw them grow further apart.