Mother’s Day is coming up in the U.K. this weekend, and Princess Diana’s former butler Paul Burrell has fond memories of the holiday with the late Princess of Wales, including the gifts that her sons Prince William and Prince Harry gave her.

Speaking exclusively to InStyle, Burrell admits that “Mother’s Day isn’t one of those big celebrations the royals enjoy,” but says “William and Harry did it with their mother, and they would ensure they got something nice for her, as they did for her birthday and Christmas.” (As for the December 25 holiday, Burrell says he “was very involved in that,” adding that at Kensington Palace—Diana’s former home—“we had a huge room filled with wrapping paper, ribbon, every color you could think of,” he says, adding that he was in charge of wrapping the gifts.)

Prince William, Princess Diana, and Prince Harry.

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“William and Harry would call me from school and say, ‘We need to get a present for Mummy, we need to get her something nice, what should we get?’” Burrell says. “I would roll off a list of things they could get her.” He would then go shopping for William and Harry, he says, and wrap the gift up for them to give to their mother.

In addition to essences from Aromatherapy Associates in Knightsbridge—which Burrell calls “an easy gift for Diana”—Diana also “loved Diptyque candles,” he says. “They were throughout her rooms, and she loved nothing more than taking a long soak in the bath and having these candles all around her bath.”

Princess Diana.

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Like Diana, her daughter-in-law Meghan Markle is also a fan of Diptyque candles, in particular the brand’s Figuier, Baies, and Tubereuse scents. During a video filmed inside the Montecito home she shares with Harry and their kids Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet—recorded as a surprise “good luck” message for a finalist on America’s Got Talent in 2020—Diptyque candles can be spotted in the background among coffee table books and other home decor, and when Harry and Meghan married on May 19, 2018 at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, the chapel was scented with Diptyque. Not only did the couple scent their wedding venue with Diptyque candles—likely a way to make it feel as though Diana was there alongside them—but a selection of candles and room sprays “were also carefully chosen to scent the spaces where the Duke and Duchess prepared for their memorable day,” according to The Standard, which added that in addition to the candles, the smells of foxgloves, peonies, and birch permeated the space in floral arrangements done by Philippa Craddock.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on their wedding day.

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Diptyque’s global managing director Fabienne Mauny confirmed the inclusion of Diptyque on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s wedding day, saying the brand was “extremely proud to have been chosen to scent such an important moment” and that the company hoped “the fragrance contributed to such a memorable day.”

Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand’s 2020 book Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family confirmed that Harry and Meghan’s decision to use Diptyque’s aroma to add to their big day was even approved by the palace itself.

Tying the Diptyque connection between Diana and Harry and Meghan up with a bow, Diptyque was founded in 1961—the same year that Diana was born. The brand provided a “selection of spring-inspired floral fragrances to the couple prior to the day, the final scent being personally chosen by the pair,” according to The Standard. (For their part, Prince William and Kate Middleton scented Westminster Abbey with Jo Malone candles—likely Kate’s signature Orange Blossom scent—for their April 29, 2011 wedding day.)

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry on their wedding day at St. George’s Chapel.

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No doubt that every time Harry smells a Diptyque candle around the house, memories of his late mother flood back. While Meghan has revealed some curated fashion and beauty favorites on her new ShopMy page, there are still no home decor items like candles available to shop—but we’ll be waiting.

But back to Mother’s Day and William and Harry’s gifts for Diana: “They never forgot,” Burrell tells InStyle of gifts for her. “Their mother was paramount in their life. They always thought of her, always rang her, wrote to her, and vice versa.”

Paul Burrell.
Paul Burrell: Michael Crabtree/Reuters/Newscom

Princess Diana, Prince Harry, and Prince William in September 1995.

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For her part, Diana did the same, Burrell says, “filling their pockets with sweets secretly when she watched them play football or cricket. They’d come up to her and she’d fill their pockets with sweets—they weren’t allowed to do that, really. She would always arrive loaded with sweets and chocolate.”

And whether it was a candle or an essence or something else, William and Harry always returned the favor. “There was always a present ready for them to give her, and they always thought of their mother,” Burrell says.