It’s no secret that Princess Diana was fiercely protective of her family. She loved her sons Prince William, born in 1982, and Prince Harry, born in 1984, who she shared with King Charles III (then Prince Charles), before her untimely death in 1997. That is obvious by the way she looked at them — and she always had the biggest smile on her face in pictures with her kids. That’s why it doesn’t come as a shock that the thing that bothered her the most about tabloid papers was when they came for her kids.
One of Princess Diana’s former hairdressers Richard Dalton, revealed that he used to “smuggle” these gossip sheets into the palace for her to read, as “she wasn’t allowed to see the tabloid newspapers.” He told PEOPLE, “She used to say, ‘Richard, can you bring them in for me?’ Nobody questioned it because nobody knew. Once I’d got through security and into the pantry, it was all plain sailing from there.”
Related story
How Meghan Markle Played a Quiet Yet Powerful Role in Prince Harry’s Reunion With King Charles
As she read the papers, Dalton revealed that she would get “annoyed” by one recurring story in particular. “I’d be doing her hair, she’d be flipping through the pages [of a tabloid], and she’d go, ‘Ugh,’” Dalton recalled, imitating a groan. Then, Diana would “throw it to the side.” Dalton continued, “Then another one comes along and then [she’d go], ‘Ohhhhhh,’” he added with a sigh.
The ones that frustrated her the most are the ones that called into question Prince Harry’s parentage.
Princess Diana, Prince Harry, and Prince William
Julian Parker/UK Press via Getty Images
“They always [went] on about, ‘Is Charles the father of Harry?’” Dalton said. “Of course he is.” This is in part due to the prince’s striking red hair that so resembled that of Major James Hewitt, with whom Diana was known to have an affair.
“Diana’s brother, Charles Spencer, when I used to cut his hair, his hair was bright red,” Dalton recalled. “Lady Sarah, also red,” he told PEOPLE of Diana’s oldest sister. “The Spencers definitely had red hair. But at that time, I wasn’t in a position to actually say, ‘Hello, Charles Spencer’s hair was red.’”
Princess Diana herself once talked about defending Prince Harry’s red hair, even to her husband at the time. The late Princess of Wales’ former butler Paul Burrell recalled a conversation he had with Diana in his book earlier this month, which he shared with The Mirror.
“[Diana told me] Charles came into the hospital, looked in the cot and said ‘Oh, red hair’,” Burrell said. “Diana replied, ‘But, Charles, you know that’s the Spencer gene. We’ve all got red hair.’”
WINDSOR, UNITED KINGDOM – NOVEMBER 30: Accompanied by Diana, Princess of Wales, Prince William aged 5 and Prince Harry aged 3 wear police helmets as they sit on a police motorbike during a visit to a police station on November 30, 1987 in Windsor, England (Photo by Anwar Hussein/Getty Images)
Getty Images
“Then [according to Diana] came the damning blow,” Burrell continued. “He said, ‘Well at least I’ve got my heir and spare now and…. I can return to Camilla.’”
Yikes! In 2023, another author Andrew Morton released tapes from an interview with Diana. “At Harry’s christening, Charles went up to mummy and said: ‘We’re so disappointed, thought it would be a girl,’” the late princess recalled. “Mummy snapped his head off and said, ‘You should realize how lucky you are to have a child that’s normal.’”
This interaction certainly shows where Princess Diana got her spunk and protectiveness!
Before you go, check out these precious photos that show Princess Diana’s best motherhood moments.