The Harry U-turn that risks a permanent fracture with William ...Middle East

The Duke of Sussex’s proposed television documentary marking the 30th anniversary of Diana, Princess of Wales’s death threatens the uneasy truce with his brother, the Prince of Wales.

For all their differences, princes Harry and William have never sought to be rival keepers of her flame.

Behind the scenes, long after their relationship disintegrated, William was always at pains to condemn any attempt to pit them against each other when it came to which brother carried the torch.

In their early twenties when just beginning to undertake public engagements without their father, Diana was a taboo subject with journalists. “Talk to them about anything, but please don’t ask them about their mother,” aides used to say.

Later, it was girlfriends they refused to discuss – and they became more relaxed about expressing their feelings about Diana both in public and in private.

Her death and the fallout from it have shaped the modern monarchy and its relationship with the public and press. But the memory of what led up to it – a bitter marital breakdown, Charles’s affair with Camilla, briefing wars between rival camps, divorce, stripping Diana of her HRH style, and two boys emotionally battered by a broken home – have also left the institution with a difficult legacy.

In July 2004, Queen Elizabeth II made a very public attempt to heal divisions with the Spencer family, opening the Diana Memorial Fountain in Hyde Park, London. She welcomed the Spencers in a speech and paid tribute to Diana. “Of course there were difficult times, but memories mellow with the passing of the years. I remember especially the happiness she gave to my two grandsons,” she said.

Speaking privately afterwards to Diana’s brother, Earl Spencer, she appeared anxious to appease the man who had so publicly shamed the Windsors in his eulogy at Diana’s funeral. “I hope you’re satisfied with that,” she said.

With their father now remarried to Camilla, William and Harry marked the 10th anniversary of their mother’s death with a benefit concert at Wembley Stadium. “Hopefully, that will draw a line under it,” a senior aide to Queen Elizabeth said to me at the time.

There were further attempts to relegate Diana to the history books the following year, after the inquest into her death with her lover Dodi Fayed in a Paris car crash dismissed conspiracy theories that had been perpetuated by his father Mohamed Al Fayed.

But William and Harry often referenced her in their work. In 2017 they marked the 20th anniversary of her death by taking part in two television documentaries that they hoped would be the definitive word from them on the subject. “We won’t be doing this again – we won’t speak as openly or publicly about her again,” William said.

Nine years later, various television documentaries are being planned to mark the 30th anniversary in August 2027 and one of them has been mooted by Harry.

It is an idea he has been kicking around for a while. The Daily Mail journalist Richard Kay, a key confidant of Diana, first revealed it earlier in the summer, but for weeks Harry’s camp insisted that, while he had been approached about taking part in various anniversary projects, there was no confirmed plan for him to make a documentary.

That remains the position formally, but a source close to Harry has now confirmed that it is under discussion, although he is still said to be considering the most meaningful way to honour her legacy.

The admission was triggered by Earl Spencer revealing in his new book, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, that part of his motivation for writing the memoir was that Harry, among others, had approached him about participating in a documentary, but he had decided he wanted to tell her story himself.

Spencer, 62, has appeared to rule himself out, but it is thought others who might be asked to take part would include her sisters, Lady Sarah McCorquodale and Lady Jane Fellowes, old friends such as Julia Samuel, Rosa Monckton, and Carolyn Bartholomew (Harry’s godmother), and celebrity friends such as Sir Elton John.

With nothing confirmed, however, some think it might work better for Harry to just film a solo tribute to his mother.

However he does it – if he does it – he runs the risk of undermining that pledge William made on behalf of both of them in 2017 to leave it that. The two brothers set aside their differences to unveil a statue of their mother at Kensington Palace on 1 July 2021 on what would have been her 60th birthday. They have also both taken part in events to support The Diana Award, the only charity set up her in her name, although they have done so separately since they stopped speaking.

Although sources close to William decline to discuss it, what would be likely to rile him the most would be if Harry were to make money out of a documentary project. His and Meghan’s Archewell Productions company is the most likely vehicle to make a documentary, and Netflix the obvious choice to screen it under the couple’s deal giving the streamer first option to buy their film and TV work.

One option might be to donate any Archewell profits from a documentary to The Diana Award or other charities associated with the late princess, but it is possible that nothing will secure his brother’s tacit support.

While various people – including Alastair Campbell and Diana’s biographer Andrew Morton – are said by Spencer to be planning anniversary documentaries, it is understood William currently has no plans to take part in any such programme.

His shared bond with Harry over their mother is perhaps their best chance to hold onto something that could eventually lead to reconciliation, but the 30th anniversary now also risks widening the rift.

It is unclear whether it might also damage the Sussexes’ attempt to improve their relationship with the King and Queen.

Harry, who in his memoir portrayed his stepmother Camilla as dangerous because of her alleged deals with the press, has, like William, always been forgiving of his father and the efforts he made to bring up the boys.

But while he sees Diana as quite simply someone who was killed by the press, William has been known to acknowledge that she manipulated the media and some of her fears were not rooted in fact.

William has not commented on his uncle’s book, but Spencer told People magazine that Harry was “fine” with it. However, royal sources suggested William was incandescent about extracts in which Earl Spencer portrayed the King as euphoric after Diana’s death and claims he said she would soon be forgotten.

As the heir to the throne, William is focused on supporting his father and the institution. He and Kate also have to worry that everything they do will now be seen through the lens of their competition from a small but rival Sussex court.

Some commentators have suggested they will need to raise their game amid criticism of their workload. “They could do more. If I were them, I’d be thinking about a few engagements with glamour,” the Canadian commentator Patricia Treble told The i Paper last month.

On Tuesday, accompanied by Tom Cruise and David Beckham, the Prince and Princess of Wales attended their first movie premiere in four years – the royal film performance of Digger at the Odeon Luxe in Leicester Square.

But royal sources insisted that was no reaction to the Sussexes’s sudden decision to move back to Britain in August. Planning for it had gone on for “several months”, they said.

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