Royalist Richard Kay has popped his head out to talk about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, and of course, Princess Diana. Kay actually knew Diana and he was, for a brief moment, one of Diana’s go-to royal reporters. In recent years, Kay has gotten a lot of suspiciously lopsided briefings from Prince William’s inner circle AND Charles and Camilla’s inner circle. I braced myself for yet another royalist declaring that Princess Diana “would have wanted” Harry to stay in the institution and that Diana would be so disappointed in Harry alone. That isn’t what Kay said to the Mail, curiously enough. Here are some highlights from his interview with the Mail’s Palace Confidential:

Kay on Diana’s legacy and her sons: Kay, who was a very good friend of Princess Diana and would speak with her up to six times a day, said Harry and William have been fighting over her ‘legacy’. He told Palace Confidential: ‘[They’ve] been tussling over Diana’s legacy, they’ve been pulling apart Diana’s legacy, [and picking] which part suits them best. I think it’s a great tragedy. What I knew about Diana was, first and above all, was her love for her sons, that was clear to the whole world, she loved those boys. I think she would’ve been broken-hearted. The big question is, would it have still happened had Diana still been with us? My own view is that it probably wouldn’t have because she would’ve remained the pivotal figure in both their lives and prevented the fallout from happening.’

Diana would have been proud of William & Kate? Meanwhile, Kay said he believed Princess Diana – who died in a car crash in Paris in 1997 – would have been ‘proud’ of William and Kate for stepping into their places as Prince and Princess of Wales. ‘I think she would’ve been proud of William and Catherine and what a stylish edition they’ve made and how they’ve seamlessly stepped into hers and Charles’ shoes with a young family,’ he added.

Diana would have been jealous of Harry: But the royal expert also said that Diana would have been ‘hugely jealous’ of the fact that Prince Harry was able to ‘break away’ from The Firm. ‘You’ve got to remember, Diana was a radical, she was very unhappy, she was trapped within the royal system, she did try and break away, she couldn’t quite before her death. I think she would’ve been fiercely proud of the fact that Harry has chosen a life outside of the royal circle.’

[From The Daily Mail]

I always hate these “what would have happened if Diana had lived” thought exercises. The answer is always: everything would have been different. Her sons would be fundamentally different people. Charles and Camilla’s relationship would be fundamentally different, and I’m not sure they would even be married. I’ve always thought that Diana would have seen through the Middletons right away. She probably also would have moved out of the UK once Harry turned 18 as well. One thing is for sure, Diana wouldn’t appreciate her memory being used for royalist fan-fiction to prop up the institution.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.