Princes William and Harry speak about Princess Diana in the upcoming ITV documentary Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy
Twenty years after Diana's death the sons she produced may be the monarchy's best hope of survival. She'd be bursting with pride, writes Piers Morgan.
The first time I met Princess Diana, at a charity event in London when I was editor of the Daily Mirror newspaper, she marched over to me and declared: "Ah, the man who thinks he knows me so well!"
I suggested she take this golden opportunity to enlighten me on what I should know, and she burst out laughing. "I don't have the time, or the inclination, come to that." She then glided on, working the room, melting everyone in her wake with her dazzling beauty and charm.
Diana was one of the most fascinating, complex, passionate, sexy, scheming and unpredictable women I have ever met.
The Princess of Wales with Princes Harry and William on a trip to Thorpe Park in 1993. Photo / Getty Images
Last week the documentary Diana: Our Mother aired around the world, containing extraordinarily candid interviews with her two sons, Princes William and Harry.
Amid all the obvious continued heartache following her tragic death in a car crash 20 years ago next month, there was also a reminder of the fantastically funny and entertaining creature she was, too.
"One of her mottos to me," said Harry, "was you can be as naughty as you want, just don't get caught. She was one of the naughtiest parents."
You can say that again.
Two months after that first encounter, Diana invited me to have a long lunch with her at Kensington Palace.
By that time, May 1996, she was the biggest star in the world. Perhaps the biggest star the world has ever known, the greatest celebrity of a celebrity age. A woman who sent even the likes of Michael Jackson giddy with excitement.
So I found myself feeling unusually nervous as I arrived, and even more so when she asked: "Would you mind awfully if William joins us?"
What followed remains one of the most surreal experiences of my life.
'She was also utterly fabulous.'
Diana was staggeringly open with me, about Charles, the Queen, and the many varied men in her life.
It was clear she found her ridiculous global fame exciting and terrifying.
"I sometimes dream of emigrating," she said at one stage, "but to where? Somebody would find me wherever I went."
That was true.
As her brother, Charles, said at her funeral: "Diana, a girl given the name of the ancient goddess of hunting, was the most hunted person of the modern age."
Yet part of her loved the hunt and the thrill of the chase - even with the paparazzi.
That streak of naughtiness she encouraged in her sons was evident during the lunch when William, just 13, asked at one stage: "Can I have some wine, Mummy?"
"No, William, whatever are you thinking?" she replied, with an indignant face of faux horror.
"But Mummy, I drink it all the time," he retorted.
"Yes I do, and yes I can," he chuckled, with a grin.
All grown up. Prince William with his own family last month: Charlotte, Catherine and George. Photo / AP
Two months after that lunch I bumped into Diana again at London's Royal Brompton heart hospital where she was meeting patients. I watched her interact with the sick kids, walking from bed to bed, hugging and cuddling them in a way that made them cuddle her back.
Heart surgeon Professor Magdi Yacoub was watching with me. "Look at Diana," he said.
"She's like a living saint, isn't she?"
In many ways, she was. Diana had an absolute heart of gold, no question.
Her butler, Paul Burrell, told me how she'd often escape the Palace in disguise late at night to go and hang out with homeless people sleeping rough on the streets of West London.
But she was also very complicated and occasionally downright duplicitous.
I spoke to Diana quite frequently in that final year of her life, so witnessed at first hand how manipulative she could be.
A month before she died, Charles threw a 50th birthday party for Camilla Parker-Bowles.
At the time, Diana was holidaying in the South of France with billionaire Egyptian tycoon Mohamed al-Fayed.
He rang me early on the morning of the party to suggest it would be a good idea if our photographers were near the beach outside his villa. I could hear Diana in the background, instructing him what to tell me.
At 9.30am, she appeared on the beach in a leopard-skin swimsuit and posed, preened and performed cartwheels for the next half hour. She knew these photos would knock Charles and Camilla's big night off the front pages, and they did.
Al-Fayed rang next day to thank me. "Diana is so happy!" he said. "She says a big thank you."
A few days later, news broke of her romance with Mohamed's son Dodi, one that was to end with them both dying in Paris, pursued by paparazzi.
Many worried the royals wouldn't survive her death. But they have, and aside from the wondrously consistent and calming majesty of the Queen, that is mainly down to her sons.
Diana single-handedly dragged a stuffy institution kicking and screaming into the modern touchy-feely world.
William and Harry are now ensuring her legacy is protected, remembered and nurtured, and the monarchy isn't allowed to slide away into overly formal irrelevance.
The way they have recently taken to pouring their hearts out about everything from mental health to the death of their mother may not be everyone's cup of tea. I'll readily admit it's not mine.
But it perfectly resonates with most of the social media-driven youth of today, who find the princes relatable and, crucially, relevant.
Diana, I'm sure, would be bursting with pride at the way William and Harry have turned out, albeit while quietly urging them to carry on being as naughty as hell.
