Princess Diana made secret audio tapes for William and Harry's future wives just before she died

In recent years, Prince William and Prince Harry have spoken about the impact of losing their mother, the late Princess Diana, when they were just young boys.

Back in 2017, the Duke of Cambridge - who was 15 years old at the time of her tragic death - heartbreakingly opened up about how he felt he had let her down, and last year Prince Harry - who was just 12 years old at the time - revealed that the grief led to alcohol and drug use.

Over the years, heartwarming anecdotes about the royal's relationship with her two boys have been shared - like the fact she enjoyed buying joke presents for her sons - and now, a close friend of Diana's has revealed that she recorded secret audio tapes for her children and their future wives just before she died.

According to OK!, the friend - who asked to remain anonymous - claimed that she got the idea after making the tapes that would later be used for Andrew Morton's biography, Diana: Her True Story, in 1992.

It reportedly inspired her to create voice notes for William and Harry, giving them motherly advice and sharing her hopes for their futures.

The friend said: 'As incredible as it seems, Diana knew she was going to die young. She was very attuned to the spirit world and psychic events. She told me she made the tapes for the day she wouldn’t be around to help guide her boys.

'That way, she could continue to be a part of their lives, even after she was gone. She thought it was quite clever—and loved the idea of being what she called ‘a nagging mum from beyond the grave.’ She found it quite amusing.'

The source also added that Diana had made tapes for William's future wife, and the family they would one day have, saying: 'She was so sincere. You could hear it in her voice. She spoke straight from her heart.

'I remember bits of it quite well even after all this time. I was surprised she actually played it for me. And when it was done, we talked about the kind of girl William would marry. She thought his bride would be beautiful, smart, and independent. And, amazingly, she was right. Kate is all that and more.'

The friend claimed that Diana also spoke directly to the Duchess of Cambridge, saying she knew she would be 'someone truly special' and advising her that 'for your marriage to survive the public glare and the private pressures of royal life, it will take patience, compromise, understanding, trust, loyalty, and, of course, love,' adding that 'family is the most important thing in life.'

William has often spoken about how he keeps his mother's memory alive with Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. During an interview in 2017, he revealed that he is 'constantly talking about Granny Diana' with his children.

He said: 'It’s hard because obviously Catherine didn’t know her, so she cannot really provide that — that level of detail.

'So, I do [when] regularly putting George or Charlotte to bed, talk about her and just try and remind them that there are two grandmothers, there were two grandmothers in their lives, and so it’s important that they know who she was and that she existed.'