Princess Diana would have written a memoir like Prince Harry if given the chance, says close friend

Princess Diana would have written a memoir like Prince Harry

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle may have stepped down as royal family members and relocated to California in search of a quieter life, but that certainly hasn't stopped them from making headlines.

Between the arrival of their baby daughter Lilibet Diana in June, Prince Harry's long-awaited reunion with Prince William at the unveiling of a statue paying tribute to their mother, and Meghan's new TV role as an Executive Producer, Harry and Meghan are all anyone can seem to talk about at the moment.

So it doesn't come as a surprise that Prince Harry's announcement that he is to write a tell-all memoir on royal life prompted a flurry of press attention.

Set to be released next year, Harry's memoir will reportedly cover everything from his years in the army, to his move away from royal life. Published by Penguin Random House, all proceeds from the book will be donated to charity.

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"I’m writing this not as the prince I was born but as the man I have become,' the duke says in the memoir's press release. ‘I’ve worn many hats over the years, both literally and figuratively, and my hope is that in telling my story – the highs and lows, the mistakes, the lessons learned – I can help show that no matter where we come from, we have more in common than we think."

While Harry's decision to publish a tell-all memoir has worried some Royal Family members, according to a close friend and confidant, his late mother Princess Diana would have been fully supportive of it.

In fact, says Stewart Pierce, Diana's friend and voice coach, the princess would have eventually written a similar book if she hadn't died at such a young age.

"Diana's life and purpose were committed to complete transparency, and so I'm sure she would have written her autobiography full of all the many things she learned from her experiences within the Royal Family, and beyond," Pierce told The Sun. "Diana loved to write personal correspondence, which for her added the personal touch, added love to the people she cared for."

The voice coach added that Harry's decision to speak out about his difficulties with royal life follows the legacy of his mother, who herself stepped back from royal duties after her divorce from Prince Charles in 1996.

"I feel that what Diana was doing was providing transparency about what she was experiencing at that time, which shocked the world, you know there were three people in this marriage, and the changes that she was trying to bring to monarchy, which indeed is something that she really did both when she was alive and also now when she is in death," he said.

"What Harry is doing is going on a stage further and not just revealing what took place, but providing causative information about why treachery took place."

Though an exact release date for Harry's memoir is yet to be announced, according to his publisher, readers can look forward to it landing on shelves in late 2022.

Kate McCusker

Kate McCusker is a freelance writer at Marie Claire UK, having joined the team in 2019. She studied fashion journalism at Central Saint Martins, and her byline has also appeared in Dezeen, British Vogue, The Times and woman&home. In no particular order, her big loves are: design, good fiction, bad reality shows and the risible interiors of celebrity houses.