Prince Harry‘s plans to commemorate the 30th anniversary of his mother Princess Diana’s death could draw attention away from Queen Camilla‘s 80th birthday just weeks earlier, according to royal sources.
Harry, 42, is exploring ways to honor Diana ahead of August 31, 2027 — three decades after she died at 36 following a car crash in Paris. Recent reports have claimed a documentary about his mother is among the projects Harry is considering.
Camilla will turn 80 on July 17, putting the two major royal milestones just six weeks apart.
Camilla’s milestone risks being ‘overshadowed’
“There is an awareness that anything Harry does for Diana’s anniversary will attract enormous international attention,” a royals source told Wonderwall.com. “Nobody would suggest he shouldn’t honor his mother, but the timing means Camilla’s 80th birthday could inevitably find itself overshadowed.”
Another source stressed that Harry’s plans are focused on commemorating his mother rather than taking attention away from Camilla.
“For Harry, this isn’t about competing with Camilla. Diana’s 30th anniversary was always going to be profoundly important to him,” that source said. “But whatever his intentions, a substantial television project or major public event would command attention around the world.”
Harry has reportedly contacted people who knew Diana as he considers how to mark the anniversary.
He and now-estranged brother Prince William previously appeared in the 2017 documentaries Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy for HBO and the BBC’s Diana, 7 Days to mark the 20th anniversary of her passing.
Charles Spencer’s book puts Diana back in the spotlight
The approaching anniversary comes as Diana’s brother, Charles Spencer, has renewed attention on her relationship with her ex-husband, King Charles III, 77, in the 9th Earl Spencer’s new memoir, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister.
Spencer, 62, claims the king told him, “Rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough,” during a dispute over Diana’s funeral arrangements following her 1997 death.
Buckingham Palace challenged Spencer’s account in a rare statement.
“While we do not comment on books as a matter of principle, His Majesty is mindful that the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and color memory in ways others do not recognize, even many years after such a loss,” the palace said.
Spencer has repeatedly maintained that his recollection is accurate.
Diana remains an ‘enormously powerful figure’
Another royal insider said the combination of Spencer’s memoir and Harry’s potential anniversary plans could renew attention on Diana’s marriage to Charles just as Camilla marks her milestone birthday.
Charles and Camilla famously had an affair during his marriage to Diana, who publicly addressed her husband’s relationship with the former Camilla Parker Bowles in a 1995 television interview before she and Charles divorced in 1996.
Now, says the insider, “The Spencer book has ensured Diana is once again at the center of the royal conversation. If Harry then launches a major tribute around the anniversary, there will inevitably be renewed scrutiny of Diana, Charles and Camilla at precisely the moment the queen is marking a significant birthday.”
Another royal insider similarly predicts that anything involving Harry and his mother’s legacy will generate widespread attention. “Diana remains an enormously powerful figure three decades after her death,” the insider said. “Any commemoration involving her son will inevitably become a major royal story — whatever else happens in the weeks surrounding it.”
Harry is still close to Diana’s family
Harry has repeatedly spoken publicly about preserving his mother’s legacy and remains close to the Spencer side of his family.
He has recently spent time with his uncle, who has said his nephews would not be surprised by the claims in his new memoir and that he told them both about it at the same time. Harry, wife Meghan Markle, 45, and their children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, visited Diana’s ancestral home where she spent her teen years, Althorp, in July.
Diana married then-Prince Charles in 1981 and they welcomed William and Harry before separating in 1992 and divorcing in 1996.
She became internationally known for her humanitarian work, including her advocacy for people affected by HIV and AIDS and her campaign against landmines.
Diana died alongside film producer Dodi Fayed, 42, following a car crash in Paris on August 31, 1997.
