Prince William and Prince Harry Divided by ‘Profound Rift’: Princess Diana ‘Would Have Tried to Act as Peacemaker’ (Exclusive)

The prince, he adds, has spoken about how Diana “made it very pointed that he was exposed to life beyond palace walls. That is something that he and the princess are doing with their own children.” That grounding in service has shaped William’s public life. During the COVID pandemic he made unannounced trips to shelters, helping prepare meals and even delivering food — always without cameras.

Harry, meanwhile, found his calling in supporting young people affected by the AIDS epidemic in Lesotho, Southern Africa, where he was deeply moved by the challenges facing vulnerable youth. In 2006 he cofounded Sentebale — meaning “forget-me-not,” Diana’s favorite flower, in the local language —with his friend Prince Seeiso as a tribute to their late mothers.
Over the next 19 years, the two poured “blood, sweat and tears and their own money into building this charity up to what it was — a multimillion-pound charity that delivered nothing but good for the beneficiary community,” a friend tells PEOPLE.
After a deep dispute over management at Sentebale, devastatingly for Harry, and Seeiso, they have parted ways from the charity, and are seeking new ways to help the disadvantaged of Lesotho and Botswana.
Moreover, Tessy Ojo, CEO of the Diana Award — the only charity to bear their mother’s name, and one they now support separately — has witnessed the princes’ dedication firsthand.
“I’ve seen how they watch young people who never met their mother articulate the impact she’s had on them,” she says. “There is a sense of immense pride: ‘Wow, my mother did that!’”