Princess Diana tried to 'protect' Prince Harry from being labelled 'the spare'

Princess Diana is believed to have attempted to 'shield' young Prince Harry from being labelled as his brother Prince William's 'spare'. 

• Princess Diana reportedly tried to protect her young sons from the troubling reality of being dubbed the 'heir and the spare' and was 'very aware of it'. 
• The late Princess of Wales is said to have tried as hard as she could to 'control' the way royal life impacted Prince Harry and Prince William. 
• In other royal news, Prince Harry confirmed that his long-awaited memoir will be called Spare, with profits set to honor Diana's legacy. 

WIth Prince Harry having confirmed the release date of his upcoming tell-all memoir, revealing that it will be titled 'Spare', it has been said that Princess Diana was adamant that she would control the narrative of Harry and William being hailed 'the heir and the spare' as much as she could before her death. 

According to royal biographer James Patterson, Princess Diana wanted her sons to have as much of a normal childhood as possible, without the burdens of being the future King and the future King's brother looming over them.

According to The Independent, James previously told Fox News Digital, "I think she tried to control it as much as she could. I think she was troubled about it. That’s a standard thing for families. One of the kids who do better in school or become a better athlete seems to be a little more charming and lovable. 

"How do you make the other kids feel that they’re just enough? It happens pretty much to all families. And in this case, the stakes are much higher because one is presumably going to be king someday," the royal expert added. 

The author who penned 'Diana, William and Harry', continued to highlight how Princess Diana was hyper-aware of how Harry could struggle, having faced similar issues herself within the firm. 

"She had experienced how difficult it was to be in her role as a princess…She wanted to have her own life. And that was very hard for her. She didn’t want the boys to experience the same struggles she faced. 

"She tried as much as she could to control it. She simply wanted them to be normal kids and understand that the real world doesn’t operate in the same way it worked within the palace. They shouldn’t see themselves as special or different," James added. 

Prince Harry has given a nod to his label as Prince William's 'spare' with the title of his ultra-honest memoir, which is predicted to rock the royal family when it is released after Christmas. 

Spare is described as Prince Harry's story 'at last', telling the harrowing tale of "one of the most searing images of the twentieth century", recalling Prince William and Prince Harry's walk behind Princess Diana's coffin at her funeral in 1997. 

"As Diana, Princess of Wales, was laid to rest, billions wondered what the princes must be thinking and feeling — and how their lives would play out from that point on," the blurb reads.