How Princess Diana Prepared Young Prince William for His Future Role in Rare Personal Memory
EXCLUSIVE: The late Princess of Wales had a crucial role in preparing her eldest son for his duties, according to a leading expert.
THE Prince of Wales has widely thought to have been preparing for his role as the future king by working with his father, Charles, but it seems his mother also had a crucial role.
According to leading expert Victoria Arbiter, the late Princess Diana was instrumental in making sure that a young Prince William was fully aware of his responsibilities. Victoria is the daughter of Dickie Arbiter, former press spokesperson to Queen Elizabeth II from 1988 until 2000, and she spent part of her teenage years living inside Kensington Palace. During her lifetime, the late Princess of Wales supported over 100 charities and was a patron to six major organisations at the time of her tragic death in 1997.
Speaking exclusively to the Royal Observer, Arbiter recalled a time when she attended a Christmas reception Diana hosted for her charities, where William, as 'man of the house', conducted his very first public speaking engagement at the insistence of his mother.
She remembered: "Prince William, who would have been about 10, she (Diana) had asked him to get up and say a few words. She had said to him that he was the man of the house, and she wanted him to stand up and thank all of their guests for coming to the reception; it was the first time he'd ever done anything like that."
She also suggested that Prince William has used this environment with Princess Catherine as inspiration in raising his children, Prince George, 13, Princess Charlotte, 11, and Prince Louis, eight, for the environment - especially when it comes to George's future role.
Arbiter continued: "It was quite interesting; it was very much sort of in the spirit of how I think William and Catherine had been raising their own children, which was creating those safe spaces in which they could sort of try out this royal role, where they knew it would be a warm, welcoming crowd, where there would be no mistakes, where they wouldn't be criticised for their behaviour."
When the time came, Arbiter recalled how, although the speech was short, Diana was 'beaming with pride' seeing her son speak in public for the first time. "He got up, and it was very short, only a couple of sentences," she stated. "But he warmly welcomed everyone and thanked them for coming and wished them all a very happy Christmas."
Adding: I was standing next to Diana as he did that, and she was beaming with pride." The prominent expert also suggested that the hints of the 'statesman' mannerisms that Prince William has extensively shown since were very much present, even before his teenage years. "As William was standing up, having that sort of momentary statesman-like opportunity, and she (Diana) was beaming with pride."
Arbiter added that it was important for Princess Diana that William would have a full understanding of the responsibilities ahead as he grew older, and this occasion could have provided the perfect start. "Clearly it was very important to her that she raise him with an understanding of his responsibility," suggested the expert. "But also with an understanding of the skills, and for him to be able to practice and rehearse in a safe space."
She continued: "So it was an exceptional moment and one that sort of I can really appreciate with the benefit of hindsight ... He was 10 years old, he was so young still, and it was a very different landscape as a royal child in those days. Just in that one occasion, it was a Kensington Palace reception full of charitable leaders of charitable organisations. Diana was there wanting to make sure that she showed them a beautiful, memorable occasion.
Adding: "She was duty-bound and beholden to those charities, but also trying to introduce our children to the lives that they would one day be leading, and I think it was an amazing insight into everything that was involved."
