As Prince William and Prince Harry remain estranged despite years of speculation about a reconciliation, one man who protected both princes as children before serving as Princess Diana‘s personal protection officer believes she would never have allowed the brothers’ relationship to deteriorate this far.
In an exclusive interview with The Blast, Ken Wharfe reflected on Diana’s extraordinary ability to bring people together, explaining why he believes she would have acted as the perfect mediator between her sons.
He also opened up about why the late Princess of Wales continues to captivate the world nearly three decades after her tragic death, offering rare insight into the legacy of one of history’s most beloved royals.
5Wharfe, who first began protecting Prince William and Prince Harry in 1986 before becoming Princess Diana’s personal protection officer in 1988, spent years alongside the royal family during some of its most defining moments. He remained one of Diana’s closest protection officers until 1993 before continuing with the Royal Protection Squad until his retirement in 2002. Drawing on that experience, he believes the late princess would have been “deeply unhappy” watching the ongoing divide between her sons.
“I think Diana would have been deeply unhappy about the situation,” Wharfe told The Blast via Casino.Org. “Had she been alive, I think she would have been an extraordinary go-between.”
According to Wharfe, the brothers’ fractured relationship has lacked one essential ingredient since tensions first surfaced.
“What seemed to be missing when the relationship first broke down was someone who could broker a solution,” he explained. “In any family crisis, you need somebody who can bring both sides together.”
For Wharfe, there was only one person capable of playing that role.
“Diana would have been the ideal person to do that,” he said.
The comments arrive as Prince William and Prince Harry continue to lead increasingly separate lives following years of public disagreements, media interviews, and Harry’s departure from royal duties. Although both brothers have attended significant family occasions in recent years, hopes of a lasting reconciliation have repeatedly faded, leaving royal watchers wondering whether the relationship can ever fully recover.
Princess Diana’s Legacy Has Only Grown Since Her Death
5Nearly 30 years after Princess Diana’s death in Paris, Ken Wharfe admits he never expected her influence to endure quite so powerfully.
“I think people are still fascinated,” he said. “Here we are, nearly 30 years after her death, and I never imagined for one moment that, having worked with Diana for seven years, I’d still be talking about her all these years later. That’s certainly not a bet I would have placed.”
Few people witnessed Diana’s public and private life as closely as Wharfe, whose years working alongside her later inspired his 2002 memoir detailing his experiences protecting the Princess of Wales.
He believes much of that fascination stems from the relentless media attention Diana received throughout her life, beginning with her marriage at just 19 years old to then-Prince Charles.
Wharfe reflected on how Diana initially hoped Charles’ relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles would eventually end, but instead watched it continue until the breakdown of their marriage became unavoidable.
Despite the personal turmoil, he believes Diana’s commitment to royal duty never wavered.
“She represented the monarchy, and particularly Her Majesty the Queen, with absolute commitment,” he said. “She gave everything to the job.”
Princess Diana Changed The Royal Family Forever
5According to Ken Wharfe, Diana transformed royal engagements without ever deliberately trying to modernize the monarchy.
“In many ways, she modernised the role without ever consciously setting out to do so,” he explained. “It was simply who she was.”
Rather than simply attending official functions, Diana immersed herself in conversations with members of the public.
“I lost count of the number of times I watched her during walkabouts,” he recalled. “She’d comment on what someone was wearing, ask about their children, or become deeply involved in whatever they wanted to tell her.”
Wharfe admitted that staff frequently had to encourage Diana to move along because her conversations often ran well beyond the official schedule.
People left those encounters feeling they had genuinely connected with her, something Wharfe says set her apart from virtually every other royal at the time.
He added, “People would then go home afterwards and tell their friends, ‘You’ll never guess who I met today. I met Diana. She was amazing.’”
For Wharfe, those personal moments became the foundation of Diana’s enduring legacy.
Princess Diana Never Received The Recognition She Deserved
5Although Diana transformed public perceptions of the monarchy, Ken Wharfe believes she rarely received proper recognition while she was alive.
“It’s something Diana spoke to me about on many occasions,” he revealed. “She would say, ‘If only somebody would say thank you.’”
Wharfe said the lack of acknowledgement particularly affected Diana because she poured everything into her public role.
Following Diana’s death, however, attitudes within the Royal Family began to change.
Wharfe was also present during one of the monarchy’s most difficult moments, overseeing security arrangements for Diana’s funeral in 1997. The following year, he was appointed a Member of the Royal Victorian Order in Queen Elizabeth II’s New Year’s Honours for his service to the Crown.
He recalled how Queen Elizabeth II eventually returned from Balmoral amid enormous public pressure before publicly praising Diana’s contributions for the first time.
“That had never happened before,” he said.
Looking back, Wharfe believes it was recognition Diana had long hoped to receive during her lifetime.
Princess Diana’s Influence Still Lives On In King Charles
5Perhaps Ken Wharfe’s most surprising observation is that he now sees traces of Diana in King Charles’ public approach.
“I think he’s a very good King,” he said.
While acknowledging Charles has grown considerably since Diana’s death, Wharfe believes many of the qualities audiences now admire were first demonstrated by the late princess decades earlier.
“I sometimes see aspects of his public style that remind me of Diana,” he explained. “The humour, the little comments that put people at ease, the warmth in his engagements.”
To Wharfe, it remains bittersweet. “I also see so much in his style today that Diana was already doing back in the 1980s and 1990s,” he said. “And I always think it’s a great shame that it wasn’t recognised while she was alive.”
Nearly three decades after her death, Wharfe believes Princess Diana’s greatest achievement was never her royal title or global fame. Instead, it was her extraordinary ability to make every person she met feel important, a legacy that, in his words, has become nothing short of legendary.