Princess Diana‘s divorce from the future King Charles III cost her far more than her marriage. It also stripped away a title she considered central to her identity.
An anecdote shared by her butler of a decade, Paul Burrell, in his book A Royal Duty that was recently resurfaced by Marie Claire sheds light on the unexpected member of the royal family who reached out after Diana learned she would no longer be allowed to use the style “Her Royal Highness.”
According to Burrell, the gesture gave the late Princess of Wales comfort during one of the most difficult chapters of her life.
An unexpected show of kindness
According to former royal butler Paul Burrell, Princess Michael of Kent’s heartfelt letter gave Princess Diana a much-needed boost during one of the most difficult periods of her life. By: MEGA
According to Burrell’s 2003 memoir, Diana was heartbroken when she learned she would lose her HRH style once her divorce became official.
“It was, she felt, part of her royal identity and she had worked tirelessly as a royal highness for many years,” Burrell wrote. “When the final decision was taken behind the scenes, the princess was devastated.”
Burrell wrote that Diana “found support from an unlikely corner of the royal family” after Princess Michael of Kent sent her a heartfelt letter.
“I was horrified to learn in the press that after your title was removed, you would be expected to curtsy in public when meeting me,” Princess Michael wrote, according to Burrell. “I insist that this would cause me the greatest embarrassment, so please do not even consider it.”
Burrell shared that Princess Michael also praised Diana’s “courage and strength” before assuring her, “You will always have my support.”
The ex-palace staffer wrote how he also tried to reassure Diana. “You don’t need a title,” Burrell told her. “Wherever you go in the world, you are known as Lady Di — and no one can take that away from you.”
What else Princess Diana lost in the divorce
Princess Diana’s 1996 divorce from then-Prince Charles cost her the HRH style and several royal titles, though she remained Diana, Princess of Wales until her tragic death. By: Jennifer Mitchell / MEGA
Diana and Charles separated in December 1992 after more than 11 years of marriage. Their divorce was finalized on August 28, 1996 — barely a year before Diana died at 36 in a Paris car crash on August 31, 1997.
Although Queen Elizabeth II allowed Diana to keep her Princess of Wales title, she was no longer permitted to use the style Her Royal Highness and also had to give up the additional titles she had acquired through marriage, including Duchess of Cornwall, Countess of Chester and Baroness of Renfrew.
The change dramatically altered Diana’s place within the royal family. The public and palace staff were no longer expected to curtsy to her, while she was expected to curtsy to royals who still held the HRH style — including her former husband and her own sons, Prince William and Prince Harry.
Who is Princess Michael of Kent?
Princess Michael of Kent has been married to Prince Michael of Kent — a first cousin of the late Queen Elizabeth II — for nearly five decades. By: MATRIXPHOTOS.COM / MEGA
An author of European royal histories and former interior designer, Princess Michael has long been one of the more unconventional members of the royal family.
Born Baroness Marie-Christine Anna Agnes Hedwig Ida von Reibnitz in what was then part of Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia and is now part of the Czech Republic, she married Thomas Troubridge, an English banker, in 1971. They later divorced — as a Catholic, she successfully lobbied for an annulment that was granted by Pope Paul VI — and she wed Prince Michael of Kent in 1978.
He is a grandson of King George V and a first cousin of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
The couple has two children together: Lord Frederick Windsor and Lady Gabriella Kingston.
Prince Harry also gave up using his HRH title
When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped back as senior working royals in 2020, they agreed they would no longer use their HRH styles, though they legally retained them. By: Steve Parsons/WPA / MEGA
More than two decades after Diana lost the use of HRH, her younger son faced a similar change.
When Harry and wife Meghan Markle stepped down as senior working royals in 2020, they agreed they would no longer use their HRH styles, though they legally retained them.
A statement from Buckingham Palace at the time read, “The Sussexes will not use their HRH titles as they are no longer working members of the royal family.”
Harry later revealed in both the 2022 Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan and his bestselling 2023 memoir, Spare, that he’d offered to relinquish the Sussex titles if it would help secure a different working arrangement with the royal family.
Years later, when asked by Anderson Cooper during a 60 Minutes interview why he and Meghan hadn’t simply renounced their titles, Harry replied, “And what difference would that make?”
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