Princess Diana tried to shield Prince Harry from ‘spare’ label, James Patterson

Princess Diana was proud of her two sons – one who is destined to be king and the other who has been coined “the spare” by the press.

Knowing that Prince William would receive a special kind of favoritism within the monarchy as second in line to the throne, she was determined to shield Prince Harry from the ‘spare’ label.

“I think she tried to control it as much as she could,” James Patterson told Fox News Digital. “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.”

According to James Patterson, Princess Diana was ‘troubled’ by the ‘spare’ label that became associated with her younger son Prince Harry (right). 
(Photo by Anwar Hussein/Getty Images)

“I think she was very aware of the situation,” Patterson continued. “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.”

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James Patterson has written or co-written hundreds of books.
(Stephanie Dani)

Patterson is among one of the bestselling authors in history and has written or co-written hundreds of books. The 75-year-old, who reliably turns out several books a year, now has his sights set on the late royal. His latest book, titled “Diana, William, and Harry: The Heartbreaking Story of a Princess and Mother,” focuses on Diana’s fierce devotion to her sons before her sudden death in 1997 at age 36 from injuries she sustained in a Paris car crash.

Patterson said he researched numerous archives from England from over the years to paint an accurate portrait of Diana, who believed her greatest role in life was that of a mother.

In ‘Diana, William, and Harry: The Heartbreaking Story of a Princess and Mother’, James Patterson explored the late royal’s relationship with her two sons.
(Little, Brown and Company )

“There have already been too many books about Diana as a princess,” he explained. “What I found interesting here, especially when we started looking at the UK press archives, which has a lot of material that was never really released to the states, was Diana as a mother. I think that’s as close to who she was and where she wanted her heart to be. I do think she liked some of the fantasy trappings of being a princess, especially early on. But ultimately, she was a mother who was at odds with the crown.”

As a parent, Diana defied tradition. She was a doting,…