Prince Harry’s Possible Diana Documentary Is a Nightmare for William - Newsweek

Prince Harry is considering making a documentary about Princess Diana to mark 30 years since her death, Newsweek has been told, but the move could prove difficult for Prince William after a pledge he made 10 years ago.

The Duke of Sussex has said much over the years about parallels that he sees between Princess Diana and Meghan Markle's experience with the palace and the U.K. media.

And according to The Daily Telegraph he is preparing a documentary about his mother to mark the 30th anniversary, in August 2027, of the Paris car crash that caused her death. The newspaper reported he has begun approaching potential participants. Newsweek understands the duke has discussed a number of options for projects honoring his mother's legacy and is yet to decide on which would be the most meaningful.

Nick Ede, a U.K. brand and culture expert, told Newsweek: "Him and his brother quite rightly a few years ago said they wouldn't be talking about their mother again and if they did they would be doing it jointly.

"William will be really upset. I think if Harry has any thoughts about coming back into the royal family in any way shape or form this is stopping that dead in its tracks."

A major documentary could be tricky for William. The brothers did a series of on-camera and print interviews in 2017 to mark the 20th anniversary of Diana's death but William told journalists at the time, including Newsweek's chief royal correspondent, that it was a one off and he would not be opening up about his mother in the same way again.

If he sticks to that pledge then Harry will have space to own the narrative about their mother's memory, presenting William with a dilemma about whether and how to pay his own tribute.

One option would be a Netflix show, since Harry and Meghan still have a "first look" deal with the streaming platform, giving it first refusal on content they produce.

"It has to go to Netflix because they have that first look deal," Ede said. "There's no way he can tout it anywhere else. I'm sure other streamers would probably want it because they know it will be a ratings winner but it's only going to be Netflix unless Netflix pass on it.

"They might be doing something with the king and decide not to do it but I think it's definitely going to be a Netflix show. They would want it. Because they have this deal, we know they want content and this is the kind of content that would get a lot of eyeballs, which is the most important thing for them."

Another option would be to swerve TV altogether and simply pay tribute on social media or with a written essay for a print publication, of the kind he did for the left-leaning British political magazine the New Statesman in May about antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred.

"He will want to do something to commemorate his mother in some way," Ede said. "Social media probably isn't the way forward for him because, first of all, he doesn't have an account himself, but secondly, it will be most likely he will want to get his story out and Netflix is the best portal to do so."

Meghan does have an Instagram account but Harry has so far maintained a hard boundary against social media, alongside years of campaigning against such platforms.

William and Harry marked the 20th anniversary of Diana's death in 2017 with a series of interviews, including two TV documentaries for ITV and the BBC.

It was during those documentaries that William addressed the decision taken by the brothers to speak publicly for the first time, in depth, about their mother's life and legacy. He said they would not be speaking out in the same way again.

"William will, I think, still keep silent," Ede said. "I don't think he would want to do anything. There may be either a concert or some kind of event in her memory, whether that's through the Diana Award or just him."

The Diana Award is a charity set up in 1999 to pursue Diana's legacy by promoting her belief that young people have the power to change the world.

Both William and Harry have a longstanding relationship with the organization but the rift between the brothers has required some careful logistics in the past, since they cannot be required to attend the same event together.

Ede suggested Harry speaking out could damage any hope he might still have of returning to royal duties, either full time or through a "half in, half out" approach.

Beyond William's opposition, King Charles III and Queen Camilla often receive criticism during periods in which Diana's memory returns to the public eye. That has indeed been the case with the publication of a new biography, Swan Song, by her brother Charles Spencer, who suggested the king was "giddily elated" after Diana's death. The book was released on Tuesday.

Harry might choose to avoid making such criticisms himself but would also likely have to tread carefully to protect the relationship with his father.

Debate about Harry and Meghan's Netflix deal has long focused on reports about how much they have earned from the streamer. Initial reports in the media cited $100 million although $60 million over the initial five-year contract would come closer to the mark, according to Variety. The new deal they signed in 2025 was on less favorable terms.

Anything released through Netflix would be assumed by commentators to be for profit unless Harry explicitly stated it was not.

"He is Diana's son so he has every right to do whatever he wants to do, but people will see that he's making money off his mother's memory which is exactly what his uncle [Charles Spencer] is doing at the moment," Ede said.

Harry and Meghan have long struggled for popularity in Britain, particularly since summer 2021, and have come to expect regular criticism from U.K. commentators and newspapers.

The duke and any production team he hired might also want to license archive footage and would need to book commentators to discuss Diana.

"I suspect it will be really tricky for William to allow Harry to have rights to archive material and stuff like that," Ede said. "It could become quite tricky.

"You've also got to think about the people who Harry will have on the documentary talking about it because they've got to be mindful of the fact William will become king."

It is not clear who has been approached. Potential contributors could include Sir Elton John and his husband David Furnish, who were both co-claimants in Harry's recent lawsuit against Associated Newspapers, publisher of the Daily Mail, which they all lost. Harry teamed up with Sir Elton for the ITV documentary Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy.

The pair visited the HIV and AIDS charity London Lighthouse to talk about Diana's support for the organization in the lead up to the 20th anniversary of her death. Some high-profile figures may feel they have an obligation to both brothers.

"The boys, the memory of their mother was always so important to them," Ede said. "It was a bit of a glue for them and we all thought it would be a glue for the rest of their lives but we've seen now that it's come unstuck."

Compounding those problems is the fact that past statements show the brothers hold different views of their mother. While both speak of her fondly, William has shown a greater willingness to give a rounded impression, accounting for her struggles as well as her strengths.

In 2021, a BBC investigation found an investigative journalist, Martin Bashir, manipulated Diana in order to land the bombshell sit-down interview she did in 1995 in which she famously said "there were three of us in this marriage so it was a bit crowded."

"It is my view that the deceitful way the interview was obtained substantially influenced what my mother said," William said in a statement responding to the investigation. "The interview was a major contribution to making my parents' relationship worse and has since hurt countless others.

"It brings indescribable sadness to know that the BBC's failures contributed significantly to her fear, paranoia and isolation that I remember from those final years with her."

William also said he did not want footage from the interview to be screened by broadcasters in future, describing it as a "false narrative."

"It is my firm view that this Panorama program holds no legitimacy and should never be aired again," William said. "It effectively established a false narrative which, for over a quarter of a century, has been commercialized by the BBC and others."

Harry has already diverged from his brother in relation to the interview. While William asked that the footage never be aired again, clips were included in the Sussexes' first Netflix project, the biopic Harry & Meghan.

That may serve as an indication to William that any show Harry might produce will be drawn substantially from Diana's narrative. As Harry said during his 2021 Apple TV documentary The Me You Can't See: "Family members have said, 'Just play the game and your life will be easier,' but I've got a hell of a lot of my mum in me."

Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Dan Orton and Tony Phillips.