Princess Diana Knew 'Shy' Prince William Didn't Want the 'Top Job' of Being King While Preparing Prince Harry for the Throne

Princess Diana was gunning for Prince Harry to be king over her eldest son and heir, Prince William.

Royal expert Richard Kay recently divulged how the late Princess of Wales actually felt about one of her sons taking on the British throne.

“I think William has been a bit of a surprise. He was a shy young man,” Kay recently revealed on Daily Mail's "Palace Confidential" podcast.

“Certainly, when his mother was still alive, she would tell me that she never really thought that William wanted the ‘top job,’ as she called it. The idea that he would one day wear the crown," he said.

Diana died in 1997 after a car crash in Paris when Harry, 41, and William, 43, were just young teenagers.

When Queen Elizabeth died in 2022, King Charles took power and effectively made William second in line to the throne and the new Prince of Wales.

Kay explained how Diana "was preparing the way for the possibility that it would be Harry who succeeded his father."

"She had a nickname for Harry: She used to call him 'Good King Harry' — a throwback to medieval days," Kay said. “Things haven’t worked out like that, and I think we are all rather grateful that they haven’t.”

According to the author, the Duke of Cambridge has "grown into" his role and has embraced what the monarchy's future holds. However, Kay noted that William understands that "he’s going to have to make some big changes to ensure [the Crown's] survival.”

As for the Duke of Sussex, he has often been known as the "spare" prince throughout his life — even penning a memoir about the subject in 2023.

Spare detailed Harry's struggles as the second son, his estrangement from William, Diana's passing and his marriage to wife Meghan Markle.

William and the Invictus Games founder have been beefing for quite some time following the pair's move to the United States in 2020.

The 400-page book further strained his relationships with William and Charles, 77, and was seen as a major threat against the Windsor clan.

"It could have been two books, put it that way, and the hard bit was taking things out," Harry admitted in 2024. “There are some things that have happened, especially between me and my brother, and to some extent between me and my father, that I just don’t want the world to know. Because I don’t think they would ever forgive me."