When William and Harry were young, there was always bickering between the brothers when Prince William would sensationally claim that he did not want to be King
09:00, 22 Jun 2025Updated 11:49, 22 Jun 2025
After an outburst from Prince William when he was young, Princess Diana believed her youngest son, Harry, would make a better monarch(Image: UK Press via Getty Images)
From the minute Prince William was born, he had his whole life planned out, knowing that he would one day be King. On the flip side, Prince Harry has lived his life in a very different way as the ‘spare’, choosing to go down a very unexpected route when he quit his royal duties in 2020.
However, when they were young brothers and their relationship was not strained like it is today, they would often bicker about who would be a better monarch, with Princess Diana even chiming in on their discussions. According to one royal expert, the late Princess Diana was of the belief that her youngest son Harry would make a better King than William.
Prince William often said when he was a child that he “didn’t want to be King”(Image: Getty Images)
While the late Princess never divulged why she thought Harry would be a better monarch, she did reveal a secret nickname she had for her youngest son to reflect her thoughts.
It has long been claimed that William often confided in his mother that he “didn’t want to be king”, and in reply to the outburst, a young Harry is said to have declared: “If you don’t want the job I’ll have it.”
According to Princess Diana, Prince Harry would be a better monarch than Prince William(Image: WireImage)
According to royal expert Robert Jobson, this led to Diana privately referring to Harry as GKH – or Good King Harry.
Jobson told the Channel 5 programme William & Harry: Princes At War: “She used to refer to Harry as GKH (Good King Harry) because she thought he’d probably be better equipped for the role in the future than William.”
Diana would often refer to Harry as GKH, or Good King Harry after he expressed his desire to be king(Image: Getty Images)
TV broadcaster Jeremy Paxman also said Diana had spoken about her sons’ futures during a lunch meeting. He explained: “We talked about our children and she said William often told her that he didn’t really want to be king, and then Harry would say, ‘If you don’t want the job I’ll have it’.”
Diana also spoke about William’s claim to the throne in her famous Panorama interview in 1995 with Martin Bashir, as he asked if the title of King should go directly to William, who was aged 13 at the time.
She said: “Well, then you have to see that William’s very young at the moment, so do you want a burden like that to be put on his shoulders at such an age. So I can’t answer that question.”
The relationship between William and Harry has long been strained since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle left the Firm in 2022, quitting their royal duties and starting a new life in California.
Get the inside scoop on the monarchy with Mirror Royal
WHATSAPP GROUP: Be first to get the biggest royal bombshells and exclusives to your phone by joining our Royal WhatsApp here.
We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
NEWSLETTER: Or sign up to the Mirror’s Royal newsletter here to get all the biggest royal news and exclusive pictures, straight to your inbox.