Prince Harry was only 12 years old when his mother, the beloved Princess Diana, died at 36 following a shocking, tragic car crash in Paris. His brother, Prince William, was just 15.
In the years since, both Harry and William have spoken about the trauma they experienced as they grappled with the loss of their mother and searched for answers about what really caused the auto accident. But in his bombshell 2023 memoir, Spare, Harry went further as he shared previously unknown details about how he and William have attempted to process their grief, revealing that, as adults, they even privately retraced Diana’s journey through the Pont de l’Alma tunnel, where the car she was traveling in hit a concrete column on Aug. 31, 1997, killing her and two others.
“Afterwards, we talked about the crash, for the first time ever. We talked about the recent inquest. A joke, we both agreed. The final written report was an insult,” Harry wrote, calling it “fanciful, riddled with basic factual errors and gaping logical holes” and claiming it “raised more questions than it answered.” Harry said he felt the official investigation — which concluded “Mummy’s driver was drunk and thereby the sole cause of the crash” — failed to place more blame on the photographers who were chasing the Mercedes, which fueled his belief that “corruption and cover-ups were the order of the day.”
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Now he may have another chance to reexamine the moments that forever altered his life. Just days before the 28th anniversary of Diana’s passing, reports emerged claiming Harry, who turned 41 Sept. 15, and his wife, Meghan, 44, have discussed producing a documentary about the late Princess of Wales to coincide with the 30th anniversary of her death in 2027. The project would be part of their newly announced first-look deal with Netflix, which came after the streamer decided not to renew their previous five-year contract worth a reported $100 million, according to The Sun.
To many, whether the reexamination would be for love or money remains unclear. It’s obvious Harry remains haunted by his mother’s death. At the same time, he and Meghan are still trying to find their way in the entertainment business. “They’re desperate to get back on top at Netflix and producing a documentary about Diana would make them relevant again,” a source tells Star. “Not to mention make them a lot of money.”
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Guaranteed Success
Cash is definitely a concern. With their first contract coming to a close, the Sussexes were eager to secure a new one following the spring release of With Love, Meghan, the former Suits star’s lifestyle and entertaining series. Meghan led the push for a fresh contract and “orchestrated everything,” says the source, even partnering with Netflix on her As Ever line of food products. In August per Daily Mail, they announced their new per-project deal that will see the streamer release a With Love, Meghan Christmas special as well as Masaka Kids, A Rhythm Within, a documentary from the couple’s Archewell Productions about orphaned children in Uganda.
Still, Harry has been returning to his primal wound for years, hoping to find answers and closure. A Diana doc, which has not been officially announced — but, according to The Sun, was brought up during Netflix deal renewal discussions — would mark the third such project in which the duke has participated. He and William both sat down with the filmmakers behind HBO’s Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy and the BBC’s Diana, 7 Days to mark the 20th anniversary of her passing. Those, however, “didn’t delve into the gritty details of her death,” says the source, adding that Harry “has vowed to get to the bottom of things or at least try to better understand why and how [the accident] happened. It was a tragedy he’s never fully gotten over. He’s determined to find answers he believes the official inquest failed to deliver.”
Those 2017 docs were watched by tens of millions of viewers, a reflection of the world’s continued fascination with The People’s Princess. A Diana project actually produced by Harry is seen as a guaranteed ratings winner for Netflix, which scored huge viewership numbers with its first documentary project from the couple — the six-part 2022 series Harry & Meghan. When they’ve strayed from royal subjects, the Sussexes have failed to recreate that success for the streamer, including Harry’s Heart of Invictus and Polo series. “Meghan is behind Harry doing a Diana documentary all the way,” says the source. “She’s all for anything that will help him to turn the page on this senseless tragedy and bring him peace and healing.”
Yet critics aren’t so sure that’s all there is to it. “Meghan is savvy,” admits the source. “She must know this documentary will be a money-spinning deal for them, that people will tune in, that it will put their careers back in top gear.” And potentially score the pair another big-money deal.
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Palace Pushback
Not if William has anything to say about it. The 43-year-old heir to the British throne “is seething that Harry and Meghan would stoop so low to make a documentary about his mother, whose memory is sacred to him,” says a second insider. “At the same time, William can’t be that surprised. Harry is living in a dream world. He’s completely tone-deaf and oblivious to the hurt he continues to cause the royal family.” Indeed, Harry already cashed in to the tune of $27 million, spilling details of damaging private conversations and arguments — including some involving William’s wife, Princess Kate, 43 — in Spare.
Producing a Diana doc could mean the end of Harry’s already fragile relationship with the royals. The Sussexes have accused his family of sanctioning palace courtiers’ attacks on them in the U.K. press, arguing that those attacks led them to flee to California in 2020, where they now live in a $14.65 million Montecito home with son Archie, 6, and 4-year-old daughter Lilibet. Shattered William “sees this as another betrayal by someone who has already caused irreparable damage,” says the insider. “If there is anything William can do to stop it, he will do it.”
Despite his repeated battering of the royal family, in May, Harry publicly declared he wants to end their estrangement. “I would love reconciliation with my family,” he told the BBC, insisting, “there’s no point in continuing to fight anymore.” But if he moves forward with this documentary, warns the insider, “he will likely never be able to mend the family rift.”