When Prince Harry releases his planned television documentary about Princess Diana next year, timed to the 30th anniversary of her death, he may discover that the spotlight is also being sought by someone very close to home.
The Prince of Wales is reportedly weighing up an appearance in a separate programme dedicated to the life and legacy of his mother.
‘William has received a number of proposals and is giving serious thought to how he would like to mark the occasion,’ a source tells me.
The brothers previously joined forces for the BBC documentary Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy, broadcast in 2017 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the princess’s death.
A repeat performance now appears highly unlikely. Harry’s relationship with William deteriorated sharply after his and Meghan’s 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, in which they made serious allegations about the Prince and Princess of Wales. He later continued his criticism in his memoir, Spare, as well as in a series of interviews.
Harry is said to have contacted several of Diana’s friends and relatives about appearing in a commemorative film planned for next August. The project has yet to be officially confirmed, however, and the Duke of Sussex is reportedly considering several possible ways to remember his mother and highlight her enduring legacy.
The brothers shared the screen in the BBC documentary Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy, released for the 20th anniversary of her death in 2017
A source close to Harry said: ‘The duke has explored several potential projects.
‘No decision has been made and nothing has been formally announced. He is still considering the most appropriate and meaningful way to honour his mother during this significant anniversary year.’
One possible documentary could be produced by Archewell Productions, the company Harry and Meghan established and which operates under a first-look deal with Netflix covering film and television projects.
A Kensington Palace spokesman said: ‘We would not comment on the Prince of Wales’s plans for marking the anniversary.’
Mountbatten ‘emotional’ as daughter weds
Lord Ivar Mountbatten pictured with his daughter Ella, 30, on her wedding day
Ella, an events manager, married Fergus Wright, who works in the insurance industry
The wedding took place at St Luke’s, Milland, in West Sussex
Lord Ivar Mountbatten has embraced married life, having walked down the aisle twice himself: first with Penny Eastwood in 1994, and later with James Coyle, an air cabin services director, in 2018.
His second wedding made history, as he became the first member of the extended Royal Family to enter a same-sex marriage. Now Lord Ivar has celebrated another family milestone by escorting his 30-year-old daughter Ella, an events manager, down the aisle at St Luke’s, Milland, in West Sussex, for her wedding to insurance professional Fergus Wright.
Prince Edward and Sophie were among those attending. Lord Ivar, 63, who is a great-nephew of the 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, said: ‘It’s been an incredibly enjoyable and emotional couple of days, but I’m certainly relieved it’s finished. The past month has been completely non-stop.’
Ella summed up the celebrations in three words: ‘It was epic.’
Charlie Higson’s Arabian slights
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Charlie Higson’s latest James Bond novel, King Zero, sends 007 into the Saudi desert
Charlie Higson’s new James Bond adventure, King Zero, transports 007 to the Saudi Arabian desert — although the author himself is unlikely to be making another trip to the Gulf kingdom anytime soon.
‘I didn’t say very nice things about MBS [Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman], so I’m probably not going to be allowed back,’ he tells me at the book’s launch party at the Embassy Gardens Sky Pool in London’s Nine Elms. King Zero describes MBS’s linear megacity The Line as a ‘vanity project’ in spy chief M’s words, and elsewhere mentions how ‘public beheadings seemed to be a regular event’.
Fast Show co-creator Higson visited Saudi some years ago. ‘I was working with locals – the young people there like MBS,’ he claims. ‘Compared to the restrictions there used to be, it’s really opened up, but there are problems.’
Tory Tom’s surprising link to Bayeux Tapestry
Tom Tugendhat has said his wife, the current Cultural Counsellor at the French embassy, was instrumental in delivering the Bayeux Tapestry to the British Musuem
Shadow Foreign Secretary Tom Tugendhat avoided a domestic diplomatic spat when Nick Robinson asked him to critique George Osborne’s call for Britain to rejoin the Customs Union on the BBC’s Political Thinking podcast.
‘I’ve got be careful because George has been unbelievably helpful to my wife with the Bayeux Tapestry,’ said the former Territorial Army reserve officer. ‘My wife [Anissia Morel] is French and is currently the Cultural Counsellor at the French embassy and was instrumental to delivering the tapestry to the British Museum,’ he explained.
Museum chair Osborne is ‘great and I like George’, said the MP, adding: ‘I’m very proud of what my wife achieved with the tapestry.’
Gizzi’s hen do doubles
Gizzi Erskine looked very elegant at her hen do – but she insists that it was ‘nice and sleazy’
The aristocratic television cook, 47, is due to marry punk rock singer Matt Turner, 40, of the band Luxury Apartments (pictured together)
During her party at London restaurant Otto’s, guests hid behind masks bearing her face
Gizzi pictured with rapper Professor Green at her hen do, which was also attended by actor Sydney Lima and socialite Martha Sitwell
Gizzi Erskine looked the picture of elegance at her hen do but she insists that it was ‘nice and sleazy’.
The aristocratic television cook, 47, is due to marry punk rock singer Matt Turner, 40, of the band Luxury Apartments.
While she wore a bridal veil for the party at London restaurant Otto’s, her guests, who included rapper Professor Green, actor Sydney Lima and socialite Martha Sitwell, hid behind masks bearing her face.
‘It was a very messy lunch,’ Gizzi admits.
Earlier this month she told me the wedding would be north of the border, explaining: ‘I lived in Scotland for the first years of my life.’
Ruth Rogers is one of London’s most celebrated restaurateurs and has lived here for almost 60 years but admits that she has yet to explore. ‘The country I know least of all is Britain,’ says the American-born co-founder of The River Cafe. ‘Someone once asked me, “What’s your favourite part of London?” and I said, “The departure lounge at any London airport.” [It] sounded insulting but I didn’t mean it.’