Princess Diana Had a Stern Warning for Prince William on His First Day of School: “You’ve Got To...”

Prince William was always destined to live life in the spotlight. Even as a child, anything he said inadvertently reflected on the throne. So, as a young Prince when William started school at Wetherby Prep School, Princess Diana made sure he was ready for both the attention he would receive at school and the inevitable media frenzy outside the campus. Ken Wharfe, a former royal bodyguard, revealed that Diana was concerned about her son's responses to the media and so she instructed William to 'behave' before he left the car on his first day.

As reported by the Daily Express, Wharfe shared, "Diana said to him in the car, 'When you get to school, there are going to be lots of media and lots of photographers, you've got to behave yourself. You're going to get this for the rest of your life.'" Wharfe also recalled what William said. As reported by She Knows, he revealed, “William turned around and said something which was extraordinary. He said, ‘Don’t like ‘tographers.'”

In the end, William did as his mother asked—he smiled and waved at the cameras. Diana's simple words of advice left a lasting imprint. While growing up in the spotlight didn't come easy, both William and Harry learned to handle media attention.

William’s childhood was anything but private—he witnessed his parents’ painful divorce play out in the newspaper, and not long after, endured the heartbreaking loss of his mother. The overwhelming public grief that followed only added to it as he walked behind his mother's coffin at the age of 15. During his time in university, the military, and his long courtship of Kate Middleton, he was constantly in the spotlight. After losing his beloved grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, he had little time to mourn before taking on his new role as Prince of Wales. He and Middleton had to quickly deliver on their duties of supporting Charles and Queen Consort Camilla in royal engagements, whilst also having to relocate their children to Adelaide Cottage in Windsor.

Not long after, William also had his personal life put out—in the pages of his brother Harry's memoir Spare— for everyone to read and dissect. The work delved into his tense relationship with Harry. A furious dispute in the kitchen that purportedly got physical was the most talked-about incident that cast him in a negative light. As Diana had once warned, William and Middleton chose to stay silent. William's position as a future king has only strengthened throughout it all. According to Tatler, he continues to be unwavering in his support of the causes that are most important to him, demonstrating that his attention is still on the bigger picture of protecting The Crown.