How Queen Elizabeth Reacted To Princess Diana’s 'Hands-On' Parenting

Queen Elizabeth II reportedly couldn’t understand Princess Diana’s take on motherhood.

The royal children used to grow up at the care of staff and their nannies. However, when Princess Diana joined the Firm she broke the rules by being a hands-on mom, which is something that Her Majesty didn’t agree with.

According to Andrew Morton in his 2011 book “William and Catherine,” Princess Diana’s “hands-on mothering” was a relief to Prince Charles who had been raised by a succession of nannies. One time, Prince William’s nanny was absent during a stay at Balmoral, the Queen’s Highland retreat in Aberdeenshire, so Princess Diana took over.

“Diana took over the mothering herself, causing the Queen to exclaim, ‘I don’t understand why Diana has to do this,’” Morton wrote. “There are millions of housemaids around.’”

Prince Charles reportedly “frowned upon” Princess Diana’s insistence on bringing up their sons in a normal way. The future king doesn’t think that it was necessary, however, Princess Diana did all she could to give Prince William and Prince Harry a normal life.

She took them to amusement parks, beaches and they made trips to homeless shelters to show the boys the other ways of life. They also rode buses and taxis.

One time, Princess Diana canceled their lunch at the palace to take Prince William and Prince Harry to McDonald’s. Former royal chef Darren McGrady was surprised and insisted that he cook them burgers. However, Princess Diana declined and said that what the boys wanted was the toys.

Princess Diana did what regular parents do with their children. She also dropped off Prince William and Prince Harry at school.

On the other hand, Queen Elizabeth II wasn’t a warm and cozy mother to Prince Charles. Her Majesty was never hands-on due to her royal duties. In fact, she was always away when Prince Charles was growing up, so the future king was under the care of his nannies and palace staffers.

The Prince of Wales shared a closer bond to his grandmother Queen Mother than his own mom, Queen Elizabeth II. Prince Charles confessed that he dreaded the moment of Queen Mother’s passing and admitted that he would miss her laughs.