Remembering Princess Diana at 50

On July 1st when Prince William and Kate’s plane touches down in Canada on the couples first official foreign state visit as husband and wife, many people will be thinking “if only things had been different”

I am not referring to the ex-girlfriends of Prince William who I am sure wish it had been them on this trip alongside the prince. I am talking about the hundreds of thousands of people around the world who on this day will be remembering Princess Diana, because “ if only things had been different” she would have been celebrating her 50th birthday July 1st.

And one thing is for sure, William and Kate would not have been in Canada, but helping the Princess celebrate, because knowing the relationship between William and his mother as I do (having spent fifteen years cooking for them) I know how close the two were. William would be expected to make a speech and act as host for the evenings party and in turn Princess Diana would be teasing William (and Kate) about not starting a family too soon for fear of her becoming “a grandmother” albeit a glamorous one, while secretly yearning for news from the happy couple that “we are having a baby” and better yet “ it’s going to be a girl”

One of the things Princess Diana regretted most in her life was not having a daughter. She longed for one. She loved the times that the Duchess of York would drop into Apartments 8/9 Kensington Palace with Beatrice and Eugenie for afternoon tea. I remember when the Princess found out that Wendy, my wife had given birth to our first daughter she was overly excited insisting that as soon as we brought Kelly home we took her to Kensington Palace for her to hold. And hold she did, cradled in her arms for over half an hour, staring at her in deep thought as Kelly slept through the whole event. (Kelly still tells people to this day that she was a good friend of Princess Diana)