There has always been a lot of speculation as to how Diana’s death could have been prevented and this is one of them.
HIGHLIGHTS
Key takeaways:
Princess Diana lost her royal titles, including her HRH title, after her divorce from Prince Charles. This led to the loss of her royal protection, potentially contributing to her early death.
Diana’s former bodyguard emphasized the importance of royal protection, stating that trained security guards offer a higher level of security than private bodyguards. The lack of adequate protection may have increased the risks surrounding the car crash that took Diana’s life.
Although Prince William had promised to restore Diana’s royal title when he became king, her death before Charles ascended the throne means that he may not be able to fulfill this promise. However, there is still a chance that her title could be restored posthumously during William’s reign.
Prior to her early death in 1997, it’s no secret that the later years of Princess Diana’s life were quite difficult for her. One of these things was her separation and later divorce from the then-Prince Charles. This caused quite a few troubles for Diana, including the loss of her royal titles.
Whilst this made sense as she was no longer a part of the Royal Family, this did mean that she lost many of the privileges that come with that, such as her security protection, which for the Royal Family is paid for by the British taxpayer. However, had this protection not been removed, could it have prevented her early death?
Prince Charles Insisted That Diana Lose Her Title
When they divorced, it was more than clear that this wasn’t done on good terms and there had been a somewhat obvious strain in the marriage for a period of time before their separation was announced. But whether Diana was prepared for what came next remains to be seen.
When Charles and Diana got married, she was given the title Her Royal Highness, The Princess of Wales. However, when they separated, there were a lot of questions as to whether Diana would be able to keep these royal titles or not.
It is known that she remained The Princess of Wales up until her death, with her daughter-in-law Kate Middleton taking on this title in 2022, which happened after the Queen’s death when Charles ascended the throne and gave the Prince of Wales title to William; the title that was taken away from Diana was her HRH title.
Even though the Queen was head of state and had said that she was more than happy for Diana to keep the HRH title, despite them having quite an up-and-down relationship.
However, Charles wasn’t as convinced. He was apparently adamant that Diana should lose her royal title, and eventually, he was able to get his own way.
Had Diana Kept Her Titles And Royal Protections, She Might Be Alive Today
Her HRH title now taken away from her led Diana to lose her right to royal protection, and so she would have to pay for her own protection. Royal security guards have been highly trained on how to protect members of the Royal Family in a variety of situations, something a private bodyguard couldn’t completely offer.
This was further confirmed by Diana’s former bodyguard Ken Wharfe, who said that the whole point of having a protection officer is to have someone who “uses intelligence, their contacts and their instincts” to keep the person whom they are protecting safe from any harm.
However, the bodyguard who was with Diana that night, and who was also the only person in the car crash who didn’t die from it, had not received that type of training. Even if he had some qualities that would be necessary for a bodyguard to have, they weren’t exactly up to the level of protection that someone like Diana would need.
Wharfe had even said that had he still been her bodyguard at this point, he never would have allowed her to get into the car in the first place due to the risks surrounding it.
Even if he hadn’t been able to do that, she likely would have had a whole team around her as opposed to just the one bodyguard, who may have traveled in a convoy like many members of the Royal Family have, which would have decreased the likelihood of the crash happening.
Obviously, it’s worth pointing out that it’s not a complete guarantee that keeping the HRH title would mean that Diana would still be alive today, but there is still a small chance that none of this would have happened had she still had it.
Could Prince William Restore Diana’s Title Posthumously When He Becomes King?
What’s potentially even more heartbreaking than his mother dying was the promise that William had made to her before she died. After her HRH title was taken away from her, William promised his mother that when he became king he would restore the royal title in full.
However, as William is yet to ascend the throne and Diana had died before even Charles became king, William will never be completely able to fulfill the promise that he made. But there is a chance that he could restore this title posthumously when he eventually becomes king.
After all, many people have received an award posthumously, so there could be a chance that a royal title would be able to be restored posthumously too. Whilst this is highly unlikely to happen during King Charles’ reign, it could happen during William’s.
There is still quite a long way to go until this happens, but since Diana’s death, times have changed. William and Harry are grown up and whilst there is still a lot of love from the public towards Diana, the monarchy has also changed, so there’s no guarantee that William will actually follow through with his promise.
Especially with Harry wanting to avenge her death by taking aim at the royals who wronged her, despite William still very much being in the center of the Royal Family, there is still a chance that he could restore her title back in full.
