Prince William is reportedly "horrified" by the prospect of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle developing a television project about Princess Diana in Britain, adding another potential source of tension between the brothers ahead of the 30th anniversary of their mother's death in August 2027.
The claim about William's reaction comes from an unnamed source and hasn't been confirmed by Kensington Palace. There is also no official announcement from Harry, Meghan, Archewell Productions or Netflix establishing that a Diana film has been commissioned or entered production.
The underlying report about a possible project comes from Richard Kay, the Daily Mail's editor-at-large, who said on Palace Confidential that Harry had been approaching people who knew Diana about participating in a television film.
"I am told that one of the reasons Harry's here is to make a television film, his own film, about his mother," Kay said. "I know he has been reaching out to his friends and others who knew her, asking them to contribute. That's going to occupy a lot of his headspace over the next 12 months."
Kay's comments offer the most specific account so far of Harry's reported plans, but leave key details unanswered. No title, format, distributor, filming schedule or release date has been disclosed, and it isn't clear whether the discussions amount to an early-stage idea or a production that has already secured financial backing.
Speculation intensified after Woman's Day cited an unnamed source claiming Meghan was closely involved and that the couple had been "collecting footage." The source also claimed members of Diana's Spencer family supported the project, though no identified member of the family has publicly confirmed participating.
The same source portrayed William as strongly opposed to the idea. "Hearing that Harry and Meghan Markle are hijacking this tribute to his late mother, and on UK soil, no less, has sent him around the bend," the source said.
That characterization hasn't come from William himself. Kensington Palace hasn't publicly said that the Prince of Wales objects to a project by his brother about Diana, making the reported reaction an anonymous-source claim rather than William's confirmed position.
The source further claimed that Meghan's possible involvement was a particular point of friction. Harry, according to the account, considers her participation logical because she is his producing partner and has experience developing television projects through Archewell Productions.
There is an established business relationship that could provide a platform for future projects. Netflix announced in August 2025 that it had extended its relationship with Harry and Meghan's Archewell Productions under a multiyear first-look agreement covering film and television projects.
That agreement, however, doesn't establish a connection between Netflix and the reported Diana project. A first-look arrangement generally gives the streaming company an opportunity to consider projects from the producer before they are offered elsewhere; it isn't evidence that Netflix has commissioned a particular program.
The anonymous account also attributed to William objections to comparisons between Meghan and Diana and claimed he viewed Catherine, Princess of Wales, as a more appropriate comparison. Neither William nor Catherine has publicly made or endorsed those assertions, leaving them among the less substantiated elements of the report.
William's sensitivity to commercial portrayals of Diana has surfaced previously through people described as his friends. When Netflix prepared to release the sixth season of "The Crown" in 2023, which included scenes featuring Diana after her death, the Daily Beast quoted a friend of William criticizing the portrayal.
"It's incredibly hurtful to have his mother exploited over and over again in this tawdry fashion by Netflix," the friend said. "He won't watch it, but he will be totally sickened by it."
Those remarks weren't made directly by William, but they provide context for reports that people in his circle have objected to dramatizations or portrayals of Diana. They don't establish how he views any potential project involving Harry.
Diana died in a Paris car crash on Aug. 31, 1997, making next year the 30th anniversary of her death. The milestone is likely to renew attention on her legacy, including the charitable causes she championed and the impact her death had on the monarchy and her sons.
Harry has frequently discussed Diana in interviews, documentaries and his 2023 memoir, "Spare," including the effect her death had on his childhood and later life. William has generally spoken about his mother more selectively, while supporting causes linked to issues she championed.
For now, the most concrete information about the proposed television project is Kay's statement that Harry has been contacting people who knew Diana and asking them to contribute. Claims that Meghan is producing it, the Spencer family has endorsed it or William is "horrified" remain based on anonymous-source reporting, with no project announcement yet from Archewell Productions or Netflix.
