Princess Diana may have had questions about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's life after leaving the royal family, but according to her former butler, there is one part of their decision she likely would have understood, their desire for freedom.
Paul Burrell, who worked closely with the late Princess of Wales, previously said that Diana would have been "puzzled" by certain aspects of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's post-royal life, particularly as the couple built independent careers after stepping back as senior working royals.
© Meghan Markle/IGAt the same time, Burrell believes Diana would have supported the motivation behind their dramatic departure. "Diana would have applauded their fight for freedom and their risky strategy to break free and live a normal life," Burrell told InStyle in comments originally made in 2025.
His remarks have taken on new relevance as Harry and Meghan continue building their lives in California, a place that Diana herself reportedly once considered calling home.
Diana may have questioned Harry and Meghan's business ventures
Harry and Meghan announced their decision to step back as senior working members of the royal family in January 2020. After briefly living in Canada, the couple relocated to California and eventually settled in Montecito with their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
© Getty ImagesSince then, both have pursued projects outside the royal institution. Meghan has expanded into lifestyle and media ventures, while Harry has continued his work with the Invictus Games and the couple's charitable efforts through the Archewell Foundation.
It is that intersection of royal status and commercial ventures that Burrell suggested Diana may have questioned. The former royal butler said Diana did not use her own title primarily as a way to make money and wondered whether profits from Harry and Meghan's projects were being directed toward charitable causes or toward the couple personally.
© Ken R. GoffIf the money ultimately went toward helping people less fortunate, Burrell said he supported it. Whatever her concerns, he believes Diana would have remained involved in Harry's life.
"She would have counseled them, helped them along the way," he said. Burrell's comments are, of course, his interpretation of what Diana might have thought. The princess died in Paris in August 1997, more than two decades before Harry and Meghan stepped away from royal duties.
Harry believes his mother would have wanted his California life
Harry himself has drawn a much more direct connection between his life in the United States and his mother's hopes for him.
© @meghanDuring an appearance at The New York Times DealBook Summit in December 2024, the Duke of Sussex said he enjoyed raising his children in America and felt it was "the life that my mom wanted for me."
Harry has repeatedly connected his decision to leave Britain with his experiences growing up under intense media scrutiny.
© Meghan Markle/IGSpeaking about feeling trapped inside the royal "bubble," he recalled the helplessness he experienced as a child while watching the relentless attention surrounding his mother. He has also spoken about his fear of history repeating itself with Meghan and their children.
California ultimately offered Harry something he felt his family could not have in Britain, a greater degree of privacy and freedom. And surprisingly, his mother may once have been looking for something very similar.
Princess Diana reportedly dreamed of moving to Malibu
Years before Harry established a home in California, Diana reportedly imagined starting a new chapter of her own in Malibu.
© Tim GrahamBurrell detailed those plans in his 2003 memoir, "A Royal Duty," and discussed them during an interview on "Good Morning America" that same year.
According to Burrell, Diana had looked at plans for a Malibu property connected to her then-partner, Dodi Fayed, and imagined spending time there with William and Harry.
"We sat on the floor, spread out all the maps and the layout of the house," Burrell recalled.
© Universal History ArchiveDodi had purchased the five-acre Paradise Cove property in June 1997 for approximately $7.3 million. The estate featured a six-bedroom Mediterranean-style villa overlooking the Pacific, along with a swimming pool, tennis court and access to the beach.
The property also had a fascinating Hollywood connection. The land had previously belonged to "The Sound of Music" star Julie Andrews and her husband, director Blake Edwards, before being sold and extensively redeveloped by a subsequent owner.
© Princess Diana ArchiveAccording to Burrell, Diana was particularly attracted to the freedom she associated with America and imagined William and Harry enjoying a different lifestyle there.
She reportedly told him that Americans were less judgmental and pointed to the absence of Britain's rigid class system and royal establishment.
Diana never got the opportunity to make that possible move. She and Dodi died following a car crash in Paris on August 31, 1997.
© WWDNearly three decades later, however, Harry has built a version of that California life with Meghan, Archie and Lilibet.
Whether Diana would have agreed with every decision the Sussexes have made can never truly be known. But both Burrell's recollections and Harry's own comments suggest that the desire at the heart of their royal departure, finding freedom outside the institution and creating a more private family life, may have been something the late princess understood particularly well.harry meghan
