Princess Diana leaned on a young Prince William as her emotional crutch, it has been claimed in a new book.
Royal author Robert Jobson also claims Diana would often leave William feeling embarrassed as he found himself caught up in the middle of the 'War of the Waleses'
As Diana became more troubled as her marriage broke down, she reportedly leaned on William for support and "went too far in burdening him with her problems".
Writing for the Daily Mail, Mr Jobson claims: "For William, school was not only fun but a respite from his mother’s increasing tendency to lean on him as an emotional crutch.
"Later, even Diana privately admitted she went too far in burdening him with her problems.
"She had taken to calling William ‘the man in my life’, and he did his best to be supportive — once telling her that he wanted to be a policeman so he could protect her. But he was only ten when his parents officially separated in 1992."
On another occasion, writer Bel Mooney and her daughter Kitty were invited to a dinner party with Prince Charles and William.
During the party, Charles is said to have burst into song at one point, prompting Kitty to talk to Willian about how embarrassing parents can be- to which William reportedly said: "Papa doesn’t embarrass me — Mama does".
It means school, namely Eton, became a "sanctuary" for William, away from to so-called ‘War of the Waleses’.
However, as William reportedly found himself "burdened", Prince Harry always revelled in the freedom he enjoyed as a child - something he knew brother William would never have, a royal author claims.
Robert Jobson said the "mischievous" little royal was "sometimes totally out of control" and told his older sibling, and second in line to the throne, he could "do what I want".
The now-Duke of Sussex, 37, often felt overshadowed by the attention William received, including being treated with deference by royal staff at a young age.
He would also be invited to visit the Queen Mother alone and without his younger sibling.
The author and journalist said while Harry's never directly expressed resentment in public it did all cause some tension between the two of them.
But this came out in shows of cheeky rebellion that their mum, Princess Diana, found "hilarious".
On one occasion, the three of them, alongside royal protection officer Ken Wharfe, were being driven to Prince Charles' home at Highgrove, in Gloucestershire.
Harry and William, just six and eight, were arguing on the back seat when the younger brother said: "You'll be King. I won't - so I can do what I want!"
Jobson, writing in his new book William At 40: The Making Of A Modern Monarch, extracts of which are being published in the Daily Mail, said Diana and Wharfe were "a little shocked", the protection officer later told him.
