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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Rebecca Russell

Sweet pictures capture Prince William in 1986 with mum Diana and Harry

Prince William and Prince Harry grew up in an intense period of media interest where every step they took was photographed or written about.

Whether it was their first day of school or joining their parents on a royal tour, the press was there to witness every moment.

This explains why the two princes are so fiercely protective of their own families' privacy and why they have entirely redefined when and how their children can be seen in public.

But that’s not to say that there weren’t some incredibly cute moments from when Prince William and Prince Harry were young.

In one special video filmed at Highgrove House in Gloucestershire, Prince William can be seen dressed in army fatigues playing with Diana, Princess of Wales and one-year-old Prince Harry.

Prince William and Prince Harry were filmed playing at Highgrove House in 1986 (Getty Images)

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Princes William and Harry were brought up living between Kensington Palace in London and Highgrove House in Gloucestershire.

In a recently resurfaced video of the pair playing in the gardens of Highgrove with their mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, fans get an adorable glimpse at the little princes playing on a climbing frame, hiding in a playhouse and practising their ‘parachute jumps’ in a sand pit.

The short clip from 1986 starts with Prince William taking a very important phone call from his playhouse dressed in full military fatigues which were a gift from the 1st Battalion of the Parachute Regiment, of which Prince Charles is the Colonel in Chief.

The uniforms are completed with traditional red berets that were soaked and shrunk over pudding basins in order to fit the princes' small heads.

William, who is described as ‘Corporal William Windsor’ in the narrated clip, then reappears atop his climbing frame.

Prince William dressed in the Parachute Regiment Uniform (Getty)

He shouts out "alright down there” before his mother appears to help guide him down from the net.

Following a quick woosh down the slide, Prince Harry makes his debut in his mother’s arms wearing the same smart uniform- just in time for William to terrify everyone as he loses his footing on the metal post.

With a cheeky grin and giggle he copies his brother and slides down through William’s legs.

Following a few parachute jumps in the sand pit, William pushes his brother in the yellow swing - much to Harry’s enjoyment as he smiles from ear to ear.

We then get to see Diana’s expert parenting tactics when a defiant William refuses to come in from the garden. As the little prince hides from his mother, Diana says: "Alright, Harry will have all the fun then!”

This does the trick as William quickly sprints towards the house shouting: "No, No, No, No, No, No, No!”

Prince Harry joined his big brother for the photo call (Tim Graham Photo Library)
They both wore specially made uniforms (Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)

This video was not the last time we got to hear about the little royal's exploits in military gear.

Ken Wharfe, a former member of the MET Police Royal Protection SO14 team, said Prince Harry used to come to him dressed in military fatigues and ask for missions.

He explained how he lent the young royal a two-way radio and set him a task. But it would seem Harry took Wharfe’s mission quite literally - as any young daredevil would.

The prince took it upon himself to escape from Kensington Palace to Kensington High Street on his own without telling anyone.

He then used the radio to call Wharfe to inform him "mission accomplished."

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