Princess Diana “willingly gave up” sons Prince William and Prince Harry over the summer, according to one of her closest friends.

Every summer, members of the royal family spend time on their Balmoral estate in Scotland. It’s a tradition going back many years.

Back in the 90s, after Diana split from then Prince Charles, the pair were co-parenting their sons William and Harry.

And this meant that the young princes spent time away from their mother during breaks from school.

Why Princess Diana ‘willingly gave up’ William and Harry during summers

Paul Burrell, Diana‘s butler and friend for many years, explained that Diana only had her boys for two weeks over the summer each year.

Speaking to Marie Claire on behalf of Casino.org, Paul explained that Diana “gave them up” for much of the summer. The reason? Paul said: “She said it’s important for them to grow up with her cousins, with the royal family at Balmoral.”

He added: “Summer was fun for her, but she realised that the rest of the year and the time away from boarding school, that they would be with their father and their friends.

She said it’s important for them to grow up with her cousins, with the royal family at Balmoral.

“She realised that they were growing up and they had to be integrated into the royal family because William one day will be king and Harry will be there to support him. She willingly gave them up, she missed them.”

Diana’s last summer with her sons

Princess Diana spent her final summer with her beloved sons in 1997.

The family enjoyed time in the South of France, and they soaked up the sun whilst enjoying fun activities like jet-skiing.

Paul said Diana and her boys “had fun” and then she brought them “back home so they could go to Balmoral”.

Tragically, just weeks later, William and Harry were told the heartbreaking news that their mother had died. They were at Balmoral Castle with their father, Charles, and grandparents, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.

Did William and Harry talk to Diana before she died?

In 2017, William and Harry opened up about their last phone conversation with their mum before her death.

Prince Harry, who was 12 when Diana died, made a heartbreaking admission during an ITV documentary to mark 20 years of Diana’s death.

He said of the phone call: “It was her speaking from Paris, I can’t really necessarily remember what I said but all I do remember is probably regretting for the rest of my life how short the phone call was.”

The brothers had been enjoying time with their cousins at Balmoral when Diana called them.

William, who was 15 at the time, said: “Harry and I were in a desperate rush to say goodbye, you know ‘see you later’… if I’d known now obviously what was going to happen, I wouldn’t have been so blasé about it and everything else.”

Diana died in the early hours of August 31, 1997, following a car accident in Paris. She was 36.