Exclusive: How Prince Harry and Prince William Honored Princess Diana on Mother's Day

"Their mother was paramount in their life," former royal butler Paul Burrell tells 'Marie Claire.'

Princess Diana rides a sled with Prince William and Prince Harry
(Image credit:  Jayne Fincher/Princess Diana Archive/Getty Images)

The U.K. celebrated Mother's Day on Sunday, March 30, and while Princess Diana might no longer be with her sons, her former butler, Paul Burrell, is taking a look back at Mothering Sunday celebrations of old. Burrell—who worked with the late princess for a decade before her 1997 death—tells Marie Claire how Prince Harry and Prince William would treat their mom to special gifts years ago.

Although Burrell shares that "Mother’s Day isn’t one of those big celebrations the royals enjoy," the young princes "would ensure they got something nice for her, as they did for her birthday and Christmas, and I was very involved in that."

"They never forgot, their mother was paramount in their life," the former butler tells Marie Claire, speaking on behalf of Slingo. "They always thought of her, always rang her, wrote to her and visa versa."

Burrell explains that he would help coordinate the gifts for William and Harry, adding, "they would call me from school and say, 'We need to get a present for mummy, we need to get her something nice, what should we get?'" In terms of gift ideas, the former butler shares that the late princess "loved Diptyque candles, they were throughout her rooms and she loved nothing more than taking a long soak in the bath and having these candles all around her bath."

Princess Diana sitting at a piano with baby Prince Harry and Prince William

Princess Diana is seen with Prince Harry and Prince William in October 1985.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Along with her favorite candles, Diana "also loved the essences from Aromatherapy Associates in Knightsbridge, she loved all those essences, so that was an easy gift for Diana." Burrell shares that he'd "point the boys in the right direction" and "would usually go shopping for them, wrap it up for them."

Burrell shares that Kensington Palace "had a huge room filled with wrapping paper, ribbon, every color you could think of," and he would be in charge of making beautiful presentations for Diana's gifts. "There was always a present ready for them to give her and they always thought of their mother."

While he didn't elaborate on any specific celebrations for the holiday, the former royal butler recalls that Diana used to fill William and Harry's "pockets with sweets, secretly, when she watched them play football or cricket. They’d come up to her and she’d fill their pockets with sweets, they weren’t allowed to do that really."

Last year, Burrell shared some of Princess Diana's favorite Christmas gifts with Marie Claire, and along with her go-to Diptyque, he added, "I'd always buy her favorite perfume which Harry and William would pay for—Hermès 24 Faubourg. That was always in her stocking."

As for the royals' 2025 Mother's Day celebrations, Meghan Markle shared a photo of a pie she made for her annual family tradition, while King Charles and Queen Camilla posted touching pictures with their late mothers on social media. Meanwhile, Princess Kate—who experienced a huge backlash last year after editing her Mother's Day photo with her children—shared footage from her 2024 cancer update video to pay tribute to Mother Nature rather than sharing a personal photo for the holiday

Kristin Contino
Senior Royal and Celebrity Editor

Kristin Contino is Marie Claire's Senior Royal and Celebrity editor. She's been covering royalty since 2018—including major moments such as the Platinum Jubilee, Queen Elizabeth II’s death and King Charles III's coronation—and places a particular focus on the British Royal Family's style and what it means.

Prior to working at Marie Claire, she wrote about celebrity and royal fashion at Page Six Style and covered royalty from around the world as chief reporter at Royal Central. Kristin has provided expert commentary for outlets including the BBC, Sky News, US Weekly, the Today Show and many others.

Kristin is also the published author of two novels, “The Legacy of Us” and “A House Full of Windsor.” She's passionate about travel, history, horses, and learning everything she can about her favorite city in the world, London.