William Was Once Described as Diana's 'Alternative Husband' Yet He Was Unaware of Her Fear of Being Killed

Prince William and his mother, Princess Diana, talked about almost everything and were close to the point where the prince was described as his mother's alternative husband. Yet, William knew nothing about Diana's fears of being killed. Here are the details.

To date, Prince Charles and Princess Diana's relationship timeline is one of the saddest stories. Their union was contentious; unfortunately, the pair's children, especially Prince William, were exposed to such a bitter relationship at a young age.

The pressure of his parents' unhappiness weighed significantly on William, causing him sadness, even while at school.

Although Prince William knew his parents' marriage was far from blissful, an experience proved to him how far apart Charles and Diana were from each other.

On June 3, 1991, the young prince was in school, playing golf with his friends, when one of them accidentally hit him on the head with an iron club. The accident made William unconscious, with blood gushing from the injury.

Immediately, he was rushed to the hospital, and his parents arrived. Once Charles and Diana arrived, the doctors revealed that their son's injury was severe.

Without hesitation, the couple sprung into an argument, debating on the next step to take for William's treatment.

Charles wanted William to be transferred to Queen's Medical Center in Nottingham, while Diana opted for Gt Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children. Eventually, Diana's choice prevailed, and William received adequate treatment at the preferred hospital.

After William recovered, everything remained the same. Diana and Charles kept getting more distant, but the former and her son got closer. William worried about his mother's happiness and saw himself as Diana's protector, ensuring her joy.

The mother and son would spend so much time together, laughing and joking, and all Charles could do was envy the duo. Diana and William's relationship remained intact in the following years, eventually growing stronger.

WILLIAM WAS LIKE AN "ALTERNATIVE HUSBAND" FOR DIANA

By the time William was ten years old, he was already Diana's support system. The Princess of Wales thought of her son as an old soul, a deep thinker, and a wise older man in a child's clothing. Despite his age, Diana always sought her son's advice about everything.

In the book "Brothers and Wives: Inside the Lives of William, Kate, Harry, and Meghan," Author Christopher Andersen opened up about Diana and William's relationship thus:

"She'd ask him what he thought of this person or that person or whether he thought someone on the staff was doing a good job."

Besides giving Diana advice, William would cheer the Princess up after her fights with Charles. On one occasion, when Diana was crying in a locked bathroom after an argument, the young prince slid some tissue under the door with a note, asking his mom not to cry.

On another occasion, he booked a table for both of them at Diana's favorite restaurant to cheer her up. In no time, William became more than a son to Diana. The latter considered the young prince "the man in my life."

William offered his mother comfort in her darkest times, and even when she told him about her and Charles' decision to separate, he offered her his wise words. "I hope you will both be happier now," William told his mother after kissing her on the cheek.

Following Diana and Charles' split, William's attention was always needed. He often had to comfort his mother and dish out dating advice. As a result, people like Andersen believed William's role was more than that of a son. In the author's words:

"William's role was more that of alternative husband than son. It was a heavy burden for anyone, but especially someone so young."

WILLIAM WAS NOT AWARE OF HIS MOTHER'S FEARS OF BEING KILLED

Although Diana opened up to William about almost everything, there was one thing she hid from her son — her fears that she might be killed in a staged car crash. Diana came to this conclusion after an experience that would have led to an accident.

The Princess of Wales was driving through Central London when she approached an intersection and was almost broadsided by another car due to brake failure.

"The brakes of my car have been tampered with. If something does happen to me, it will be M15 or M16," Diana wrote to some of her closest friends.

The Princess had the conviction that she would be assassinated so that Charles could marry Tiggy, William, and Prince Harry's nanny, who was employed in 1993.

Diana shared her theory with her solicitor, Lord Mishcon, and another lawyer, Maggie Rae. The duo were stunned by what they heard and could barely believe what was happening. Lord Mishcon confessed,

"It seemed incredible, fantastic, that she could even be thinking such a thing."

Still, Mishcon and Rae kept mute about what they heard, and the members of the Royal Family, including William, knew nothing about it. Nevertheless, William still had fears about Diana's safety because of her experiences with the press.

On one occasion, when the Princess left the luxury department store, Harvey Nichols, two paparazzi chased her down Kensington High Street and into a taxi.

Eventually, the cab stopped at an intersection, and the two men forcefully opened the passenger's door to see Diana with her head down, crying.

They yelled at her to lift her head, but she did not. Diana told William that throughout the entire ride back to the palace, she cried and never looked up.

That experience, alongside other horrible moments she went through with the paparazzi, made William begin to hate the media.

DIANA'S DEATH WAS LIKE AN EARTHQUAKE FOR WILLIAM

On August 31, 1997, the Princess of Wales died in a fatal car crash. Years later, William would reveal that his mother's death was like an earthquake. In his words (Town&Country):

"There's nothing like it in the world. There really isn't. It's like an earthquake that has just run through the house and through your life and everything."

Later, William would shock the world by revealing that the BBC had a part to play in Diana's tragic death. The Duke claimed his mother's life was ruined after a bombshell interview with the outlet in 1995. He added:

"It brings indescribable sadness to know that the BBC's failures contributed significantly to her fear, paranoia, and isolation that I remember from those final years with her."

Although the BBC has written letters of apology to Charles, William, Harry, and Diana's brother, the Duke of Cambridge still maintains that the leaders of the BBC failed his mother.