She was one of Princess Diana’s closest friends, a staunch confidant who offered her support and advice in her darkest days. And after Diana’s death, Julia Samuel, a psychotherapist specializing in grief, gave her sons the same love and attention.
The connection is so close that Mrs Samuel was chosen as godmother to Prince George, William’s eldest son, and was one of the chosen few to attend the unveiling of the statue in Diana’s honor in Kensington Gardens alongside William and Harry. Diana was also godmother to Mrs. Samuel’s son.
Now, Ms Samuel has posted an intriguing video on her Instagram page, which many interpret as a concerned plea to Prince Harry to heal the rift with his brother after the damaging allegations in his memoir, Spare, were broadcast. While she doesn’t mention the princes by name, Ms. Samuel warns that there can be “great struggles” in families after an “unexpected death” and said that where we “love most” we also “love most.” to hate”.
Julia Samuel was one of Princess Diana’s closest friends, a staunch confidant who offered her support and advice in her darkest days. Pictured: Diana, Princess of Wales, with wife Julia Samuel in the Royal Box at Center Court, Wimbledon, 1994
Ms Samuel revealed that while she too has been involved in family disputes, she was “fortunate” that such incidents “have remained private because none of us want those worst parts of us to be exposed”.
In the video, shared with her 40,000 followers, Ms Samuel goes on to say that there is “no favorite child” and “no one truth” in any family. Her words appear to be a clear intervention in the ongoing feud between the brothers and Harry’s insistence that he wrote his bombshell book in the name of “truth.”
One of Ms Samuel’s followers, Amy Smith, posted a response to the video, saying: “Sounds like a message to Prince Harry. Great post reflecting the complexities of families, the nuances, the different perspectives.’
Another follower simply wrote, identifying the apparent target of Ms Samuel’s comments: “Prince Harry…”
In his memoir, written by American ghostwriter JR Moehringer, Harry accused William of “lunging” at him, knocking him to the ground and tearing his necklace in another incident.
Julia Samuel posted an intriguing video on her Instagram page (pictured), which many interpret as a concerned plea to Prince Harry to heal the rift with his brother after the damaging allegations in his memoir, Spare, were broadcast.
Throughout the book, Harry complains about being treated as a minor ‘heir’ to William’s ‘heirs’, revealing for example that he was given a smaller bedroom when they were children.
In her video, Ms Samuel said: “I’ve been thinking about families and that every family has a story. We all have a story of love and loss, joy and pain, and that in any family where we love most, we hate most and make our biggest mistakes, and there is no such thing as a perfect family.
“All families operate on a spectrum of functional and dysfunctional factors, dependent on internal and external pressures.
“And the biggest external pressures arise around the big peaks of change. So this is obviously death and even more unexpected death, but also separation and illness where internal and external pressures put all family members under stress.
“Everyone in this family can have different ways of coping, have different emotional needs and have different desires, and that can create real conflict in families.”
Prince Diana died in a car crash in Paris in August 1997 when the princes were just 15 and 12, and the enduring shock and sadness of this tragedy is a recurring theme throughout Harry’s book.
Ms Samuel added: “Where there is a death in the family – at the heart of fractures and heartbreak in families – it is often the loss of the person they love and the struggle for the limited resources of love, how to love them experience this time.
Known in royal circles for her discretion, Ms Samuels has said little about the siblings’ relationship other than saying Diana “would be really proud of her”. Pictured: Prince Harry and Julia Samuel in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace, London, Thursday 1st July 2021
“And that can lead to big fights. I know for myself that none of us are immune from these struggles. I’ve had a lot of struggles around these issues that I wasn’t my best self by any means and that I’m not at all proud of.
‘Happily [these fights] have remained private because none of us want these worst parts of us to be exposed.
“But what I thought about was that when families push and pull, this idea can arise that there’s a right story or a truth. And that’s really never the case. There is no hero or favorite child. There are multiple stories and multiple truths.’
In a message below the video, Ms Samuel wrote: “These conflicting attitudes can tragically tear a family apart. Where each family member has a different version of their experience. Or want to be considered the “right one”. Or the victim. Or the ordained heir of the deceased parent.’
Prince William is patron of Mrs Samuel’s charity Child Bereavement UK, a position previously held by Diana. But she also stays close to Harry.
Ms Samuel is believed to have offered advice to the Duchess of Sussex as she struggled with her mental health during pregnancy. In her full-length television interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021, Meghan said, ‘One of the people that I reached out to and who continues to be a friend and confidant was one of my husband’s mother’s best friends, one of Diana’s best friends.’
Pictured: Princess Diana and Julia Samuel at the 1990 Wimbledon Tennis Championships
Later that year, the mourning specialist was invited to what the palace described as “a very personal moment for the family” – the unveiling of a statue of Diana in Kensington Gardens.
There, Mrs. Samuel was seen hugging Harry as it became apparent that the brothers’ relationship was already beginning to fray.
Known in royal circles for her discretion, she has said little about the siblings’ relationship other than saying that Diana “would be really proud of her”. She has described her role as Prince George’s godmother as “a great honour” and has spoken about the gifts she is bringing for his birthday.
Two years ago, she told author Elizabeth Day on the How To Fail podcast, “I hurt George [Diana] did it to us what are impossible toys that are really loud [and] to do much.
“I’m slightly stunned by the size of the gift, which William then spends days putting together. And then assemble all the machines.
‘And it makes horrible tooting noises and blinking lights and all that. It makes me laugh and it makes George laugh.’