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American Morning

Examining 'Diana's Boys'

Aired August 15, 2001 - 09:44   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to show the love now for some royalty.

Princess Diana, it seems the world just can't get enough of her or her sons now. A new book is out about the princess. It is entitled "Diana's Boys: William and Harry and the Mother They Loved" -- and the author, Christopher Andersen, joining us live now from New York City.

Christopher, good morning. Good to see you.

CHRISTOPHER ANDERSEN, AUTHOR, "DIANA'S BOYS": Good morning.

KAGAN: It seems like a faraway time that these boys were off- limits for people to write about and speculate about.

ANDERSEN: Absolutely. But William is coming of age now. He's 19. He's going to Saint Andrews University, enrolling on September 19. And Harry's got another year at Eton. And they are much more visible. And I think it's time to update the world on their status.

KAGAN: Well, let's do just that. Let's start with the future King William. It seems like from tabloid reports that he's going through a bit of a wild phase.

ANDERSEN: Well, yes. He obviously has seen a number of young ladies in and around London, kind of cutting a wide swathe through the upper classes of England. And he's not been at all shy to take advantage of his position. He is a bit of a party animal. He goes to the clubs.

And this has caused security concerns. Five of his closest friends have had serious drug problems, including the son of Camilla Parker Bowles, Prince Charles's significant other, and Camilla's niece, Emma. So even though he does hang around these people with drug problems and has been spotted in clubs where drugs were openly being taken -- cocaine, ecstasy, that sort of thing -- he himself does not have a problem.

KAGAN: But it does seem to suggest he has turned into a smoker, though.

ANDERSEN: He is a smoker, yes.

KAGAN: That's kind of disturbing.

ANDERSEN: It is. It's funny, I have written a couple of books about the Kennedys, and Jackie had the same thing. She smoked in private. You never saw a photograph of Jackie, but she was a chain smoker.

And the same thing seems to be happening with William. He is very careful nobody sees it, but he does smoke. And it would have driven Diana crazy, I think.

KAGAN: Let's go right to Diana as we talk about the women in these boys' lives. What kind of influence does she remain on the boys long after she has died?

ANDERSEN: Well, it's a phenomenal influence, I think. There have been questions about whether they've been Windsorized after her death. And, indeed, I think the royals have done quite a bit to kind of cut them off from the Spencer family, from Diana's old friends.

But that can't erase the fact that she had the most impact on their young lives. I mean, she set out from the very beginning to, as one of her friends said, mold these boys into something completely different from the rest of the royal family, people who were much more in touch with the feelings and problems and concerns of ordinary people.

I mean, she's the person who took the boy's to AIDS clinics and homeless shelters and rehabilitation clinics so that they could see the problems that ordinary people have to deal with. And I think that remains with them.

KAGAN: What about the Queen, Queen Elizabeth?

ANDERSEN: Ah. They're close to Granny, as they call her.

KAGAN: Granny?

ANDERSEN: Oh, yes, she is Granny. And Prince Philip is Grandpapa. And Charles is Papa. But Granny is just still stiff and formal. But William sees her almost every week, and has throughout his whole life. She has made a point of that, because she knows that in William, really, is the future of the British monarchy.

KAGAN: You've mentioned -- you touched on it a little bit, the social life, William's social life. And the tabloids are loving that he's getting out there and maybe dating some. And both he and Harry seem to have a penchant for blonds.

ANDERSEN: Absolutely, I think it's no big surprise. They're tall, leggy, attractive blondes with kind of big laughs, horsy laughs just like Diana. William has made no bones about it. He says that he does like women who are very similar to his mother.

He has also said that he has a fondness for American girls and that he would not rule out necessarily eventually marrying one. That's what he said to a young American girl in Chile. KAGAN: But you would think that that is some time off before we see a royal wedding like that.

ANDERSEN: Oh, yes. Oh, absolutely. He is going to be very careful. People forget that both William and Harry, before they ever had to cope with the death of their mother, they had to cope with this incredibly bad marriage and coming from a broken home. So he wants to be very careful in the wife he chooses.

KAGAN: Well, what about their father? How has their relationship -- both William and Harry's relationship evolved since Diana's death?

ANDERSEN: Well, I think Charles has really always been affectionate, even when they were small children, away from the cameras. But he was not publicly demonstrative the way that Diana was. And that made Diana quite angry. After her death, though, he changed, for the better I think.

He became closer to his children publicly. He was no longer afraid to show emotion and hug them and kiss them in public and roughhouse with them in public. So they have grown closer. I know they rely on their father a great deal for advice. I think more so they rely on each other, though. I mean, William has always been very protective of Harry, even since they were very small. The last conversation that William had with Diana only hours before her death was, he called up Diana in Paris and said: Look, there's a photo-op at Eton, but they're going to leave poor Harry out. I don't want his feelings hurt. So what are we going to do?

And Diana was going to work with William to fix that. Unfortunately, she never lived to do that. So, indeed, William is protective of Harry, and Harry worships his older brother. And I think they are very strong supports for each other.

KAGAN: I am sure these royal brothers will be fascinating for people around the world for years to come. We will track it. The book, meanwhile, is called "Diana's Boys: William and Harry and the Mother They Loved."

Christopher Andersen, thanks for joining us today. Good to have you with us.

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