Royal Insider Reveals When Princess Diana Was More Lax About Screen Time
There are so many moments that remind us that Princess Diana was an incredibly relatable mom. She got to experience the good and the bad. She got to play with her sons in the sand, hug them until they couldn’t breathe, and laugh until it hurt. But she also had to deal with some of the same pain points that parents today still struggle with. Namely, the late Princess of Wales had to navigate screen time and decide just how much Prince William and Prince Harry were allowed to have.
A royal insider recently spoke to People about the one occasion when screen time always got the green light. Richard Dalton, who was Princess Diana’s hairstylist and gave Prince William and Prince Harry their first haircuts, said he would regularly visit the young boys. Whenever he arrived, Prince William would apparently place a chair on the coffee table (what a great helper!) in excited anticipation.
“[He got] extra television [during his hair cuts],” Dalton revealed.
And if there’s a good time to let kids veg out on their favorite shows, getting a haircut is definitely one of them. Because no hairstylist needs a squirmy kid while they’re holding scissors and trying to snip away dead ends. And can you imagine if Dalton had nicked a future monarch because he was antsy?!
“They both were very sweet,” Dalton said of his young clientele.
Dalton said he cut Prince William and Prince Harry’s hair until they were 9 and 7 respectively but he worked for Diana for longer. In that time, he would do her hair daily if not more. (After all, you definitely need a touchup if it’s time to add a tiara!)
“She would call me at Windsor Castle and say, ‘Can I come have my hair done at your apartment?’ She used to love coming to my house because it was normal,” Dalton revealed. And Princess Diana — “the people’s princess” — was about as “normal” as a royal can get. She made sure her boys got to lead “normal” lives amid the royal hubbub — enrolling them in school and famously fighting off paparazzi while on vacations. And, of course, by deciding when to let screen time slide.
Before you go, check out 20 precious photos that prove Princess Diana prioritized motherhood over royalty.