Prince William 'infuriated' by 'tasteless' comparisons between Meghan Markle and Princess Diana

However, the Prince of Wales, 41, is thought to be "bothered" about these comparisons, according to royal insiders.

A source claimed: "William doesn’t want to deprive Harry of the right to celebrate their mother’s legacy. What bothers him is how Meghan’s paraded around as the modern-day version of Diana, he finds that beyond tasteless and offensive, not only to him but also to Kate.

"To add insult to injury, Harry’s not consulted with him about these trips abroad and future plans they’ve apparently got in the works to celebrate Diana’s life and legacy.

"The fact that the tension with the Sussexes is now impacting celebrating their mother’s legacy is beyond the pale for William, but it’s not as though he can really speak about it with Charles and Camilla because there’s obviously history there with Diana being estranged from the royals so he’s feeling pretty alone on this."

As for the comparisons between Meghan and Diana, the source continued to tell Closer Magazine: "As far as William’s concerned his mother was one of a kind, he doesn’t go around comparing Kate to her, that would be ridiculous. And he thinks it’s just as ridiculous for Meghan to be compared to her.

"Diana was so humble and didn’t have a self-promoting bone in her body. The spotlight found her and she was forced to contend with it.

"Her love of children was the reason she chose to be a nanny and then a school teacher and that became the driving force in the way she lived her life, from the charity work she did, to the way she connected with the public and most of all the way she raised her boys.

"She will always be on a pedestal in William’s eyes, it’s no wonder he bristles at the idea of Meghan being held up as a modern-day Diana.

"The last thing Diana wanted was attention, she was so humble and genuinely shy, she didn’t need fanfare, or to be validated."

However, the royal insider claimed Prince Harry and Meghan intend to downplay the comparisons between the duchess and her late mother-in-law.

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They added: "From their perspective, it’s a load of lies and awful bullying aimed at taking her down. The fact is she does remind Harry of his mother in so many ways, and he doesn’t understand why that’s a bad thing, nor does he think anyone, including his brother, has a right to condemn him for that.

"All he and Meghan are trying to do is honour Diana and her legacy. He’s given William ample opportunity to be a part of it and he still hopes that he’ll get down off his high horse and join them.

"But William doesn’t see it that way and doesn't think that anybody should be compared to his mother.

"They broke the mould when they made Diana, and to suggest that someone could ever take her place is not only absurd – it’s downright infuriating for William."