EXCLUSIVE: The Prince and Princess of Wales are taking a modern approach to royal duties - and royal expert Jennie Bond believes it was William's late mother Princess Diana, who paved the way for this10:12, 08 Sep 2026The Princess of Wales may never have met her late mother-in-law, who ripped up the royal rulebook when she held the same title.‌But much of Kate’s modern approach to public duties, as well as being a mother who’s raising the next generation of royals, can be credited to Princess Diana, according to royal expert Jennie Bond. Diana, the former Princess of Wales, is often described as transforming royal engagements from stuffy, formal affairs by taking a hands-on approach to her public work - chatting like a friend to people she met.‌Unlike royals before her, the princess also wasn’t afraid to show her affection, particularly for her sons in public, and was determined to give them ‘normal’ experiences outside palace walls.‌Last week, the 29th anniversary of her untimely death aged just 36, was marked. And almost three decades on since she died, former BBC royal correspondent Jennie exclusively tells the Mirror, the ‘Diana effect’ is still very much alive today, in part, thanks to Kate.She said: “To a generation who are now quite used to seeing a Princess of Wales sitting on the floor with a bunch of kids or carrying out an official engagement wearing jeans and trainers, it must be hard to appreciate what a revolution the last Princess of Wales created. Diana changed the rigid way royal life had to be lived.‌“I remember her telling me that she was determined that her sons would be brought up in a way no previous princes had been. They would experience and witness life outside the gilded cage of royalty.“They would learn to queue like other people - she said William rather enjoyed queuing - to visit the sick and homeless and understand that theirs was a hugely privileged existence. Even though she died when they were so young, her sons have absorbed so much of what she taught them. And Diana is one of the main reasons that we see William behaving with so much more informality than his predecessors.‌“Catherine has been guided by William in the extraordinary ways of the royal world - and she has taken his lead in making the monarchy far more relatable and in touch. As William has said, he and I’m sure Catherine as well, intend to ‘do’ royal with a small r.”Kate’s informal touch, like Diana’s, is often seen on royal visits involving children, where she is happy to crouch down to the same level as little ones, throw herself into arts and crafts activities with them and blow them kisses.Meanwhile, with adults she’s happy to snap a casual selfie, chat about her life as a mum, and proudly discuss her three children - Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis - and their hobbies.‌She was even seen showering the youngsters with cuddles, just like Diana, after completing her gruelling Three Peaks Challenge in aid of the Royal Marsden cancer charity, and at the recent charity polo match, she tenderly kissed William on the cheek.While another cornerstone of Kate’s work has been supporting mental health causes, and her cancer recovery journey has also focused on holistic healing too.‌And Jennie added: “Diana was open with her sons about her emotions and theirs. She told me she thought the monarchy was too remote, too unapproachable - and she intended to change that.“Diana would, I’m sure, be delighted that William - and Harry - have continued the work she began about mental health. It was a taboo topic when she began addressing it, and I’m sure she would be proud that her sons and Catherine have made mental health something we all now talk about and acknowledge.”Of course, there have been inevitable comparisons between the two women, especially when it comes to their fashion choices, thanks to them both favouring designers such as Catherine Walker.‌And as well as wearing Diana’s sapphire engagement ring, Kate is also often spotted wearing other pieces of jewellery from Diana’s collection, most recently donning her pear strand bracelet at the wedding of Peter and Harriet Phillips.But one other major comparison came between the two earlier this year, when Kate embarked on her first official overseas visit since her cancer treatment.She visited the Italian city of Reggio Emilia in May on a fact-finding mission for her early years project, pulling in hundreds of fans everywhere she went. The huge crowds that turned out for Kate made many compare the scenes to when Diana would make foreign visits.‌Jennie accompanied Diana on many of those trips and said: “Seeing the throngs who turned out to cheer Catherine in Italy gave me a sense of déjà vu from all the years I spent travelling with her late mother-in-law. It was the sort of near mass hysteria I witnessed pretty much wherever Diana went.“William and Catherine definitely have the wow factor that Diana had - and which spawned Di-mania. Luckily, William doesn’t seem to suffer the same jealousy that his father did when Diana was the darling of the crowds.‌“People today are equally mesmerised by the new Princess of Wales, so tall, so elegant and so chatty, but William just seems to purr with pride that his wife is such a star. To be fair, he is also pretty dashing and gets his fair share of crowd worship.”Diana’s untimely death not only meant that Kate never got to meet her, but neither did her grandchildren George, Charlotte and Louis.Like Diana before her, the now Princess of Wales is seemingly keen to give her own children as normal a childhood as possible, concentrating on their school life and hobbies. Diana famously took her boys to McDonald's, shops on Kensington High Street and for days out at theme parks.‌But with Kate seemingly putting ‘normality’ at the heart of her parenting, Jennie noted: “However much Diana tried, she couldn’t give her sons a ‘normal’ childhood - especially with a marriage breaking down and the boys being shepherded from home to home.‌“And that experience has, I’m sure, made William all the more determined to give his children the most secure, stable and loving childhood possible.“However, I think the late princess would fully endorse the way William and Catherine are bringing up their family: giving them as much of a normal childhood as possible with lots of laughter, love and cuddles along the way. She would have been a fun Granny who would have showered them with kisses and chased them round the garden.”Kate was made Princess of Wales - the title most closely associated with Diana - four years ago, days after the death of the late Queen in 2022.‌It is believed at first she had reservations about taking on the role given its deep association with her late mother-in-law. At the time she was awarded it by the King, a source said: “The new Princess of Wales appreciates the history associated with this role but will understandably want to look to the future as she creates her own path.”But as much as Diana’s influence might run through Kate’s public and personal life, Jennie believes ultimately she also wants to forge her own way too.Article continues belowShe explained: “I don’t think Catherine models herself entirely on the mother-in-law she never knew, although she draws inspiration from the way Diana carried out her public duties. Today’s Princess of Wales is also a strong character in her own right, with a sharp brain and a university degree to prove it.“She has identified her own areas of interest and expertise and is proving that she is very much her own woman in those fields. I think Catherine has a clear idea of how she wants to do her job and, as with her Early Years campaign, she is doing it by immersing herself in the topic so that she can talk and act from a basis of considerable expertise.”