Prince William’s advice for Princess Diana which proves he was always a modern royal

Prince William has set his sights on modernising the monarchy from within well before his time at the helm.

While claims have been made regarding the friction that reports of such ideas can create between the Prince of Wales and his father, the King, it is clear that William does not intend a bit of advance planning to be any sort of a threat.

Historian Robert Lacey recently told PEOPLE that the heir apparent’s approach “shouldn’t be seen as criticism of King Charles. He is very close to his father and has been his most important supporter.”

As the future king’s current plans move to fruition bit by bit — “I think it’s important to live for the here and now,” he told Eugene Levy on Apple TV’s The Reluctant Traveler — a fable from his past may echo how he has always been ahead of the curve.

A simple decision

Post her divorce, Princess Diana may have found the idea of parting with her sumptuous wardrobe a tad difficult.

Naturally, her role at one point as the future queen of England required great public standing, a display which she was obligated to follow with equally important sartorial choices — all of which came to gather dust among her collection once she no longer needed to fulfill duties as her former husband’s better half.

Thus, in 1997, Prince William made a simple decision on her mother’s behalf, encouraging the former Princess of Wales to put pieces from her attire on auction.

‘New and exciting areas’

Diana’s pride knew no bounds at her first born’s swift instincts, her friend Debbie Frank narrated in the Channel 5 documentary, Diana, In Her Own Words.

“The idea of auctioning the dresses came from William. She told me so herself and she was so proud of him for coming up with that idea,” she said.

As for the Princess’ own thoughts? “I am extremely happy that others can now share the joy that I had wearing them. Life has moved into new and exciting areas. Clothes are not as essential to my life as they used to be,” she told Vanity Fair after the auction at Christie’s.

Auction details

Princess Diana auctioned off 79 of her ensembles via Christie’s, in 1997. Arranged towards the benefit of an essential cause, the auction raised $3.25 million for cancer and AIDS research.

While the bidding took place just two months before the beloved royal passed away in a vehicular crash, on August 31, 1997.