As Prince William and Prince Harry grew up, they oftentimes found themselves surrounded by the glitter and gilt of royal life. However, when they visited their maternal grandmother at her home in Scotland, the boys enjoyed a more natural environment. Indeed, Frances Shand Kydd lived on Seil Island, an isolated little paradise located on the country's western coast.
Sources indicate that Princess Diana, too, valued the time that she and the boys spent in this peaceful setting. As the princess's bodyguard, Ken Wharfe, explained in the documentary, "Diana: The Curse of The Spencers" (via YouTube), "Such was the informality of being at Frances' house. You know, I stayed there. We had some very, very entertaining, you know, weekends there with William and Harry. It was real swallows and Amazons country, you know. I mean, the kids loved it."
For Diana and the boys, one of the best parts of visiting Frances was certainly taking a break from the formality of palace living. After all, Diana's mother did not exactly fill her house with priceless paintings or Persian rugs. As Wharfe told documentary-makers, "There was nothing grand about where Frances lived. It was barely any furniture there. But, it was fun." As an added bonus, the paparazzi did not follow the family to the island, meaning that the whole family could simply be themselves. In this environment, Diana and Frances could both feel normal.
