Fact Check: Did Princess Diana 'Break Royal Protocol' for School Moms Race?

Princess Diana was one of the most revolutionary members of the royal family of the past century, often moving away from the traditional way that the royals conducted themselves to engage with the public on a more personal level.

From her marriage to Prince Charles in 1981 to her untimely death in a 1997 car accident while on vacation in Paris, Diana was held as a modernizer who was often accused of breaking royal protocol.

In the year which marks the 25th anniversary of the death of Diana, a wave of reporting and pop-culture depictions of the princess have been released which includes the forthcoming fifth season of Netflix's The Crown where Diana will be portrayed by actress Elizabeth Debicki.

With this an increase in social media discussion about the princess and her legacy has also occurred, resulting in videos and images of the royal going viral on platforms such as TikTok and Twitter.

A number of posts across these platforms have focussed on Diana's participation in field day events at Princes William and Harry's school in the 1980s and 1990s. The informality and relatability of these participations have won praise from commenters, with claims arising that the princess broke with royal protocol to take part.

The issues surrounding royal protocol are, however, complex.

The Claim

A number of social media posts have been uploaded in recent months showing Princess Diana participating in a moms race at the school of Prince William and Prince Harry.

The latest of these posts, uploaded by Twitter account @notgwendalupe which has gained over a thousand likes, claims that Diana "broke royal protocol" by taking part. It reads:

"Princess Diana breaking royal protocol by participating at a mothers day rally in her son's school, she eventually won the race."

The Facts

Princess Diana did take part in a number of parents' races during annual field days at Prince William and Prince Harry's prep-school Wetherby, from 1988 to 1991.

Press reporting from the time shows that Diana came in first place in 1988, second place in 1989, third place in 1990 and fourth in 1991.

Diana was not the only member of the royal family to take part in similar races, her sister-in-law Sarah Ferguson (married to Prince Andrew from 1986 to 1996) was photographed doing so at Upton House school in 1993.

Royal protocol is an undefined code of practice that standardizes some forms of royal behavior.

For members of the public, forms of protocol may be offered ahead of royal visits to clear any anxiety that may arise. These have been published on the British monarchy's website under a section titled "How to greet a member of the royal family."

Included in this are the forms of address, such as calling Queen Elizabeth II "your majesty" on first meeting her and then "ma'am" thereafter and that ma'am is "pronounced with a short 'a,' as in 'jam'."

For members of the royal family protocol is mainly reserved for displaying signs of respect dictated by the order of precedence. This is an official list which shows each member of the royal family in their position of seniority.

For instance, as the queen is the head of the list, each member of the royal family below her by tradition curtseys or bows when they first see her each day. They also walk behind her (in order of precedence) at official ceremonies or state occasions.

Crucially, protocol does not dictate the behavior of individual members of the royal family beyond these formal reverences. What many attribute to breaks of royal protocol are in fact breaks with royal tradition, which is regarded as a separate convention.

The Buckingham Palace declined a Newsweek invitation to comment.

The Ruling

False.

There is no established royal protocol that states the Princess of Wales and members of the royal family should not participate in children's field day activities or sporting activities at large.

FACT CHECK BY NEWSWEEK