Just as Meghan Markle suffered the intense scrutiny and media hounding that comes with being part of the royal family, Princess Diana felt the pressure of her role throughout her time as royalty.

According to royal author Robert Jobson, her two sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, felt how difficult all this was for their mother, especially William's role as protector.

Jobson wrote in an excerpt (OK!) from her 2011 biography "William And Kate: The Love Story - A Celebration Of The Wedding Of The Century" (opens in a new tab):

"Whenever Diana felt insecure William was by her side whenever she felt insecure," Jobson writes. 'He once told her that he wanted to become a policeman to protect her. His earnest words must have made her heart ache with love."

"He was a man of his word,"

"He was a man of his word.

All of this, Jobson writes, was during the period when Prince Charles and the Princess's marriage was falling apart, and she was there for her eldest son, sometimes unjustly supportive.

"She chose her son as her best friend at this critical time in her life," Jobson explained. Some psychologists argue that when a marriage is not going well, mothers often look to their older children or eldest son for the kind of emotional support and advice that they would normally prefer to receive from their husbands. She sometimes went too far, as Princess Diana did, and made William feel burdened and paranoid"

.

Interestingly, the Duke of Cambridge has brought that same sort of protectiveness into his marriage to Kate Middleton. For example, he was recently reported to routinely "lash out" when people "disrespect" his wife.