Former royal butler has revealed that dressed and in matching outfits for one unusual reason. Paul is a and entered royal service when he was 18 to become personal footman a year later.

In 1987 he joined the household of the then Prince Charles and Lady Diana at Highgrove House. He stayed in this position until she died back in 1997 and has since been . Now he has explained why Princess Diana made the decision to match her boys' clothing.

Paul was speaking on behalf of

He said: "Diana often dressed William and Harry the same, in identical outfits. The boys hated that, by the way, they didn't want to be dressed the same, but this was Diana's way of saying, both my boys are equal to me, they're both wearing the same outfits."

Although, Paul pointed out that this was a huge trend back in 1980s. Many families back then, particularly for special occasions or milestone photos, would choose matching ensembles.

Paul added: "In the 80s, lots of families followed suit with this, but the boys didn't like that and they didn't understand why they were dressed the same."

Prince Harry, 40, looked back and saw the funny side of his mother dressing him and his brother, Prince William, 42, the same - despite their two-year age gap.

He opened up back in 2017 and shared his fond memories. He shared on ITV1's documentary, Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy, which marked 20 years since her death, that it made him "laugh".

Harry said, "I genuinely think she got satisfaction out of dressing myself and William up in the most bizarre outfits - normally matching."

Before adding: "It was weird shorts and little shiny shoes with the old clip-on. Looking back at the photos it just makes me laugh and I think, 'How could you do that to us?'

"And funnily enough we got to the age when William would turn around and go, 'This is ridiculous, I'm the older brother. Why do I have to be dressed the same as him?'

And I'm sort of thinking, 'Hang on a second, if you're going to dress differently, I'm not going to be the only person dressed like this. This is ridiculous!'," he added.

Diana raised the boys to be close. Reports suggest that Prince Harry and Prince William had a strong bond growing up, with some sources stating that Harry even idolised his older brother.

However in Prince Harry's memoir, "Spare," he explored his feelings about being the "spare" to his brother, Prince William, who is set to succeed to the throne.

The bold title of the book also alludes to a remark supposedly made by his father, King Charles III.