Prince William found Meghan Markle's comparison to Diana during Nigeria trip 'tasteless and offensive'

LONDON, ENGLAND: Late Princess Diana was one-of-a-kind. And, it makes sense that Diana's sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, hold her in high regard.

However, William's alleged response was very startling when Meghan Markle was compared to Diana on her and Harry's trip to Nigeria.

'Bothered' Prince William finds it offensive to compare Meghan Markle to Diana

Many have compared Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, to the late Princess of Wales, Diana, praising her outfits and jewelry during her and Prince Harry's recent visit to Nigeria.

The Duchess of Sussex chose a simple gold necklace when she traveled to the nation in West Africa earlier in May with Prince Harry -reminiscent of the one Diana wore on her own trip with the now-King Charles in 1990.

Meghan wore another necklace that had a diamond cross that was supposedly owned by Harry's late mother, Diana, even though a source close to the late Princess of Wales claimed they "didn't recognize [the necklace] at all."

However, a source claimed that William has taken issue with the Diana analogy, stating that he is "bothered" by Meghan being "paraded around as the modern-day version" of his late mother, per The Mirror.

According to the insider, William is upset that people are comparing his mother to other people, but he does not want to "deprive Harry of the right to celebrate their mother's legacy."

The royal source revealed, "William doesn’t want to deprive Harry of the right to celebrate their mother’s legacy."

William reportedly claimed that it is "beyond tasteless and offensive" for anyone to compare Meghan to Diana.

"What bothers him is how Meghan’s paraded around as the modern-day version of Diana, he finds that beyond tasteless and offensive, not only to him but also to Kate," the source added.

The source added: "To add insult to injury, Harry’s not consulted with him about these trips abroad and future plans they’ve apparently got in the works to celebrate Diana’s life and legacy."

The insider also brought up the fact that the future king is not allowed to discuss his thoughts on the subject with either his father or stepmother.

"The fact that the tension with the Sussexes is now impacting celebrating their mother’s legacy is beyond the pale for William, but it’s not as though he can really speak about it with Charles and Camilla because there’s obviously history there with Diana being estranged from the royals so he’s feeling pretty alone on this," the insider said.

Meghan Markle reportedly 'echoing' Princess Diana

Diana and Meghan came from quite different socioeconomic backgrounds. While Meghan was raised in a Californian suburb, Diana was the youngest child of one of the most prominent noblemen in England.

However, a royal expert noted that a "running theme behind Harry and Meghan's obsession with Diana in their narrative" is the fact that both come from broken families, per The Royal Observer.

"Diana was so humble and didn’t have a self-promoting bone in her body," the source said, before adding, "The spotlight found her and she was forced to contend with it."

The source added: "She will always be on a pedestal in William’s eyes, it’s no wonder he bristles at the idea of Meghan being held up as a modern-day Diana."

The future king is also reportedly "fuming" over the ease with which "Meghan's camp of trolls" implies William values his father and his future over his mother's "past scandals."

Another royal expert, Darren Stanton, claimed in April that Meghan "echoing Princess Diana" by abdicating the throne.

The source asserted that the former 'Suits' actress was influenced by Diana when she launched her new lifestyle brand, American Riviera Orchard.

Stanton said Meghan "followed her heart" when she left the monarchy, and her remarks about doing so were similar to Diana's critique of the monarchy.

He claimed that Meghan and Prince Harry's mother bore "a lot of parallels," and that the mother of two is ready to turn her attention to other people—akin to her late mother-in-law—given her recent focus on her new lifestyle brand.