A royal photographer thinks Princess Diana wouldn't approve of how Prince Harry has handled his exit from the monarchy

• Kent Gavin photographed Princess Diana for years and developed a close relationship with her.
• He doesn't think Diana would approve of how Prince Harry stepped back from the royal family.
• But Gavin thinks the late princess would have "backed" her son's decision regardless.

The royal photographer Kent Gavin doesn't think Princess Diana would approve of how Prince Harry went about stepping back from the royal family.

Gavin, who worked as the royal photographer for the Daily Mirror, developed a close relationship with Diana, photographing her wedding to Prince Charles, traveling with her around the world, and documenting Prince William's christening per her request.

In an interview with Insider, Gavin spoke about Diana's relationship with Prince Harry, and what he believes she would have thought about his decision to step back as a senior member of the royal family.

"I think of it through Diana's eyes," he told Insider. "Bear in mind, she would have been 60 and a very happy grandmother if she'd been alive today."

He noted that Diana had "gone through similar things" to Harry and Meghan Markle when she was "trying to break into that sort of archaic, Victorian period that the royal family were living in," so he thinks she would understand Harry's desire for a more private life.

Indeed, Harry has spoken of his new life in California with his family as the "life that she wanted to live for herself."

But Gavin said he thinks the princess would have advised Harry to handle the transition differently.

"She wouldn't have approved of the way Harry has done it, but she would have backed him," he said.

Gavin also said he understood Harry and Markle's choice, as he thinks it was clear the monarchy didn't offer Markle enough support during her time as a senior member of the royal family.

During the couple's interview with Oprah Winfrey in March, Markle revealed she wasn't allowed to seek help when she developed suicidal thoughts after marrying into the monarchy.

"She didn't get enough help," Gavin said. "There's no question about that. That's what's been proven."

But Gavin added that he thinks Harry needs to be "careful" with what he says about his family going forward, specifically in the "accurate and wholly truthful" memoir he plans to publish in 2022.

"I think there will be more things that people would not like" in the memoir, he said. "Harry's got to be careful he doesn't go too far with this."

Despite his belief that Diana might have had a problem with how Harry went about the step back from the royal family, Gavin thinks the late princess would have liked the Duchess of Sussex.

"She certainly would have got on extremely well with Meghan," he said.

Gavin discussed his experience photographing Diana and Prince Charles' wedding in the BritBox special "Wedding of the Century," which becomes available for streaming on Thursday.

Representatives for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex declined to comment on this story when contacted by Insider.