First Christmas Without Diana -- William And Harry Resuming Their Lives As Much As Possible

LONDON - They live in palaces, attend star-studded premieres, fly in private jets - a life any teenager would love to sample.

But what kid would want to trade places this Christmas with Prince William and Prince Harry, at the end of a tragic year that has darkened their lives forever?

For the two boys - second and third in line after their father, Prince Charles, to inherit the British throne - it's the first Christmas since their mother, Princess Diana, died after a horrific Paris car crash in August.

They are spending the holiday, as usual, with their grandmother Queen Elizabeth and the rest of the royal family at Sandringham, one of the royal palaces.

This will be the first Christmas since Charles and Diana split five years ago that there will be no private or public controversy about which parent the boys are with, about whether they should be sunbathing in the Caribbean with their mother or skiing in the Alps with their father.

"In some ways their position is now simpler than it was," says Ben Pimlott, a royals expert who is the author of "The Queen: A Biography of Elizabeth II."

Since Diana's death, William, 15, and Harry, 13, have led their former lives as much as possible. The usually relentless British tabloid press has agreed to leave them alone except when they participate in pre-arranged photo opportunities.

When they do appear in public, the boys seem to be handling their bereavement well.

In private, royal observers say, the two are handling their grief in very different ways.

"Harry is showing his emotions more than William, which isn't surprising because William is more of an introvert," says Peter Archer, the royal correspondent for the Press Association, the British wire service. The family reportedly is concerned about the extent to which William is bottling up his sorrow.

Harry also appears to be sustained by a close relationship with his father, evident during their trip last month to South Africa, where the two met Nelson Mandela - and the Spice Girls - and watched bare-breasted native dancers.

"People were quite surprised to see how affectionate they were as a father-son duo and how close they were," says Pimlott. "That felt very healthy and very encouraging."

"Lessons have been learned since Diana's death," says Bob Houston, editor of Royalty magazine. "The doors have been opened a bit. I think Charles now realizes what was wrong with his own upbringing. I think he will get more things right than wrong with the boys."

Shortly after Diana's funeral, the boys returned to boarding school: William to Eton, and Harry to Ludgrove, the elite prep school where he will graduate this summer.

When they're not in school, they live with their father at Highgrove, his country estate.

They have been visited regularly at school by Diana's sisters, Lady Sarah McCorquodale and Lady Jane Fellowes.

Another female presence in their lives is Tiggy Legge-Bourke, who resumes her old nanny duties when the boys are home from school.

"She's been a shoulder to cry on," says Archer.

The boys' grandmother the queen reportedly has helped them grieve. "The queen is extremely fond of all her grandchildren, and I know she's very concerned and protective of William and Harry now that they've lost their mother," says Archer.

One relative who has not been a major presence in the boys' lives is Earl Charles Spencer, their uncle, who vowed at his sister's funeral that Diana's "blood family" would make sure her sons were raised as she would have wished.

He did take William to lunch on a trip to London this fall, but he has spent most of the past three months in South Africa, embroiled in a messy divorce.

Since their mother's death, the boys have made occasional public appearances. They attended the golden-wedding anniversary celebrations for the queen and Prince Philip last month, where William got a rock star's reception from screaming schoolgirls.

On Dec. 15, they went with Charles to the London premiere of the Spice Girls' movie, "Spiceworld," where William appeared for the first time in public in black tie.

Earlier the same day, the boys - with Tiggy but without their father - watched the Beaufort fox hunt near Highgrove. Charles' mistress, Camilla Parker-Bowles, was participating in the event.

It is believed Parker-Bowles spends less time at Highgrove because the boys are there more often. But her home is nearby, and she and Charles reportedly are as close as ever. William and Harry know about the relationship, but, according to reports in the British press, Charles never discusses his mistress with them, and they have never met her.