Prince Harry was just 12 years old, and William 15, when their beloved ‘Mummy’ passed away on August 31, 1997, following a car crash in Paris.
WATCH BELOW: Princess Diana breaks royal protocol to race other mums at sons’ school
And it’s only in recent years the brothers have begun opening up about the tragic event.
Speaking about Diana in his 2016 documentary, Prince Harry in Africa, the Duke of Sussex admitted it took him a long time to come to terms with his mother’s death, and that he regrets not revealing his thoughts sooner.
“I never really dealt with what had actually happened,” Harry said.
“So, there was a lot of buried emotion and, for a huge part of my life, I just didn’t even want to think about it.”
In his recent Apple TV+ documentary, The Me You Can’t See, Harry candidly confessed:
“Unfortunately, when I think about my mum, the first thing that comes to mind is always the same one, over and over again: strapped in the car, seatbelt across.
“My brother in the car as well, and my mother driving and being chased by three, four, five mopeds with paparazzi on.
“One of the feelings that comes up is helplessness. Being too young, being a guy too young to be able to help a woman, in this case, your mother.
“And that happened every single day until the day she died.”
In the past, William has stayed silent about the impact Diana’s death had on him, maintaining a stoic stance in public and giving few clues into how much her loss affected him.
However, in an interview with British GQ in 2017, he finally opened up about the pain of grieving in the spotlight.
“I am in a better place about it than I have been for a long time, where I can talk about her more openly, talk about her more honestly, and I can remember her better, and publicly talk about her better,” he said.
“I still find it difficult now because at the time it was so raw.
“And also it is not like most people’s grief, because everyone else knows about it. Everyone knows the story, everyone knows her.”
When Wills became the royal patron of charity Child Bereavement UK in 2009, he also revealed he thinks about his mum daily.
“Life is altered as you know it, and not a day goes past without you thinking about the one you have lost,” he said.
“I know that over time it is possible to learn to live with what has happened and, with the passing of years, to retain or rediscover cherished memories.”
And what wonderful memories she gave them!
Rather than rely on nannies like previous royal parents, Diana famously took her boys to school herself, participated in school events and never shied away from showing affection in public.
In the 2017 ITV documentary, Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy, Harry described her as the “best mum in the world”.
“She would just engulf you and squeeze you as tight as possible. And being as short as I was then, there was no escape, you were there and you were there for as long as she wanted to hold you … All I can hear is her laugh in my head and that sort of crazy laugh of where there was just pure happiness shown on her face.”
Diana also taught them about everyday life away from the privilege of the royal family.
During the documentary, which commemorated the 20th anniversary of Diana’s death, William recalled: “She always understood that there was life outside of palace walls.
“My mother cherished those moments of privacy and being able to be that mother, rather than the Princess of Wales.”
Royal author Phil Dampier adds: “We all remember how [Diana] would take William and harry to theme parks and zoos, but she also showed them the other side of life by taking them to homeless hostels and hospitals.
“That is why they are so grounded today.
“She taught them that not everyone has money and nice homes and cars. There was a lot of laughter with her sons.”
Now as parents themselves, both William and Harry desperately wish that their mother was part of her grandchildrens’ lives.
In touching tributes, both William’s daughter Charlotte and Harry’s daughter Lili, bear Diana as a middle name.
“I’ve got a photo up in [Archie’s] nursery, and one of the first words that he said, apart from ‘Mama’ and ‘Papa,’ was then ‘Grandma.’ ‘Grandma Diana,’” Harry said.
“It’s the sweetest thing.”
Wills shares the sentiment and previously said he would love to still be able to go to his mum for advice.
“I would love her to have met Catherine and to have seen the children grow up. It makes me sad that she won’t, that they will never know her.”
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