Harry: No child should have to walk behind mum’s coffin
PRINCE Harry has recalled walking behind his mother’s coffin as a 12-year-old and said no “child should be asked to do that under any circumstances”.
He spoke about the procession that he joined with Prince William, then 15, alongside Prince Charles, Prince Philip and Earl Spencer, their uncle, at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997.
Harry said: “My mother had just died, and I had to walk a long way behind her coffin, surrounded by thousands of people watching me while millions more did on television.
“I don’t think any child should be asked to do that, under any circumstances. I don’t think it would happen today.”
In an interview, Harry praised Diana for playing a huge part in showing him an ordinary life. He admitted that he does his own shopping, adding: “People would be amazed by the ordinary life William and I live.” And he joked: “Even if I was king, I would do my own shopping.”
The Prince, who is dating actress Meghan Markle, said if he had children he was determined they should have a relatively normal life.
Asked whether he worried that an ordinary Royal Family would take away its mystery, he told Newsweek magazine: “It’s a tricky balancing act. We don’t want to dilute the magic... the British public and the whole world need institutions like it.”
Harry reportedly said that he aches to be something other than a prince and that he is in a rush to make a difference in his life.
“I feel there is just a smallish window when people are interested in me before (Prince George and Princess Charlotte) take over, and I’ve got to make the most of it,” he said in the interview at Kensington Palace.