Our mother was a ray of light in a grey world, say princes
WILLIAM and Harry will today draw a line under their mother’s death and turn their focus to continuing her legacy of charity work.
Princess Diana’s sons spoke out for the first time this summer in two television interviews on their traumatic loss, which took place 20 years ago this week.
The second programme, broadcast on the BBC last night, was the last time they will publicly discuss their torment, according to aides.
In it, William said his mother was a ‘ray of light in a grey world’.
He and Prince Harry will meet representatives of Diana’s favourite charities on Wednesday at Kensington Palace, with the aim of keeping her memory alive.
The brothers will also visit the palace’s Sunken Garden, a significant spot for the Princess of Wales when she lived there, which was this year turned white in her memory.
Joined by the Duchess of Cambridge, they will meet people from charities including the National Aids Trust, The Leprosy Mission, and Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Neither William nor Harry are expected to take part in any official engagements on the anniversary of their mother’s death on Thursday.
It is also understood Prince Charles, who was seen driving himself to church yesterday, will not take part in any engagements as he continues his annual break at Birkhall, his home in the Scottish Highlands.
The Queen and other royals are holidaying at nearby Balmoral, where the family were told of Diana’s death on August 31, 1997.
Last night’s documentary, Diana, 7 Days, gave the behind-the scenes story of the week before her funeral and featured some of the major figures at the time, including former prime minister Tony Blair and senior royal aides. The programme, made by US director Henry Singer, also saw the princes speak about their emotions at the time.
Harry revealed the best lesson his mother taught her sons was ‘be yourself in everything you do and give as much as you can’.
He told the cameras: ‘It’s never going to be easy for the two of us to talk about our mother, but 20 years on seems like a good time to remind people of the difference that she made, not just to the Royal Family, but also to the world.
‘If I can be even a fraction of what she was, I will be proud and hopefully make her proud.’
Flowers and cards were yesterday being left at the gates of Kensington Palace, which in 1997 was turned into a sea of tributes amid a national outpouring of grief.
In the documentary William also said that at the time he could not understand why the public were ‘crying and wailing’ when ‘ they didn’t really know’ his mother.
But he added: ‘ Looking back, I have learned to understand what it was she gave the world and what she gave a lot of people.’
Charles has faced renewed criticism in the run-up to the anniversary of his ex-wife’s death in a Paris car crash. But Harry praised his father’s bravery in breaking the news to him and his brother at the time, adding: ‘He was going through the same grieving process as well.’
In the 90-minute BBC film, the brothers also praised the Queen, who faced a public backlash for staying at Balmoral with them in the days following the crash.
William said: ‘I think it was a very hard decision for my grandmother to make. She felt very torn between being a grandmother to William and Harry and her Queen role.’
Kensington Palace last week said the brothers now wanted to focus on honouring their mother’s legacy rather than talk about the past.
‘Be yourself, give as much as you can’