DAY DAD TOLD US OUR MOTHER HAD DIED
Wills on Diana’s death: I was numb and dizzy Harry’s praise for Charles: He was there for us
PRINCESS Diana’s sons have spoken of the devastating moment they were told their mum had been killed.
William said: “I remember feeling completely numb, disorientated, dizzy.”
But Harry revealed that in their darkest hour dad Charles “was there for us”.
PRINCE Harry has revealed his dad Charles was a tower of strength in the dark days after Diana’s death as he and brother William struggled to cope with the loss of their mother.
The 32-year-old royal spoke of the devastating moment the pair were told the princess had been killed in a Paris car crash 20 years ago a week on Thursday. And he said of Charles: “One of the hardest things for a parent to have to do is to tell your children that your other parent has died. “How you deal with that I don’t know. But, you know, he was there for us. “He was the one out of two left and he tried to do his best and to make sure that we were protected and looked after. But, you know, he was going through the same grieving process as well.” Harry and William were at Balmoral when the news came through Diana had died alongside lover Dodi Fayed in August 1997. He said his initial reaction
was one of “disbelief, refused to accept it”. The prince added: “There was no sort of sudden outpour of grief.”
William, 35, said: “I remember just feeling completely numb, disorientated, dizzy. You feel very, very confused. And you keep asking yourself, ‘Why me?’ All the time.”
The princes made their heartbreaking testimonies for BBC documentary Diana, 7 Days.
It also shows their conflicted feelings at walking behind Diana’s coffin aged 15 and 12, having to greet the grieving crowds and how they suppressed their emotions so they were never seen crying in public.
William said about the mountain of flowers and notes outside the gates of Balmoral: “I was very touched by it but none of it sank in. All I cared about was I’d lost my mother and I didn’t want to be where I was.
“When we go out and do things like that, in order not to completely and utterly break down we have to put on a bit of a game face. And you have to be quite strong about it because otherwise you’re a walking mess.”
Harry added: “Looking back probably the last thing I wanted to do was read what other people were saying about my mother.
“Yes it was amazing, it was moving to know, but at that point I wasn’t there. I was still in shock.”
He also told how suppressing his emotions has had a lifelong effect. He said: “If someone tried to get me to cry in public I couldn’t.
“And that’s probably from all of that.”
The princes praised the Queen for keeping them from the spotlight in the first few days, despite public pressure to return to London.
Harry said: “It was a case of, ‘How do we let the boys grieve in privacy but at the same time when is the right time for them to put on their prince hats and carry out duties’.”
William added: “It was a very hard decision for my grandmother.”
But the brothers revealed when they returned to Kensington Palace after five days, they found the public outpouring of grief “peculiar”.
William said: “People wanted to grab us, to touch us. They were shouting, wailing at us, throwing flowers, and yelling, sobbing, breaking down, people fainted, collapsed.
“I couldn’t understand why everyone wanted to cry and show such emotion as they did when they didn’t really know our mother.”
William told how walking behind their mum’s coffin was “one of the hardest things I’ve ever done”. He added: “It was a very long, lonely walk. I just remember hiding behind my fringe. It was kind of like a little tiny bit of safety blanket.
“I know it sounds ridiculous but I felt if I looked at the floor with my hair in my face no one could see me.
“There is this element of duty and responsibility that you have to do things you don’t want to do.
“But I have to say that whenever it becomes that personal as walking behind your mother’s funeral cortege it gets to another level of duty.”
Harry said: “I was so focused on doing everything asked of me and making sure I did my mother proud.”
The princes told how they both now understand more than ever what Diana gave the world and want to continue her legacy.
Harry said: “All I want to do is try to fill the holes my mother has left and that’s what it’s about for us is trying to make a difference and in making a difference making her proud.
“We will miss our mother and I wonder every single day what it would be like having her around.”
William added: “I wouldn’t let it break me, I wanted it to make me.
“If I can be even a fraction of what she was I’ll be proud.”
Diana, 7 Days will be broadcast on BBC 1 on Sunday at 7.30pm
He was there for us. But he was going through the same grieving process as well HARRY ON HOW CHARLES WAS A ROCK AFTER DIANA’S DEATH I remember feeling numb, disorientated, dizzy. You keep asking, ‘Why me?’ WILLIAM ON MOMENT PRINCES WERE TOLD MUM HAD DIED