William’s anguish at following coffin

THE Duke of Cambridge has said that following his mother’s coffin as thousands of anguished members of the public looked on at her funeral was “one of the hardest thing I have ever done”.

Prince William, who was 13 at the time of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in August 1997, said he had to avoid being in “floods of tears” for appearance sake as he followed with his brother Prince Harry, his father Prince Charles, the Duke of Edinburgh and Diana’s brother Viscount Althorp.

In the latest release of an interview given to Tony Blair’s former communications chief Alistair Campbell for GQ, the Duke said: “It was one of the hardest things I have ever done. But if I had been in floods of tears the entire way round how would that have looked?

“In the situation I was in, it was self-preservation. I didn’t feel comfortable anyway, having that massive outpouring of emotion around me. I am a very private person, and it was not easy.

“There was a lot of noise, a lot of crying, a lot of wailing, people were throwing stuff, people were fainting.

“It was a very unusual experience. It was something I don’t think anyone could have predicted. Looking back, the outpouring of grief and emotion was very touching but it was very odd to be in that situation.”

But the Duke said the nation’s outpouring of grief changed the UK for the better.

William accepted his mother played “some games and shenaigans” with the media, as she was vulnerable, but said media executives should have shown more restraint.

The Duke said he is still angry he and Harry were not old enough to do more to protect her and that he still holds “a lot of people to account that they did not do what they should have done, out of human decency”.