Prince William Recalls Princess Diana's Funeral, 20 Years Later

Almost 20 years after Princess Diana's death, Prince William still feels the weight of her passing. The royal was only 15 and his brother Harry was 12 when their mother passed away. In an upcoming documentary about the late princess, William recalls her funeral, and describes what it was like to walk behind her coffin.

"It was one of the hardest things I've ever done, that walk," William said in a BBC One documentary. But he remembers feeling his mother's comfort during that difficult procession. "It felt like she was almost walking along beside us to get us through it," he added.

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His younger brother Prince Harry recalled similar memories in an interview in June.

"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," he told Newsweek. "I don't think any child should be asked to do that, under any circumstances. I don't think it would happen today."

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Their uncle Charles, Earl Spencer, voiced his concern over his nephews—especially Harry—taking part in the procession. "I was just so worried what a trauma for a little chap to walk behind his mum's body," he said. "It's just awful. And, actually, I tried to stop that happening, to be honest.

"You could walk for three hundred paces through silence and then somebody would start wailing and people would start really sobbing and crying out really lovely things to William and Harry."

"I remember people's hands were wet because of the tears they had just wiped away," Prince Harry added.

Diana, 7 Days airs on BBC on 27 August. Watch the trailer below.

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From: Harper's BAZAAR UK