Both Prince William and Prince Harry have recalled the devastating grief and sadness they endured when they were informed of the d3ath of their mother, Princess Diana.

Princess Diana was just 36 when she d!ed in August 1997 following a car crash in Paris. Her sons, the Prince of Wales, Prince William, and the Duke of Sussex, Prince Harry, were 15 and 12 respectively. At the time of Diana’s d3ath, the boys were spending their annual summer break at Balmoral in Scotland with their father.

Her boys have previously opened up about feeling “numb” and how “everything seemed to come to a stop” as their lives changed forever that day. However, their father’s sad role in telling his sons they had lost their mother would also leave an indelible mark on their lives.

Prince William and Prince Harry lost their mother Princess Diana in August 1997 (Credit: SplashNews.com)
 

How did William and Harry react to Princess Diana’s d3ath?

Princess Diana’s televised funeral – watched by over 32 million people in the UK – on September 6, 1997, was a unique spectacle.

It also contained the unforgettable sight of the young princes walking behind the hearse carrying the body of their late mother to Westminster Abbey.

During a US TV interview in 2023, Prince Harry admitted he hadn’t cried over his loss until his mother was laid to rest at Althorp. He also indicated his memories from the day of the funeral are fragmented, even though he had such a public role during his private grief.

 
Mourners’ “hands were wet from wiping their own tears away” (Credit: SplashNews.com)
 

“Once my mother’s coffin actually went into the ground, that was the first time that I actually cried,” Prince Harry told CBS‘ Anderson Cooper. “There was never another time.”

Prince Harry also said he felt “guilt” as mourners they met “were showing more emotion than we were showing, maybe more emotion than we even felt”.

He added at the time: “There was a lot of tears. I talk about how wet people’s hands were. And I couldn’t understand it at first. Their hands were wet from wiping their own tears away. I do remember one of the strangest parts to it was taking flowers from people and then placing those flowers with the rest of them. As if I was some sort of middle person for their grief. And that really stood out for me.”

 
Prince William and Prince Harry walk behind their mother’s Princess Diana’s coffin at her funeral (Credit: SplashNews.com)
 

Prince William on being told his mother had d!ed

Contributing to 2017 BBC documentary Diana 7 Days, which considered the mass mourning that broke out for Princess Diana, Prince William said he remembered “just feeling completely numb, disorientated, dizzy” when told about his mother’s d3ath.

Addressing his grief, Prince William continued: “You feel very, very confused. And you keep asking yourself, ‘Why me?’ All the time. ‘Why? What have I done? Why? Why has this happened to us?’”

Within hours, the young royal attended church.

He said in the documentary: “I was in Balmoral when I was told that my mother had d!ed. Still in shock, I found sanctuary in the service at Crathie Kirk that very morning.

“And in the dark days of grief that followed, I found comfort and solace in the Scottish outdoors. As a result, the connection I feel to Scotland will forever run deep.”

 
Prince William was 15 when his mother d!ed (Credit: SplashNews.com)
 

Prince Harry recalls being informed of Princess Diana d3ath

In his 2023 memoir Spare, Prince Harry described the moment his father – now King Charles – woke him up to share the worst possible news his son could receive.

“I remember waiting patiently for Pa to confirm that indeed Mummy was all right,” Harry wrote. “And I remember him not doing that.”

Instead, Prince Harry was told his mother “didn’t make it”.

I remember waiting patiently for Pa to confirm that indeed Mummy was all right.

“These phrases remain in my mind like darts in a board,” Prince Harry added. “He did say it that way, I know that much for sure. She didn’t make it. And then everything seemed to come to a stop.”

Speaking to CBS in 2023, Prince Harry also noted that tears did not come immediately. “Never shed a single tear at that point,” he told Cooper. “I was in shock, you know? Twelve years old. Sort of— 7, 7:30 in the morning, early. Your father comes in, sits on your bed, puts his hand on your knee and tells you, ‘There’s been an accident.’”

Read more: Heartbreaking words Princess Diana ‘always said’ about Prince William and Harry

He also recalled in Spare: “Pa didn’t hug me. He wasn’t great at showing emotions under normal circumstances. But his hand did fall once more on my knee and he said, ‘It’s going to be OK.’ But after that, nothing was OK for a long time.’”