BREAKING NEWS: B0mbshell diaries expose real reason William and Harry walked behind Diana’s coffin
Diary entries shed light on the real reason Prince William and Prince Harry were asked to walk behind their mother Diana’s coffin in her funeral procession.
Diana’s two sons were just 15 and 12 when they walked behind her coffin after her tragic de@th (Image: Getty)
The frantic palace planning that led to Prince William and Prince Harry walking behind their mother’s coffin has been disclosed following the resurfacing of Alastair Campbell’s diary entries.
Extracted from Tony Blair’s communications chief’s 2011 book, the historical records show how palace officials feared the then Prince Charles would face physical attack if required to walk behind Diana, Princess of Wales’s coffin without his older son.
While the diary excerpts — initially published in Power and The People — have long offered insight into the turmoil within palace walls, they gain remarkable new relevance alongside claims made by Diana’s brother, Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, in his new memoir, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, scheduled for release this week. It comes as Prince Harry is in talks to make a Diana documentary featuring Earl Spencer.
According to Mr. Campbell, royal officials were concerned that the now king would be physically attacked by an angry public if he walked behind the coffin without Prince William, then aged 15.
Alistair Campbell – public backlash and safety fears
Press secretary Sandy Henney was dispatched to Balmoral to persuade Prince William to take part in the procession (Image: Getty)
Notably, Mr Campbell’s original diary entries identify securing William’s involvement as a way to protect Charles, presuming that 12-year-old Harry would follow his older brother’s example.
In the tense days following the car crash, public grief quickly turned to anger toward the Royal Family and Charles.
According to Mr. Campbell’s notes from a high-level conference call on September 4, 1997, courtiers at Balmoral were desperately working to devise a funeral plan that would shield the Prince of Wales from public fury, reports the Express.
Mr. Campbell disclosed that Sir Robin Janvrin, the late Queen’s deputy private secretary, acknowledged that Charles could not walk in the procession alone alongside Earl Spencer.
It was feared that without William’s presence, Charles would become a direct target of public violence.
Mr. Campbell noted that Mr. Janvrin warned that if William refused to participate, “then Charles couldn’t ‘for obvious and understandable reasons.'”
Courtiers recognized that Prince Charles had “a real problem because Charles would have to go behind the coffin with Charles Spencer” and there was “no way he can do this without the boys.”
Earl Spencer – the ‘ballistic’ phone call with Prince Charles
Earl Spencer wrote in Swan Song that when he was told of the plans for his young nephews, he immediately objected (Image: Getty)
Earl Spencer’s explosive new memoir, Swan Song, confirms the profound tension within palace walls during those critical days.
He revealed that, upon being informed by a senior palace aide of the plan to have his nephews walk in the funeral procession, he immediately objected, declaring “That’s not going to happen,” and insisting that his sister would never have wanted William and Harry subjected to such an ordeal.
Minutes later, he alleges a furious Prince Charles allegedly phoned him directly.
When Charles tried to defend the procession by saying he had walked in it for Lord Mountbatten’s funeral in 1979, Earl Spencer responded, “Yes, but you were 30, sir, and he wasn’t your mother.”
According to Mr Campbell, courtiers at Balmoral were desperately trying to devise a funeral plan to shield Charles from public fury (Image: Getty)
According to Earl Spencer, Charles went “ballistic” and “nuts” on the phone call, while heavily insulting the Spencer family’s sense of duty.
In an attempt to resolve the impasse despite Earl Spencer’s strong objections, press secretary Sandy Henney was sent to Balmoral to convince Prince William, suggesting it was what Diana would have wished, while privately understanding that it would protect Prince Charles from public backlash.
However, both young princes strongly refused, believing the procession was a staged event for the public and the media rather than a heartfelt tribute to their mother.
At 15 years old, Prince William was overwhelmed by sorrow and a complete disdain for the press, refusing to comply with requests he believed served media purposes, even as Prime Minister Tony Blair cautioned that handling public attention was a responsibility he would eventually need to bear as a future monarch.
Within an anxious palace, where even a worried Prince Philip grappled with the criticism, officials momentarily considered using vehicles to transport the princes, but Earl Spencer’s resistance left no other option, compelling William and Harry to participate in the September 6 procession to protect their father.
14-year-old James, Viscount Severn (now Earl of Wessex), joined his cousins to stand vigil by Queen Elizabeth’s coffin in 2022 (Image: Getty)
This wasn’t the only time a teenage member of the royal family has been asked to assume a significant, ceremonial role during funeral proceedings for a royal relative.
When Queen Elizabeth II died on September 8, 2022, her youngest grandson, James, Viscount Severn (now James, Earl of Wessex), was only 14 years old.
Echoing the courage displayed by William and Harry decades earlier, the young royal participated alongside Her Majesty’s other grandchildren on September 17 in a 15-minute standing vigil beside her coffin during the lying-in-state at Westminster Hall.
In response to the allegations contained in Earl Spencer’s book, Buckingham Palace released a strong statement, declaring that “fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and colour memory in ways others do not recognise”.
Clarence House previously refused to provide comment regarding Mr Campbell’s 2011 diary disclosures, according to the BBC.
Swan Song: Diana, My Sister by Charles Spencer is available in bookstores on September 22.
