The British Royal family may be known for its stiff upper lip tradition, but Prince William and Prince Harry put that aside for a moment as they shared their emotions about learning the painful news of their mother’s tragic death.
In the BBC documentary “Diana: 7 days,” Prince William talked about feeling completely disoriented and numb when he learned about his mother’s death. Diana’s eldest son recalled that he felt “very, very confused” and he kept asking himself yourself, ‘why me?’ What have I done? Why’s this happened to us?"
On Prince Harry’s part, he recalled he was in a state of disbelief and refusal to accept what has happened to their mother.
Harry recalled there was no sudden outpouring of grief at that moment because, at his age, he still did not fully understand what the death of his mother would truly mean.
Prince Charles told his sons the news
Prince Harry also imagined the emotions that went through their father, Prince Charles, when he told them the news and circumstances of Princess Diana death. Harry said that Prince Charles telling his sons that their mother was gone was “one of the hardest things a parent has to do.” Harry asked, “How could you deal with that?”
Diana’s second son then spoke about their father being there for both of them. “He was one out of two left,” Prince Harry added.
Prince Harry also spoke of how Prince Charles, who was going through a similar grieving process, did his best to look after his boys and ensure that they were protected and shielded from the enormous media attention and public grief Diana’s death generated.
How the Queen shielded her grandsons
Together with Prince Charles, Queen Elizabeth II also sought to protect and shield her grandsons “as long as possible” from the huge frenzy of reactions and emotions during those days. They were brought to Queen’s estate at Balmoral in order to keep them away from public and media attention.
Prince William recalled how the Queen deliberately removed newspapers and other things that would make the two of them aware of what was happening at that time.
But Prince Harry told the BBC they were thankful being out of the public view for a while during those days because it gave them the needed “…privacy to mourn, to collect our thoughts, and to just have that space away from everybody.”
Both the princes said they were not aware of the enormity of the public reactions to Princess Diana death.
The Queen and the royal family meanwhile were getting pressure and a lot of criticisms for sticking with the stiff upper lip tradition they were known for.
Shock and bewildered
When the royal family was forced to return to London, Prince William and Prince Harry recalled being shocked and bewildered during the walkabout with the weeping crowd trying to connect with them.
Prince William spoke of the very hard decision the Queen had to make during that time. The Duke of Cambridge revealed that the Queen was torn between being a grandmother and her role as the sovereign. William said he thinks his grandmother was surprised and taken aback by the scale of what transpired back then.
"Diana, 7 Days," which airs on BBC1 is part of a series of programs Prince William and Prince Harry joined as part of the 20th year remembrance of Princess Diana’s death this August 31.
