{"id":388764,"date":"2025-09-01T07:03:20","date_gmt":"2025-09-01T07:03:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/388764\/"},"modified":"2025-09-01T07:03:20","modified_gmt":"2025-09-01T07:03:20","slug":"how-prince-william-and-prince-harry-felt-walking-behind-princess-dianas-coffin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/388764\/","title":{"rendered":"How Prince William and Prince Harry Felt Walking Behind Princess Diana&#8217;s Coffin"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li>After her death in a Paris car crash on August 31, 1997, Princess Diana\u2019s funeral took place at Westminster Abbey in London on September 6.<\/li>\n<li>Controversially, her sons Prince William, then 15, and Prince Harry, just 12, walked behind her coffin as it headed to the Abbey.<\/li>\n<li>They were joined by their father, Prince Charles, their grandfather, Prince Philip, and their uncle, Earl Charles Spencer\u2014Diana\u2019s younger brother, who also eulogized her.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_2-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"> In hindsight, it quite frankly seems like a terrible idea\u2014the thought of putting <a class=\"recommendation-inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instyle.com\/prince-william-wont-be-pushed-around-11759097\" link-destination-recommendation=\"true\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Prince William<\/a>, then 15, and <a class=\"recommendation-inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instyle.com\/prince-harry-in-uk-awkward-question-king-charles-11711074\" link-destination-recommendation=\"true\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Prince Harry<\/a>, then only 12, in the position of walking behind the coffin of their mother, <a class=\"recommendation-inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instyle.com\/charles-spencer-remembers-princess-diana-27th-anniversary-of-death-8704893\" link-destination-recommendation=\"true\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Princess Diana<\/a>, who died in a car crash in Paris on August 31, 1997 at just 36 years old.\n<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_4-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"> The world watched as William and Harry walked alongside their father <a class=\"recommendation-inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instyle.com\/king-charles-begged-prince-william-not-make-mistake-he-made-11737354\" link-destination-recommendation=\"true\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Prince Charles<\/a>, their grandfather <a class=\"recommendation-inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instyle.com\/queen-elizabeth-didnt-see-prince-philip-before-died-8701495\" link-destination-recommendation=\"true\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Prince Philip<\/a>, and their uncle Earl <a class=\"recommendation-inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instyle.com\/charles-spencer-visited-princess-diana-grave-christmas-8766983\" link-destination-recommendation=\"true\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Charles Spencer<\/a>\u2014Diana\u2019s younger brother\u2014on September 6, 1997 as her coffin headed to Westminster Abbey. They were followed, poignantly, by representatives of charities that the Princess of Wales had supported before her untimely death.\n<\/p>\n<p> Prince Philip, Prince William, Charles Spencer, Prince Harry, and Prince Charles.<\/p>\n<p>Getty<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_7-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"> In the 2017 BBC documentary Diana, 7 Days, both brothers confirmed (via <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/how-prince-harry-prince-william-felt-about-princess-diana-funeral-walk-behind-coffin-the-crown-8402440\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"externalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">People<\/a>) that it was a \u201cgroup decision\u201d for them to do so, with William saying, \u201cIt wasn\u2019t an easy decision, and it was a collective family decision to do that.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_9-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"> For what it\u2019s worth, Spencer was against the idea, particularly that \u201ctiny\u201d Harry should have to do this: \u201cI was just so worried\u2014what a trauma for a little chap to walk behind his mum\u2019s body,\u201d he told People in 2017, which marked the 20th anniversary of her death. \u201cIt\u2019s just awful. And actually, I tried to stop that happening, to be honest.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_11-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"> Harry opened up about the moment in his 2023 memoir Spare, writing that \u201cseveral adults were aghast\u201d and that \u201cmummy\u2019s brother, Uncle Charles, raised hell. \u2018You can\u2019t make these boys walk behind their mother\u2019s coffin! It\u2019s barbaric.\u2019\u201d\n<\/p>\n<p> Prince Charles, Prince Harry, Charles Spencer, Prince William, and Prince Philip behind Princess Diana&#8217;s coffin.<\/p>\n<p>Getty<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_14-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"> Spencer told BBC Radio 4 that making William and Harry do this was \u201cbizarre and cruel,\u201d and said that he was \u201clied to and told that they wanted to do it, which of course they didn\u2019t.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_16-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"> \u201cIt was the most horrifying half an hour of my life,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was just ghastly. And it was far worse than having to deliver a speech at the end of it.\u201d (He eulogized his older sister inside the Abbey.)\n<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_18-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"> The walk \u201cwas the worst part of the day by a considerable margin, walking behind, well, my sister\u2019s body, with two boys who were obviously massively grieving their mother,\u201d he continued. \u201cAnd it was this sort of bizarre circumstance where we told you had to look straight ahead. But the feeling, the sort of crashing tidal wave of grief coming at you as you went down this sort of tunnel of deep emotion\u2014it was really harrowing, actually, and I still have nightmares about it now.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<p> Charles Spencer, Prince William, Prince Harry, and Prince Charles.<\/p>\n<p>Getty<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_21-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"> In the pages of Spare, Harry shared an \u201calternative plan\u201d for William to walk alone, but that was shut down. \u201cBack came the answer,\u201d he continued. \u201cIt must be both princes.\u201d He added, \u201cI didn\u2019t want Willy to undergo an ordeal like that without me. Had the roles been reversed, he\u2019d never have wanted me\u2014indeed, allowed me\u2014to go it alone.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_23-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"> \u201cBefore I knew it, I found myself with a suit on with a black tie and a white shirt, I think, and I was part of it,\u201d Harry said in the 2017 documentary. \u201cGenuinely, I don\u2019t have an opinion on whether that was right or wrong. I am glad I was part of it. Looking back on it now, I am very glad I was part of it.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<p> Prince William and Prince Harry at Princess Diana&#8217;s funeral on September 6, 1997.<\/p>\n<p>Getty<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_26-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"> William called the experience a \u201clong and lonely walk\u201d in the documentary, adding, \u201cIt was one of the hardest things I\u2019ve ever done. But we were overwhelmed by how many people turned out\u2014it was just incredible. There was that balance between duty and family, and that\u2019s what we had to do.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_28-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"> He also admitted that his bangs were \u201cmy safety blanket\u201d that day, and that he was confronted with \u201cthe balance of me being Prince WIlliam and having to do my bit versus the private William who just wanted to go into a room and cry because he\u2019d lost his mother.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_30-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"> Writing in Spare, Harry said he felt \u201cnumb\u201d during the experience, but got strength from William, who was in his line of sight. \u201cMost of all I remember the sounds, the clicking bridles and clipping hooves of the six sweaty brown horses, the squeaking wheels of the gun carriage they were hauling,\u201d he wrote in his memoir. \u201cI believe I\u2019ll remember those few sounds for the rest of my life, because they were such a sharp contrast to the otherwise all-encompassing silence.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<p> Prince William and Prince Harry on July 1, 2021.<\/p>\n<p>Getty<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_35-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"> Harry <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/royals\/prince-william-finally-reveals-who-decided-he-and-harry-should-walk-behind-dianas-coffin\/\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"externalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">added in the documentary<\/a> that \u201cof course there was a huge amount of silence, but what I remember is every 50 yards or whatever, certain people in the crowd just unable to contain their emotion. That was a big thing.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_37-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"> William called it \u201can alien environment\u201d and said, \u201cI couldn\u2019t understand why everyone wanted to cry as loud as they did and show such emotion as they did, when they didn\u2019t really know our mother. I did feel a bit protective at times\u2014I thought, \u2018You didn\u2019t even know her, why and how are you so upset?\u2019\u201d\n<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_39-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"> \u201cNow, looking back, I\u2019ve learned to understand what it was that she gave the world, what she gave a lot of people,\u201d he continued. \u201cBack in the \u201890s, there weren\u2019t a lot of public figures doing what she did, so she was this ray of light in a fairly gray world.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<p> Princess Diana on May 27, 1997.<\/p>\n<p>Getty<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_42-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"> He added, \u201cBoth our parents brought us up to understand that there is this element of duty and responsibility that you have to do things you don\u2019t want to do. When it becomes that personal, walking behind your mother\u2019s funeral cortege, it goes to another level of duty. But I just kept thinking about what she would want and that she\u2019d be proud of Harry and I, and effectively, she was there with us. It felt like she was walking alongside us to get us through it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After her death in a Paris car crash on August 31, 1997, Princess Diana\u2019s funeral took place at&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":388765,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7708],"tags":[7709,7714,7713,533,2832,532,2831,7710,519,7711,7712],"class_list":{"0":"post-388764","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-royals","8":"tag-british-royal-family","9":"tag-catherine","10":"tag-catherine-middleton","11":"tag-kate-middleton","12":"tag-prince-of-wales","13":"tag-prince-william","14":"tag-princess-of-wales","15":"tag-royal-families","16":"tag-royal-family","17":"tag-uk-royal-family","18":"tag-william"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115127766514087005","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388764","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=388764"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388764\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/388765"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=388764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=388764"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=388764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}