Remembering Princess Diana: 27 Years Since Her Tragic Passing

Saturday marks the 27th anniversary of the Paris car crash that tragically ended the lives of Princess Diana and her boyfriend, Dodi Fayed. The princess was only 36 years old. Her two sons were staying with their father in Scotland at the time. Prince William and Prince Harry were 15 and 12, respectively.

The princess was declared dead at Pitié-Salpêtrière University Hospital just hours after the crash, and the following week rocked the British monarchy to its foundations.

While Queen Elizabeth and King Charles felt it was best to keep William and Harry within the protected estate of Balmoral Castle, people throughout the U.K. demanded that the monarchy put on a public display of mourning out of respect for the princess and because it was generally felt that the monarchy had caused her distress and unhappiness.

The queen left Scotland for London before Diana was given a public funeral at Westminster Abbey. Charles, William, and Harry also traveled south, meeting mourners outside Kensington Palace.

On the day of the funeral, September 6, 1997, one of the most enduring images of the century was first seen: two adolescent princes walking behind their mother's coffin as it made its way through London.

The decision to have the princes do the walk has been widely debated. Many considered it cruel to ask them to do so at their ages. Many years later, Harry opened up about the experience in his 2023 memoir, Spare.

To mark the 27th anniversary of Diana's death, Newsweek looks at how Harry remembered her funeral and that historic day.

'Barbaric' Plan

In Spare, Harry told readers that his memories of his childhood have been affected by the trauma he experienced after his mother's death.

The prince recounted a number of events around this time, one of which was the numerous discussions surrounding Diana's funeral. He recalled that the princess's brother, his uncle Charles Spencer, strongly objected to any suggestion that his nephews should walk behind the coffin.

"There was some discussion about the next day's funeral," Harry wrote. "Per the latest plan, the coffin would be pulled through the streets on a horse-drawn carriage by the King's Troop while Willy and I followed on foot. It seemed a lot to ask of two young boys. Several adults were aghast. Mummy's brother, Uncle Charles, raised hell. 'You can't make these boys walk behind their mother's coffin! It's barbaric.'

Harry continued: "An alternative plan was put forward. Willy would walk alone. He was fifteen, after all. Leave the younger one out of it. Spare the Spare. This alternative plan was sent up the chain. Back came the answer. It must be both princes. To garner sympathy, presumably."

Not Leaving 'Willy' to Face It Alone

Despite the discussions around whether they would both walk or just one of them, Harry said he never thought that William should go through the experience alone, knowing his brother would do the same for him.

"Uncle Charles was furious. But I wasn't," he wrote. "I didn't want Willy to undergo an ordeal like that without me. Had the roles been reversed, he'd never have wanted me—indeed, allowed me—to go it alone."

Feeling 'Numb'

When it came time to perform their duty, Harry wrote that he felt "numb," recalling the crunching of the gravel underfoot and keeping his eyes fixed on the ground.

"Off we went, all together," he said in the book. "Uncle Charles on my right, Willy to his right, followed by Grandpa [Prince Philip]. And on my left was Pa. I noted at the start how serene Grandpa looked, as if this was merely another royal engagement. I could see his eyes, clearly, because he was gazing straight ahead. They all were. But I kept mine down on the road. So did Willy."

Harry went on: "I remember feeling numb. I remember clenching my fists. I remember keeping a fraction of Willy always in the corner of my vision and drawing loads of strength from that."

"Most of all I remember the sounds, the clinking bridles and clopping hooves of the six sweaty brown horses, the squeaking wheels of the gun carriage they were hauling.... I believe I'll remember those few sounds for the rest of my life, because they were such a sharp contrast to the otherwise all-encompassing silence."

"There wasn't one engine, one lorry, one bird. There wasn't one human voice, which was impossible, because two million people lined the roads. The only hint that we were marching through a canyon of humanity was the occasional wail."

James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.

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