Things Harry Has Said About Princess Diana Since His Royal Exit

In the first episode of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Netflix docuseries “Harry & Meghan,” Prince Harry reveals that he has few early memories of his mother, Princess Diana, who tragically passed away in a car accident in Paris in 1997 at the age of 36 while being pursued by paparazzi. During a confessional interview, Harry candidly states, “I don’t have many early memories of my mum. It was almost like, internally, I sort of blocked them out.” However, he fondly recalls her infectious laughter and her playful advice to him, “You can get in trouble, just don’t get caught,” reflecting her mischievous nature. Harry acknowledges that he has inherited this cheeky side of her personality. Additionally, he discloses that he felt pressure to have a public royal wedding due to his status as “Diana’s boy.”

In the fourth episode of Harry and Meghan’s docuseries, Prince Harry shed light on the expectations surrounding his wedding. He revealed that there was an anticipation for a public spectacle, similar to the grand televised ceremony of his parents, Prince Charles and Princess Diana, in 1981. Dubbed “the wedding of the century,” their nuptials drew a record-breaking 750 million viewers across 74 countries, in addition to 600,000 spectators lining the streets of London.

The BBC noted that this event marked a high point in the popularity of the British royal family in the 1980s, largely due to Diana’s growing celebrity status. Harry suggested that after the “mission complete” with his brother William’s highly publicized wedding to Kate Middleton in 2011, which attracted 162 million viewers worldwide, there was an expectation for his own wedding to follow suit and be considered a “job done.”

Indeed, Harry and Meghan’s 2018 wedding ceremony was televised and viewed by more than 29 million people in the United States alone, according to Nielsen ratings. These insights from Prince Harry highlight the immense public interest and scrutiny surrounding royal weddings, particularly in the era of his mother’s fame.

In the sixth and final episode of “Harry & Meghan,” Prince Harry revealed that his late mother, Princess Diana, may have also considered moving to Los Angeles. While discussing his own reasons for relocating to the American city, Harry stated, “I came here because I was changed. I changed to the point that I had outgrown my environment.” He added, “Therefore, this was the most obvious place to come. You know, it’s one of the places where I think my mum was probably gonna end up living potentially.”

According to Diana’s former butler, Paul Burrell, and ABC News, the Princess had been planning to start a new life with her sons in Malibu, California, before her untimely death in 1997. Burrell recalled Diana saying, “This is our new life, just won’t it be great, think of the lifestyle the boys — nobody’s judgmental here in America, you don’t have the class system, you don’t have the establishment.”

Furthermore, Prince Harry revealed that he “refused to accept” his mother’s death until he was 23 years old, believing she was still alive during that period.

In an informative tone, the provided text discusses Prince Harry’s coping mechanisms and denial after the tragic death of his mother, Princess Diana, when he was just 12 years old. Harry revealed in interviews promoting his memoir “Spare” that he initially refused to accept her passing, viewing it as a defense mechanism. He held onto the belief that Diana had faked her death as part of a larger plan and hoped for years that she would eventually reveal her whereabouts and call them.

Harry admitted to Anderson Cooper on “60 Minutes” that he refused to accept she was truly gone, perhaps because she would never intentionally abandon them. It was only during his first visit to Paris, France, years later, that he finally came to terms with her death. Remarkably, he shared that in the many years following Diana’s passing, he only cried once, highlighting the depth of his denial and suppressed grief as a child.

The text provides insightful details into Harry’s psychological and emotional journey in processing the immense loss of his mother at such a young age, shedding light on the complex coping mechanisms employed by children facing profound trauma.

In an informative tone, Harry revealed that he only cried once after his mother’s death, at her burial. Despite witnessing an outpouring of emotion from the public, he felt a sense of guilt for not appearing more devastated. He explained that while walking outside Kensington Palace and shaking hands with mourners, he and William felt guilty for smiling amidst the 50,000 bouquets left for their mother. Harry reflected on the “wet hands” they shook, realizing they were tears from people who felt they knew Diana. He expressed that the two closest to her were unable to show emotion at that moment, even though they were the most loved by her. In his memoir “Spare,” Harry delved deeper, admitting he “disliked the touch of those hands” and how it made him feel guilty.

In his recent interviews, Prince Harry has provided an informative and candid account of his struggles following the tragic death of his mother, Princess Diana. He revealed that despite the overwhelming grief, he found himself unable to shed tears, attributing this to the family’s deeply ingrained belief that crying was unacceptable.

Harry acknowledged that he turned to alcohol and drugs as a means of coping with the pain and anger he harbored towards the British press, which he believed contributed to his mother’s suffering. He admitted to drinking heavily and using cocaine during his teenage years in an attempt to numb his emotions and distract himself from the turmoil he was experiencing.

Interestingly, Harry also disclosed that he experimented with psychedelics, which he viewed as a form of “medicine” to address the internal struggles he was grappling with. His openness in discussing these deeply personal experiences provides valuable insight into the challenges he faced and the unconventional methods he employed to cope with the trauma of losing his mother at a young age.

The passage provides insights into Prince Harry’s personal journey of grief and healing after the loss of his mother, Princess Diana. He candidly discusses his experiences with psychedelics, which he found helpful in processing his profound grief and letting go of the notion that he needed to constantly mourn to honor his mother’s memory.

Additionally, Harry reveals that he retraced the route through the tunnel where the fatal car accident occurred, driving at the same speed, in an attempt to understand the circumstances surrounding his mother’s death. However, he found the tunnel itself to be unremarkable, contrary to his expectations of it being inherently dangerous.

This excerpt offers an informative and candid glimpse into Prince Harry’s coping mechanisms and the lengths he went to in grappling with the traumatic loss of his mother at a young age. His willingness to share these personal experiences sheds light on the complexities of grief and the various ways individuals may seek closure and understanding.

The excerpt reveals Prince Harry’s reflections after visiting the tunnel where his mother, Princess Diana, tragically lost her life. He expressed his initial belief that experiencing the tunnel firsthand would provide closure, stating, “No reason anyone should ever die inside it.” However, contrary to his expectations, the visit did not alleviate his pain but rather intensified it. Harry acknowledged that while the experience reduced some doubts, it simultaneously raised more questions and exacerbated his anguish. He poignantly described it as “the start of Pain, Part Deux,” indicating that the visit reignited his long-standing grief rather than bringing the anticipated sense of resolution.