Prince Harry may have lost his mother more than 20 years ago, but Princess Diana’s presence was still felt throughout her youngest son’s wedding as he and the entire royal family paid a touching tribute to her.
Around the 20th anniversary of Princess Diana’s death last year, Prince Harry opened up about how much his life was affected by her absence. So on the day he married Meghan Markle, Harry and other members of the royal family made sure his late mother’s presence was felt .
As Bustle noted, there were a number of homages to Princess Diana throughout the royal wedding ceremony. Her siblings played an important role in the wedding, including Lady Jane Fellowes who gave a reading at the ceremony. As the report noted, Fellowes had been known for her quiet demeanor, having never spoken to the press after her sister’s death. She also chose not to participate in a documentary about the life of Princess Diana, the report noted.
But Fellowes played an important role in Harry’s life, providing a motherly figure in his life, so her selection to give a reading was seen as very significant.
There were more tangible examples of Princess Diana’s presence in the royal wedding as well. As a separate report from Bustle noted, Prince Harry handpicked the bouquet of flowers that Meghan Markle carried. These flowers came directly from Diana’s garden and had her favorite flowers — forget-me-nots.
The 20th anniversary of Princess Diana’s death last year led Prince Harry to open up about his mother’s death. Even though he was still a young child when his mother died, Harry said he has stark memories from her funeral.
“My mother had just died, and I had to walk a long way behind her coffin, surrounded by thousands of people watching me while millions more did on television,” he told Newsweek in a 2017 interview. His face hardens. “I don’t think any child should be asked to do that, under any circumstances. I don’t think it would happen today.”
Prince Harry added that his mother’s death led to more difficulties in his adolescent years and through adulthood when he felt adrift. This came to a head in 2012 when Prince Harry was engulfed in a scandal in the United States where he was caught partying without clothes on after a night of drinking in Las Vegas.
How Harry and Meghan paid tribute to Princess Diana’s spirit in EVERY element of their royal wedding https://t.co/uhnAm3DRmX
— Daily Mail Femail (@Femail) May 20, 2018
The tributes to Princess Diana started long before the royal wedding. As Elle noted, when it came time to propose to Meghan Markle, Prince Harry crafted an engagement ring that contained diamonds from his mother’s collection.