Here's Why Prince Harry Asked to See Photos of Princess Diana’s Car Crash Following Her Death

Prince Harry’s process of coping with the tragic loss of his mother, Princess Diana, has been profoundly emotional. In his memoir Spare, the Duke of Sussex candidly reflects on how he sought closure after the devastating car crash that took his mother’s life in 1997.

Additionally, during an interview with ITV's Tom Bradby, Harry revealed some of the inner turmoil he faced in the aftermath of his loss. He recounted his desire to see photos and access the secret government file related to the fatal car crash in Paris. 

He revealed, “I saw the photographs of the reflection of all the paparazzi in the window at the same time. I saw the back of her blonde hair, you know, slumped on the back of the seat. But I was, I think I, at that point, I was looking for evidence that...it actually happened, that it was true. But I was also looking for something to hurt because at that point I was still pretty numb to the whole thing. That was, again, my body, my...nervous system just kind of shut down and said like, ‘Let’s not,'” as reported by US Weekly.

Being just 12 when Princess Diana passed away, Harry struggled with a wide spectrum of complex emotions. In his memoir, he recalled another heartbreaking incident of visiting the tunnel in Paris where his mother’s life was tragically cut short.

He revealed, “Off we went, weaving through traffic, cruising past the Ritz, where Mummy had her last meal, with her boyfriend, that August night. Then we came to the mouth of the tunnel. We zipped ahead and went over the lip at the tunnel’s entrance, the bump that supposedly sent Mummy’s Mercedes veering off course. But the lip was nothing. We barely felt it. Just a straight tunnel. I’d always imagined the tunnel as some treacherous passageway, inherently dangerous, but it was just a short, simple, no-frills tunnel. No reason anyone should ever die inside it.”

As per People magazine, Harry also shared how he realized it was not a great idea to have visited the tunnel. He explained, “I’d had plenty of bad ideas in my twenty-three years, but this one was uniquely ill-conceived. She’s dead, I thought. My God, she’s gone for good. I got the closure I was pretending to seek. I got it in spades. And now I’d never be able to get rid of it."

Another heart-wrenching insight Harry shared was his experience during Princess Diana's funeral. Walking behind her coffin alongside his brother, Prince William, he was engulfed with overwhelming emotions, including guilt and the weight of public scrutiny.

The image of thousands of bouquets lined up and the tears of mourners remained etched in his memory as he reflected on the profound impact his mother had on so many lives.

He confessed, "I go into detail about how strange it was and how there was some guilt that I felt — and I think William felt as well — by walking around the outside of Kensington Palace. Fifty-thousand bouquets to our mother and there we were shaking people's hands, smiling. I've seen the videos, right? I've looked back over it all. And the wet hands that we were shaking — we couldn't understand why their hands were wet, but it was all the tears they were wiping away. Everyone thought and felt like they knew our mum. And the two closest people to her, the two most loved people by her, were unable to show any emotion in that moment."