Prince William Felt Mom Diana's Presence As He 'Walked Behind Her Coffin': "She Was Almost..."
On August 31, 1997, Princess Diana tragically died in a car accident in Paris. At the time, Prince William was just 15 years old, and Prince Harry was 12 years old. We will never forget the tragic scene when the young princes walked behind Diana's coffin. The brothers kept their pain to themselves for years, but in recent years they have started to share tidbits about their emotional journey. In a BBC program commemorating the 20th anniversary of Diana's death, William recalled that tragic day and said he felt his mother's presence as he walked behind her coffin at the funeral.
William said, “It was one of the hardest things I've ever done, that walk. It felt she was almost walking along beside us to get us through it.” His brother, Harry, recalled the bittersweet comfort he found in grieving strangers, their hands damp with tears they had just wiped from their faces. Reflecting on the day, he also expressed frustration over being forced to join the funeral procession, a deeply personal moment laid bare before millions of watching eyes, as reported by The Daily Beast. He said, “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 added, "I don’t think any child should be asked to do that, under any circumstances. I don’t think it would happen today.” In a revealing interview, Earl Spencer, Diana's brother, also asserted that Buckingham Palace had misled him. They made up the story that William and Harry themselves wanted to walk behind their mother's coffin, he said. Sharing a similar opinion with Harry, Spencer said, “I had been a passionate advocate for William and Harry to not have to walk behind their mother’s body. I thought it was a bizarre and cruel thing for them to be asked to do.”
Later on, in a 2022 interview, Harry echoed his brother's feelings stating that he has frequently sensed his mother Diana's presence ever since moving to Montecito, California, in 2020. As reported by Showbiz Cheatsheet, he stated his belief that Diana has been a guiding influence for him and William as they adjust to parenthood and grow their families. Similarly, in 2017, during the HBO documentary Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy, William shared that he felt his mother's spirit with him as he walked down the aisle to marry Kate Middleton in April 2011, as reported by TODAY.
William even gave Middleton a beautiful sapphire ring that had formerly belonged to his late mother when he proposed to her. He clarified that this was his way of keeping Diana close to the event as she was unable to join him in celebrating his wedding. Additionally, William stated that he wanted to raise his children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, the same way Diana had raised him. He expressed his desire to get his kids more involved in charitable endeavors in a piece for The Big Issue. Diana had ingrained this habit in him and Harry from an early age.
