Princes William and Harry lost their mother to a tragic car accident 20 years ago, but now the two are opening up on camera for the first time about Princess Diana, talking about their desire to protect her legacy.
The months leading up to the 20th anniversary of Diana’s death has brought a wave of new interviews, stories, and documentaries about Princess Diana’s life and death. Many of those have called on friends and others close to Diana, though her sons had been noticeably absent from the memorials.
In an upcoming BBC-commissioned special titled Diana, 7 Days , the brothers conducted their first on-camera interview about their mother and shared how her death affected them. The documentary explores the week that followed her August 31, 1997, death and the effects it had across the globe.
In a statement issued this week (via Entertainment Tonight ), Prince William said he had a desire to speak out in an effort to protect his mother’s legacy.
“Part of the reason why Harry and I want to do this is because we feel we owe it to her… I think an element of it is feeling like we let her down when we were younger. We couldn’t protect her,” William said. “We feel we at least owe her 20 years on to stand up for her name and remind everybody of the character and person that she was. Do our duties as sons in protecting her.”
Many of the programs about Princess Diana have focused on the very intimate parts of her life, including her failed marriage with Prince Charles and the allegations of infidelity that became very public. They also explored her romantic life after splitting with Prince Charles, her public boyfriends, and rumored affairs.
But for Princes William and Harry, the upcoming interview is a chance to re-shift the focus to the humanitarian work their mother did around the globe. Princess Diana was at the forefront of a number of causes, including advocating for the removal of land mines.
Prince William, Prince Harry to address their mother’s death in new documentary https://t.co/VErm9ZfohD
— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) August 10, 2017
Prince Harry noted that his mother’s death was one of the most impacting events of his life.
“When you’re that young and something like that happens to you, I think it’s lodged in here, there, wherever — in your heart, in your head and it stays there for a very, very long time,” he said in a statement released this week (via Entertainment Weekly ). “I think it’s never going to be easy for the two of us to talk about our mother, but 20 years on seems like a good time to remind people of the difference that she made, not just to the Royal Family but also to the world.”
Princes Harry and William could also have a personal motivation to speak out about their mother and protect her name. Princess Diana was under intense media attention in her final years, and her death was the result of her car driver trying to race away from paparazzi in France, and both of her sons have now fallen under that same scrutiny. Prince William’s marriage is under much public pressure, with frequent rumors about their desire to have more children. Prince Harry’s relationship with Meghan Markle is also drawing much media attention.
How Meghan Markle’s relationship with Prince Harry is continuing to build on Princess Diana’s legacy: https://t.co/NgsjkMqzmH pic.twitter.com/TrsDY4ZrJP
— E! News (@enews) August 4, 2017
Those who want to see Princes William and Harry open up about Princess Diana can catch the interview in Diana, 7 Days , which airs on Friday, September 1 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.
[Featured Image by Arthur Edwards/WPA Pool/Getty Images]
