Twenty years after her death, Princess Diana’s sons have opened their hearts about their mother like never before. Prince William and Prince Harry have shared their intimate memories of her publicly for the first time in a candid TV documentary, to be screened tomorrow, Monday 24 July. The royal brothers describe a childhood full of fun and love and talk about the devastating effect Diana’s death had on them. They reveal how she made a final phone call to them from Paris on the day she died and heartbreakingly tell of their regret that they didn’t speak to her for longer.
The princes were at the Queen’s Scottish holiday home Balmoral on 31 August 1997 when Diana phoned them for the final time from Paris, where she was staying with boyfriend Dodi Fayed. “I didn’t like talking to my parents on the phone,” admits Harry. “I regret how short that phone call was. She died that night.”
Prince William and Prince Harry in a photo from Diana's album
They also open up Diana’s private family photo album and remember her fun-loving side, describing her as a prankster who was ‘one of the naughtiest parents.’ William, 35, and Harry, 32, agreed to give unprecedented, lengthy interviews at Kensington Palace for Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy, which was made by Oxford Film and Television to celebrate their mother’s life and work.
Princess Diana cuddles a baby Prince William
HELLO! was invited to the palace for a special advance screening of the programme, which Prince William introduced in person. Explaining why he and Harry had decided to participate in the film, William told us he wanted to show ‘the other side’ of his mum and to introduce her to a new audience. “Twenty years on Harry and I felt it was an appropriate time to open up a bit more about our mother. We have never spoken so publicly about her and we felt this was the right time to do it,” he said.
Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy airs on ITV on Monday 24 July at 9pm. Pick up this week’s magazine, out Monday, to read some of the most touching memories her sons had of their late mother.