Prince Harry 'cried only once' at his mother Diana's funeral


Simon Rushton
  • English
  • Arabic

Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has described the guilt and grief he felt as a child while walking outside Kensington Palace after his mother Diana’s death.

He said he cried only once during that period, and he and Prince William were unable to show any emotion when they met grieving members of the public.

He was speaking in a TV interview, to be aired on Sunday in the UK, set up to promote his memoir, Spare, which has exposed the rift between the brothers, and details how he and his wife, Meghan, stepped back from royal life.

In Spare, Prince Harry also makes a series of accusations and revelations aimed at his family, including William and Kate, the Prince and Princess of Wales.

Prince Harry said he cried once after his mother’s death — at her burial.

“Everyone knows where they were and what they were doing the night my mother died,” he said.

“I cried once, at the burial, and you know I go into detail about how strange it was and how actually there was some guilt that I felt, and I think William felt as well, by walking around the outside of Kensington Palace.”

Prince Harry described feeling the mourners’ tears on their hands when he shook them.

“There were 50,000 bouquets of flowers to our mother and there we were shaking people’s hands, smiling,” he said.

“I’ve seen the videos, right, I 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 that they were wiping away.”

He added that he and Prince William were unable to show any emotion as they met the mourners.

  • Doria Ragland, Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, attend the Ms Foundation Women of Vision Awards in New York City. Getty
    Doria Ragland, Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, attend the Ms Foundation Women of Vision Awards in New York City. Getty
  • Prince Harry and his wife Meghan attend a basketball game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Memphis Grizzlies in Los Angeles in April. Getty
    Prince Harry and his wife Meghan attend a basketball game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Memphis Grizzlies in Los Angeles in April. Getty
  • The royal couple speak onstage at the Robert F Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope Gala in New York in December 2022. Getty
    The royal couple speak onstage at the Robert F Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope Gala in New York in December 2022. Getty
  • Prince Harry and Meghan watch as the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II is placed into the hearse following the state funeral service at Westminster Abbey in central London in September 2022. AP
    Prince Harry and Meghan watch as the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II is placed into the hearse following the state funeral service at Westminster Abbey in central London in September 2022. AP
  • Prince Harry and Meghan pay their respects at the Palace of Westminster. Getty
    Prince Harry and Meghan pay their respects at the Palace of Westminster. Getty
  • Prince Harry, Meghan and Kate, Princess of Wales, attend a service for the reception of Queen Elizabeth's coffin at Westminster Hall. AFP
    Prince Harry, Meghan and Kate, Princess of Wales, attend a service for the reception of Queen Elizabeth's coffin at Westminster Hall. AFP
  • The Princess of Wales, Prince William, Prince Harry and Meghan meet members of the public outside Windsor Castle. Getty
    The Princess of Wales, Prince William, Prince Harry and Meghan meet members of the public outside Windsor Castle. Getty
  • Prince Harry and Meghan leave after a service of thanksgiving for the queen. Getty
    Prince Harry and Meghan leave after a service of thanksgiving for the queen. Getty
  • Prince Harry and Meghan at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum in New York in September 2021. AP
    Prince Harry and Meghan at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum in New York in September 2021. AP
  • Prince Harry and Meghan on the cover of Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world edition, in September 2021. Reuters
    Prince Harry and Meghan on the cover of Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world edition, in September 2021. Reuters
  • Prince Harry and Meghan are interviewed by Oprah Winfrey in March 2021. Reuters
    Prince Harry and Meghan are interviewed by Oprah Winfrey in March 2021. Reuters
  • Prince Harry and Meghan shared this image on social media in February 2021 to announce they were expecting their second child. AFP
    Prince Harry and Meghan shared this image on social media in February 2021 to announce they were expecting their second child. AFP
  • Prince Harry and Meghan visit Canada House, London, in January 2020. Getty
    Prince Harry and Meghan visit Canada House, London, in January 2020. Getty
  • Prince Harry and Meghan visit Auwal Mosque on Heritage Day during their royal tour of South Africa in September 2019. Getty
    Prince Harry and Meghan visit Auwal Mosque on Heritage Day during their royal tour of South Africa in September 2019. Getty
  • Prince Harry, Meghan and their son Archie Mountbatten-Windsor in South Africa in September 2019. Getty
    Prince Harry, Meghan and their son Archie Mountbatten-Windsor in South Africa in September 2019. Getty
  • Prince Harry and Meghan meet Beyonce Knowles-Carter and Jay-Z at the European Premiere of Disney's The Lion King at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square, London, in July 2019. Getty
    Prince Harry and Meghan meet Beyonce Knowles-Carter and Jay-Z at the European Premiere of Disney's The Lion King at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square, London, in July 2019. Getty
  • Prince Harry and Meghan pose for a photo with the New York Yankees before their baseball game against the Boston Red Sox at London Stadium in June 2019. Getty
    Prince Harry and Meghan pose for a photo with the New York Yankees before their baseball game against the Boston Red Sox at London Stadium in June 2019. Getty
  • Prince Harry and Meghan pose with their newborn son Archie in St George's Hall at Windsor Castle in May 2019. Getty
    Prince Harry and Meghan pose with their newborn son Archie in St George's Hall at Windsor Castle in May 2019. Getty
  • Meghan, joined by her mother Ms Ragland, shows her new son to Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip at Windsor Castle in May 2019. AP
    Meghan, joined by her mother Ms Ragland, shows her new son to Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip at Windsor Castle in May 2019. AP
  • Prince Harry and Meghan officially open Number 7, a Feeding Birkenhead citizen’s supermarket and community cafe in Merseyside in January 2019. Getty
    Prince Harry and Meghan officially open Number 7, a Feeding Birkenhead citizen’s supermarket and community cafe in Merseyside in January 2019. Getty
  • Prince William, the Princess of Wales, Meghan and Prince Harry attend a Christmas Day church service at the Church of St Mary Magdalene on the Sandringham estate in December 2018. Getty
    Prince William, the Princess of Wales, Meghan and Prince Harry attend a Christmas Day church service at the Church of St Mary Magdalene on the Sandringham estate in December 2018. Getty
  • Prince William, Prince Harry, Meghan and the Duchess of Cambridge attend a service marking the centenary of the First World War armistice at Westminster Abbey in November 2018. Getty
    Prince William, Prince Harry, Meghan and the Duchess of Cambridge attend a service marking the centenary of the First World War armistice at Westminster Abbey in November 2018. Getty
  • Prince Harry and Meghan visit Redwoods Tree Walk in October 2018 in Rotorua, New Zealand. Getty
    Prince Harry and Meghan visit Redwoods Tree Walk in October 2018 in Rotorua, New Zealand. Getty
  • Prince Harry and Meghan visit an exhibition of Tongan handicrafts at the Fa'onelua Convention Centre in October 2018 in Nuku'alofa, Tonga. Getty
    Prince Harry and Meghan visit an exhibition of Tongan handicrafts at the Fa'onelua Convention Centre in October 2018 in Nuku'alofa, Tonga. Getty
  • Prince Harry and Meghan visit the University of the South Pacific in October 2018 in Suva, Fiji. Getty
    Prince Harry and Meghan visit the University of the South Pacific in October 2018 in Suva, Fiji. Getty
  • Prince Harry and Meghan address the public during a Community Event at Victoria Park in October 2018 in Dubbo, Australia. Getty
    Prince Harry and Meghan address the public during a Community Event at Victoria Park in October 2018 in Dubbo, Australia. Getty
  • Prince Harry and Meghan meet a koala during a visit to Taronga Zoo in October 2018 in Sydney, Australia. Getty
    Prince Harry and Meghan meet a koala during a visit to Taronga Zoo in October 2018 in Sydney, Australia. Getty
  • Prince Harry and Meghan arrive at the University of Chichester's Engineering and Digital Technology Park during an official visit to West Sussex in October 2018. Getty
    Prince Harry and Meghan arrive at the University of Chichester's Engineering and Digital Technology Park during an official visit to West Sussex in October 2018. Getty
  • The queen, Meghan, Prince Harry, Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge watch the RAF 100th anniversary fly-past from the balcony of Buckingham Palace in July 2018. Getty
    The queen, Meghan, Prince Harry, Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge watch the RAF 100th anniversary fly-past from the balcony of Buckingham Palace in July 2018. Getty
  • Prince Harry and Meghan on their wedding day in May 2018. Getty
    Prince Harry and Meghan on their wedding day in May 2018. Getty
  • Prince Harry places a wedding ring on his new wife's finger. Getty
    Prince Harry places a wedding ring on his new wife's finger. Getty
  • Meghan and Prince Harry head to their evening wedding reception at Frogmore House. Getty
    Meghan and Prince Harry head to their evening wedding reception at Frogmore House. Getty
  • Prince Harry and Meghan walk through the corridors of the Palace of Holyroodhouse on their way to a reception for young people at the Palace in February 2018 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Getty
    Prince Harry and Meghan walk through the corridors of the Palace of Holyroodhouse on their way to a reception for young people at the Palace in February 2018 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Getty
  • Prince Harry and his then-fiancee Meghan visit Nottingham for their first official public engagement together in December 2017. Getty
    Prince Harry and his then-fiancee Meghan visit Nottingham for their first official public engagement together in December 2017. Getty

“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,” he said.

Spare is dedicated to Diana — who died in a car crash in Paris when Prince Harry was 12 — Meghan, and their children Archie and Lili.

In the book, Prince Harry says he thinks he was unable to cry in public because of his family's preference for not showing emotion.

"I disliked the touch of those hands. What's more, I disliked how they made me feel: guilty," he wrote.

"Why was there all that crying from people when I neither cried nor had cried? I wanted to cry, and I had tried, because my mother's life had been so sad ... but I couldn't ... not a drop.

"Perhaps I had learnt too well, had absorbed too thoroughly the family maxim that crying was never an option — never."

From right: Charles, Prince Harry with his head bowed, William and Earl Spencer. PA
From right: Charles, Prince Harry with his head bowed, William and Earl Spencer. PA

In clips of an interview promoting his book with Good Morning America, Prince Harry said his mother would have been saddened by her sons’ fractured relationship.

He writes that had Meghan placed her hands on the grave of Diana and asked for guidance.

The book also includes several stories involving clashes between the brothers and their wives.

Harry: The Interview will be broadcast at 9pm GMT on ITV1 and ITVX on Sunday.

Updated: January 09, 2023, 5:29 AM