Princess Diana was a doting mother to sons Prince William and Prince Harry before her August 1997 death.
“My childhood, I remember, was filled with laughter, filled with happiness, and filled with adventure,” Harry recalled during his 2022 Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan.
Harry was 12 and William was 15 when their mother died at age 36 following a car crash in Paris. Both boys spoke candidly about Diana during the 2017 HBO documentary Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy.
“I miss that feeling, I miss having that mother to give you those hugs and that compassion that everyone needs,” Harry said, in part. “Behind closed doors, she was a very loving, caring mother and an incredibly funny person. I think she lived a lot of her life, especially in private, through us and I think that childish fun element really came out when she was spending time with us.”
Related: Princess Diana’s Brother Pays Tribute on 27th Anniversary of Her Death
The People’s Princess always and forever. The British royal family has kept Princess Diana’s memory alive since her untimely death in August 1997. The mother of Prince William and Prince Harry died at the age of 36 after a car accident in Paris that resulted from her driver, Henri Paul, fleeing the paparazzi. Paul and […]
Keep scrolling to look back at Diana’s sweetest quotes about William and Harry before her death:
Embracing Motherhood
“Most importantly, [my role is] being a mother and a wife,” Diana declared in a 1985 interview. “That’s what I try to achieve; whether I do is another thing, but I do try.”
She also stated: “I live for my sons. I would be lost without them.”
Taking Them to School
Diana famously took her children to school, recalling the moment she sent William off for the first time in September 1985.
“I was [a little sad] because it’s opening another chapter in my life and certainly William’s,” she shared at the time. “But he’s ready for it. He’s a very independent child.”
Putting Them 1st
“I will fight for my children on any level so they can reach their potential as human beings, and in their public duties,” Diana said in a 1995 interview.
Related: Princess Diana Through the Years
Princess Diana left a grand legacy in her wake following her death in 1997. Diana married into England’s royal family in July 1981, when she and King Charles III (then Prince Charles) exchanged vows. The couple soon welcomed heirs to the throne, with Diana giving birth to Prince William in 1982 and Prince Harry two […]
Her Advice to William
In the same 1995 interview, which aired via BBC1, Diana revealed a piece of advice she shared with her eldest son.
“I went to the school and put it to William, particularly, that if you find someone you love in life, you must hang onto it and look after it,” she said. “And if you were lucky enough to find someone who loved you, then you must protect it.”
William married Princess Kate Middleton in April 2011, and they share three kids: Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
Her Final Call
Diana’s longtime friend Richard Kay revealed that her last phone call with him was about William and Harry. They spoke shortly before her 1997 death.
“The police said that the last call she made was to me,” he said in a 2021 documentary, revealing that Diana was “in quite a good place,” but “she wanted to come back and see her boys.”
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