Prince Harry Believed Princess Diana Was Still Alive But In Hiding, First Saw Photos Of The Car Crash At 20

Jan 10, 2023 by apost team

In the run-up to the release of his memoir "Spare" on Jan. 10, 2023, Prince Harry has been busy promoting the tell-all, including by granting the investigative "60 Minutes" documentary show an interview with journalist Anderson Cooper on Jan. 8, 2023. In the discussion with the CNN anchor, Harry – despite frequently seeming on the verge of tears – opened up about the trials and tribulations of his life as a senior member of the British royal family, as well as the confusion and suffering he endured in the wake of the death of his mother, Princess Diana.

In the early hours of Aug. 31, 1997, Princess Diana, then 36, passed away alongside her boyfriend Dodi Fayed and driver Henri Paul after the car she was in crashed in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris, France while being chased by paparazzi. It was later concluded Paul had been speeding and was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident.

The passing of the "People's Princess" shook the world. Tributes began pouring in across the globe as the royal family geared up for the former princess of Wales's funeral, which was televised and watched by over 2.5 billion people. The media also went into overdrive in efforts to cover the unprecedented turn of events, with the incident making headlines and photographs of the royal family splashed across the front pages of newspapers and magazines. Most harrowing among the images from the time were those of Diana's two young sons – Prince William, who was 15 at the time, and Harry, who was 12. While the pair painted a somber image of grief and loss that struck a chord with many, Harry has now revealed he had been plagued with feelings of confusion and denial during the period.

In his interview with Cooper, Prince Harry laid bare his experience in the wake of the tragedy, including the moment he was first told about Princess Diana's passing. His father, King Charles III, who had been divorced from his mother just a year earlier, was the one to tell him.

"I was in shock, you know? Twelve years old, sort of 7:00 – 7:30 in the morning early. Your father comes in, sits on your bed, puts his hand on your knee and tells you, 'There's been an accident.' I – I couldn't believe (it)," Harry told Cooper, who then responded by quoting a passage from "Spare" in which Harry had written, "Pa didn't hug me. He wasn't great at showing emotions under normal circumstances. But his hand did fall once more on my knee and he said, 'It's going to be okay.'"

Harry then went on to tell Cooper he felt distant and alone throughout his mother's funeral.

"There was a lot of tears. I talk about how wet people's hands were. And I couldn't understand it at first. … Their hands were wet from wiping their own tears away. I do remember one of the strangest parts to it was taking flowers from people and then placing those flowers with the rest of them. As if I was some sort of middle person for their grief. And that really stood out for me," he revealed. 

As for whether his emotions ever got the better of him, Harry said he only cried once over his mother's passing. "Once my mother's coffin actually went into the ground, that was the first time that I actually cried. Yeah, there was never another time," Harry said. Cooper then asked, "All through your teenage years… you didn't cry about it?"

"No," Harry remarked. 

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Harry had shut down emotionally as he was in denial about his mother's passing, telling Cooper:

"For a long time, I just refused to accept that she was gone. Part of… she would never do this to us, but also part of, maybe this is all part of a plan."

He said, for years, he believed Diana had only "decided to disappear for a time" and would "call us and that we would go and join her." Harry added he wasn't alone in feeling this way as "William and I talked about it as well. He had similar thoughts."

It was only when Harry was 20 years old that he first saw photographs of the crash, saying he wanted "proof."

"Proof that she was in the car. Proof that she was injured. And proof that the very paparazzi that chased her into the tunnel were the ones that were taking photographs of her lying half dead on the back seat of the car," he said, adding his private secretary had persuaded him not to view more graphic pictures.

"All I saw was the back of my mom's head – slumped on the back seat. There were other more gruesome photographs, but I will be eternally grateful to (my private secretary) for denying me the ability to inflict pain on myself by seeing that. Because that's the kinda stuff that sticks in your mind forever," Harry added. 

Despite a trip to Paris to cover the same route his mother took that fateful day and the fact he and William considered reopening an inquest determining the crash to be a "tragic accident," Harry remained doubtful as to whether any new actions would help give him closure. 

"Do I need any more than I already know? No. I don't think it would change much."

What are your thoughts on Prince Harry's revelations? Are you interested in picking up a copy of "Spare" sometime soon? Let us know, and be sure to pass this along to friends and family who might be interested, too.