Prince Harry to walk behind Queen’s coffin in haunting re-enactment of Diana’s funeral
As the Queen’s coffin is taken to the Palace of Westminster, it will no doubt bring painful memories for Prince Harry from 25 years ago.
Prince William and Harry will walk behind the Queen’s coffin tomorrow in a haunting re-enactment of their own mother’s funeral.
The King and his sons will follow the Queen’s coffin on foot as it is moved from Buckingham Palace to the Palace of Westminster.
Harry was just 12 years old when Princess Diana died and has spoken openly about the lifelong impact of her death on his mental health.
He was forced to walk in a procession through London with Prince Charles, the late Prince Philip, Prince William and Earl Spencer.
“My mother had just died, and I had to walk a long way behind her coffin, surrounded by thousands of people watching me while millions more did on television,” he said.
“I don’t think any child should be asked to do that, under any circumstances. I don’t think it would happen today.”
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Five years ago, he explained: “I can safely say that losing my mum at the age of 12 and therefore shutting down all of my emotions for the last 20 years has had quite a serious effect on not only my personal life but also my work as well.
“My way of dealing with it was sticking my head in the sand, refusing to ever think about my mum, because why would that help?
“I’ve spent most of my life saying ‘I’m fine’. I have probably been very close to a complete breakdown on numerous occasions.”
He later described in the AppleTV+ docu-series about mental health, The Me You Can’t See, his two years of “total chaos” in his late 20s where he turned to drugs and alcohol.
“I was willing to drink, I was willing to do drugs, I was willing to do the things that made me feel less like I was feeling,” he said.
He also revealed that it was his brother, Prince William, who urged him to seek counselling.
“My brother was a huge blessing. He kept saying ‘This is not right, this is not normal – you need to talk about stuff. It’s not normal to think that nothing’s affected you,’” Harry said.
“All of a sudden, all of this grief that I have never processed started to come to the forefront.”
Prince William has described his feelings of ‘numbness’ the day Diana died.
“I remember just feeling completely numb, disorientated, dizzy,’’ he said.
“You feel very, very confused. And you keep asking yourself, ‘Why me?’ All the time, ‘Why? What have I done? Why? Why has this happened to us?’”
Overnight, the US-based Duke and Duchess of Sussex were pictured at Buckingham Palace with King Charles III as he waited for his mother to return to the Palace for the final time.
The coffin will lie at rest in Buckingham Palace overnight before the monarch is taken to Westminster Hall for four days.
The Duke of Sussex, who served in Afghanistan, has revealed he will wear a morning suit during the official commemorations.
He was banned from wearing his military uniform by the royal family after stepping back from royal duties even though his uncle the Duke of York will be permitted to do so at the Vigil of the Princes in Westminster Hall.
“His decade of military service is not determined by the uniform he wears and we respectfully ask that focus remain on the life and legacy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II,” a spokesman for the Duke of Sussex said.
King Charles will lead the procession on foot from Buckingham Palace to the Palace of Westminster at 2.22pm London time.
Thousands are expected to line the streets to watch the spectacle.
The Queen Consort Camilla, the Princess of Wales, and the Duchess of Sussex will travel by car.
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