Prince William and Prince Harry’s Most Heart-Wrenching Quotes About the Late Princess Diana

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Prince William and Prince Harry’s Most Heart-Wrenching Quotes About the Late Princess Diana

Prince William and Prince Harry have carried on their late mother Princess Diana’s lasting legacy since her untimely August 31, 1997, death.

William and Harry were 15 and 12, respectively, when the Princess of Wales died at age 36 after sustaining injuries in a car crash in Paris. Since then, the brothers have  fondly recalled the time they had with their mother before her death.

The royal family members stewarded the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund and have given back to humanitarian charities in honor of their mother’s life’s work. In 2017, the brothers commissioned a statue to commemorate what would have been the 20th anniversary of Diana's death. It wasn't for another four years, however, that the statue was officially unveiled.

Both princes have made it their mission to preserve their mother's legacy as the next generation of royals prepare to take over the monarchy. In May 2015, William and wife Princess Kate Middleton welcomed their second child, Charlotte Elizabeth Diana, and six years later, Harry paid tribute to their mother with the arrival of his own daughter, Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor. Though their mother never met her grandchildren, both William and Harry have ensured that their kids know their father’s mom.

As the royal family marks 29 years since Diana’s death, keep scrolling to read William and Harry’s quotes about their mother through the years:

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May 2025

Harry honored his mother days after speaking candidly about the royal family in a bombshell BBC News interview after losing his appeal for government-funded security. On May 7, Harry took part in a panel discussion to launch of The Diana Award’s “Pledge to Invest” initiative in Las Vegas.

“Through The Diana Award, I’ve had the privilege of meeting young people who have turned adversity into action. That’s not just inspiring — it’s the kind of untapped potential we can’t afford to overlook,” Harry said, in part. “Far too many young people are locked out of leadership pipelines because we’ve failed to build truly inclusive and accessible pathways.”

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February 2025

William spoke candidly about losing his mother at a young age during an appearance at the Child Bereavement U.K. center.

“What my mother recognized back then — and what I understand now — is that grief is the most painful experience that any child or parent can endure,” he said.

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December 2024

Harry brought up his mother during the The New York Times’ DealBook Summit, discussing misinformation in the media.

"What happened to my mom and the fact that I was a kid and felt helpless, there comes the inner turmoil. I felt helpless,” he explained. “One of my biggest weaknesses is feeling helpless."

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November 2024

William discussed his mother’s charity work in the Disney+ documentary, Prince William: We Can End Homelessness, noting that she had a “really big impact” on his life.

“I have taken some guidance from what my mother did,” he said.

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September 2024

Harry spoke at an event supporting The HALO Trust about his charity work in Angola, which is how he keeps Diana’s legacy alive.

“While you don’t need children to have a stake in the future of our planet, I do know that my mother would have been horrified that anyone’s children or grandchildren would live in a world still infested with mines,” he said at the time. “As you know, The HALO Trust work in Angola meant a great deal to my mother carrying on her legacy is a responsibility that I take incredibly seriously and I think we all know how much she’d want us to finish this particular job.”

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January 2023

Harry revealed that he spent the first 11 years after Diana‘s death believing her passing could have been a hoax. “For a long time. I just refused to accept that she was gone. Part of [it was] she would never do this to us. But also, part of it maybe [felt like] this is all part of a plan,” he told Anderson Cooper during a 60 Minutes interview. “For a time [I believed she was alive] and then she would call us, and we would go and join her. ... William and I talked about it as well. He had similar thoughts.”

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January 2023

The Duke of Sussex recalled learning of Diana's death from his father in his memoir, Spare.

“[Charles] sat down on the edge of the bed. He put a hand on my knee. Darling boy, Mummy’s been in a car crash. I remember thinking: Crash … OK. But she’s all right? Yes? I vividly remember that thought flashing through my mind,” Harry recalled of the heartbreaking moment. “And I remember waiting patiently for Pa to confirm that indeed Mummy was all right. And I remember him not doing that.”  

While the BetterUp CIO initially believed that doctors could somehow “fix” his mother's head wound, he felt something "shift internally” when he realized that the accident had been fatal. 

 “I began silently pleading with Pa, or God, or both: No, no, no,” he wrote in the book. 

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December 2022

Harry spoke candidly in Netflix's Harry & Meghan about the struggles his wife went through ahead of their 2020 royal exit, comparing the intense public scrutiny to what Diana experienced before her death.

"I've lost a few friends in this process as well. ... I mean, I came [to California] because I was changed. I changed to the point that I'd outgrown my environment. Therefore, this was the most obvious place to come," he recalled in episode 6 as the couple began their new chapter in the U.S. "You know, it's one of the places where I think my mom was probably gonna end up living potentially."

The Sussexes also looked back on their February 2021 pregnancy announcement before welcoming daughter Lili later that year. "Once we announced it, I got two messages from two completely different people who sent me the front page of Valentine's Day, 1984, of my mother announcing that she was pregnant with me. I was shocked. We had no idea. It was just a coincidence," Harry said. "Or maybe not a coincidence."

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December 2022

"I don't have many early memories of my mum. It was almost like, internally, I sort of blocked them out," the prince confessed in an episode of Harry & Meghan, looking back on his childhood, which he described as being full of "laughter" and "adventure."

However, one detail about his mother stood out. "But I always remember her laugh, her cheeky laugh," he said. "Her always saying to me, 'You can get in trouble, just don't get caught,' and I'll always be that cheeky person inside.

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December 2022

Harry reflected on his late mother's life and legacy during Netflix's docuseries Harry & Meghan, remembering how Diana spoke about her struggles in her 1995 BBC interview. "She felt compelled to talk about it. Especially in that Panorama interview," he said. "I think we all now know that she was deceived into giving the interview, but at the same time she spoke the truth of her experience."

He continued: "My mum was harassed throughout her life with my dad, but after they separated, the harassment went to new levels. I saw things, I experienced things. I learned things. The pain and suffering of women marrying into this institution. I remember thinking, 'How can I ever find someone who is willing and capable to withstand all the baggage that comes with being with me?'"

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July 2021

"Every day, we wish she were still with us, and our hope is that this statue will be seen forever as a symbol of her life and her legacy Thank you to Ian Rank-Broadley, Pip Morrison and their teams for their outstanding work, to the friends and donors who helped make this happen, and to all those around the world who keep our mother's memory alive," the royal duo said during the July 2021 unveiling of Diana's statue at Kensington Palace, noting that their mother was "a force for good around the world."

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May 2021

"I was in Balmoral when I was told that my mother had died," William reflected while speaking at the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in May 2021. "And yet alongside this painful memory, is one of great joy. Because it was here in Scotland – 20 years ago this year – that I first met Catherine."

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March 2021

In a foreword penned for a children's book titled Hospital by the Hill, Harry admitted that the loss of his mother "left a huge hole inside of" him. "I want to assure you that over time that hole will be filled with so much love and support," he continued. "You may feel alone, you may feel sad, you may feel angry, you may feel bad. This feeling will pass. and I will make a promise to you — you will feel better and stronger once you are ready to talk about how it makes you feel. ... When a parent goes to heaven, I was told their spirit, their love and the memories of them do not. They are always with you and you can hold onto them forever. I find this to be true."

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July 2017

During HBO's 2017 documentary Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy, William said of grieving, "Slowly, you try to rebuild your life, you try to understand what happened. I kept myself busy, as well, to allow you to get yourself through that initial shock phase. We're talking maybe as much as five to seven years afterwards."

In the same film, William admitted that he "did really feel that [Diana] was there" with him when he got married in April 2011. "You know, there was times when you look to someone or something for strength and I very much felt she was there for me," he said.

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July 2017

"If I'd known that that was the last time I was going to speak to my mother the things that I would — the things I would have said to her [would be different]," Harry said of his last conversation with his mom in Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy. "All I do remember regretting for the rest of my life how short that phone call is. Looking back now, I have to live with that for the rest of my life."

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August 2016

“Time makes it easier. ... I still miss my mother every day — and it’s 20 years after she died," William said at Keech Hospice Care in Luton, England.

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July 2016

"I really regret not ever talking about [her death]. For the first 28 years of my life, I never talked about it," Harry said during a conversation with Manchester United footballer Rio Ferdinand.

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March 2016

During an appearance on Good Morning America, Harry noted, “I hope she’s looking down, you know, with tears in her eyes, being incredibly proud of what we’ve established, I suppose. I’m sure she’s longing for me to have kids so she can be a grandmother again.”

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March 2016

“We will do everything we can to make sure that she’s never forgotten and carry on all the special gifts, as such, that she had and that she portrayed while she was alive," Harry said of himself and William's work while speaking to Good Morning America. "I hope that a lot of my mother’s talents are shown in a lot of the work that I do.”

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November 2015

“I knew there would always be a gaping hole that could never be filled," the Duke of Sussex said during a visit to Africa's Mamohato Children’s Centre in November 2015. "The children at the center were far younger than me, and of course, their situation was a great deal more challenging than my own. Nonetheless, we shared a similar feeling of loss, having a loved one — in my case a parent — snatched away so suddenly.”

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October 2015

William spoke at the Child Bereavement U.K. gala, noting, “What my mother recognized back then — and what I understand now — is that grief is the most painful experience that any child or parent can endure. As a father to two young children myself, I now appreciate it all the more.”

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January 2014

“Initially, there is a sense of profound shock and disbelief that this could ever happen to you," William told the Daily Mail. "Real grief often does not hit home until much later. For many it is a grief never entirely lost. Life is altered as you know it, and not a day goes past without you thinking about the one you have lost. I know that over time it is possible to learn to live with what has happened and, with the passing of years, to retain or rediscover cherished memories.”