In the light of Princess Diana’s 20th year death anniversary, Prince William and Prince Harry shared a side of them that was never really shown in public as they work on an HBO documentary about their mother—Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy. This being the first time they talk about her openly and in length.
Filmmakers Nicolas Kent and Ashley Gething collaborated with the Royal Family in what was supposed to be a personal film and they were given full creative control. “What we’ve tried to do with this documentary is to tell the story of Princess Diana through the eyes of the two people who knew her and loved her most,” said Ashley. “It is a sort of love letter to their mum, but as we made it, it became increasingly clear it was about two things—love and memories, and how those things are intertwined.”
In an interview with Vanity Fair, Nicolas shared how the royals “prefaced their interviews by saying, ‘We don’t actually have that many memories of our mom.’”
“One of the [side effects] of grief and bereavement is that memories kind of get suppressed or obliterated, so I don’t think they knew, and we certainly didn’t know until we began the interview that they would be so candid,” said Nicolas. “But quite quickly when we began the interview, you could almost begin to see the memories surface.”
They started with opening old photo albums that the Princess herself assembled. Both Prince William and Prince Harry was said to have kept it in storage and only viewed it again when they started filming. Most of the memories were joyous prompting them to share more fond memories.
“She would just engulf you and squeeze you as tight as possible,” Prince Harry shared in the documentary. “And being as short as I was then, there was no escape; you were there and you were there for as long as she wanted to hold you. Even talking about it now I can feel the hugs that she used to give us and, you know, I miss that, I miss that feeling, I miss that part of a family, I miss having that mother… to be able to give you those hugs and give you that compassion that I think everybody needs.”
A few months back, Prince William and Prince Harry admitted to having a hard time talking about their mother Princess Diana who tragically died in an accident. It took them 20 years to share memories of her and now that the documentary is finished, Prince William said to the British press that it will also be the last time.
[Vanity Fair]
Photos courtesy of UK Press/Getty Images
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