Prince Charles' caring move to protect Prince Harry from heartbreak
A young Prince Harry had asked his father if he could collect his mother Diana’s body in the wake of her tragic death, but Prince Charles said no, it has been revealed in a documentary.
At just 12 years old, the young prince’s life had taken an unexpected turn – his beloved mother and much-admired Princess had died in a devastating car accident in Paris on August 31, 1997.
At the time, the Duke of Sussex had requested to go with his father to retrieve his mother’s body from Paris.
Princess Diana suffered fatal injuries in the Pont de l’Alma road tunnel in Paris, after a horrific car crash. Her companion Dodi Fayed and driver and security guard Henri Paul also died in the crash.
At the time of the accident, the Queen was holidaying in Balmoral with Prince Charles and his young sons, Prince William and Prince Harry.
According to the Mirror, the young 12-year-old asked his father if he could travel with his father to Paris to collect Diana’s body.
In an effort to prevent further heartbreak and calamity for the young prince, now aged 34, Prince Charles refused his son’s request, with the father of two and ex-husband to Diana travelled alone to Paris to retrieve her body.
Richard Kay, a friend of the late Princess and a journalist told 7 Days That Shook The Windsors – a documentary that aired on London-based Channel 5 – that the young princes were the main priority for the Royals.
Kay said: “The Queen and Prince Charles’ view was that the boys were their main priority ... Charles took the decision that he was going to Paris to bring back Diana’s body.
“This was a surprising and brave move. He was an ex-husband, he had no right to be there other than as the father of her sons.”
Years later, Prince Harry admitted he “shut down all his emotions” after he lost his mother, for two long decades.
“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 my work as well," Harry confided.
The prince revealed he chose not to think of his mother or her death, and avoided the topic altogether as a way of dealing with his mother’s death.
“[I thought] it’s only going to make you sad, it’s not going to bring her back.
“So from an emotional side, I was like, ‘Right, don’t ever let your emotions be a part of anything'.”