When Princess Diana died in 1997, the entire globe was in shock and mourning. The funeral was held at Westminster Abbey and was broadcast to two-and-a-half million viewers and listeners worldwide.
Known as the “People’s Princess”, Diana has forever left her mark upon the world.
Now, sons William and Harry are paying tribute to their mother in a new documentary, 20 years after she was killed in a fatal car crash in Paris.
Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy will explore the Princess’s past, her doomed marriage to Prince Charles, her struggles, her philanthropy, and her massive influence on the world. This will feature interviews with William and Harry, and never-before-scene photographs taken from an album she assembled many years ago.
The princes will discuss their fondest memories of their mum, remembering the happy times they shared together.
“She was very informal and really enjoyed laughter and fun,” Prince William said in the HBO documentary.
They will also go into detail about the last conversation they had with their mother, and the devastating effect it had on them.
On August 31, 1997, Diana called them on the telephone from Paris. The boys were busy playing games with their cousins at Balmoral Castle at the time, so their conversation was rushed and brief. A few hours later, Diana died in a car crash on Pont de l’Alma road tunnel with her partner, Dodi Fayed.
Harry admitted that talking about her death was "a little bit too raw until this point".
"Harry and I were in a desperate rush to say goodbye, you know, ‘see you later’...Obviously, if I'd known what would happen, I wouldn't have been so blasé about it," said William. "But that phone call sticks in my mind quite heavily."
William will explain how he preserves her memory for his own children, and why it's so important to him.
The documentary will commemorate the achievements of Diana’s work, and her sons’ determination to continue the campaigns she ran when she was alive.
Other interviewees in the documentary include Sir Elton John, Rihanna, Diana’s brother - the Rt. Hon. Earl Spencer, her childhood friends Harry Herbert, Lady Carolyn Warren, William van Straubenzee and Gerard McGrath, royal photographer Jayne Fincher, her personal stylist Anna Harvey, and her former gardener Graham Dillamore.
“This film will show Princess Diana in a way she has never been seen before, through the eyes of her sons and people who knew her best,” says Nick Kent, executive producer of the documentary.
Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy is on tonight at 9pm on ITV.
