Prince Harry has been very open during the 25 years that have passed since his mother's tragic death and has frequently spoken about the effect that it had on his mental health.
He was just 12 years old when Diana, Princess of Wales was killed in a car crash in Paris and just a few days later he walked behind his mother's coffin in between his father and his uncle. The prince has been vocal over the years with his criticism for the decision to have him and William follow the coffin and believes that no child should have been asked to do what he did.
The young royals walked with The Duke of Edinburgh, The Earl Spencer and The Prince of Wales in front of over a million people who lined the procession route in London. It is said that the pair were encouraged to follow the coffin by their grandfather Prince Philip who reportedly told them: "I’ll walk if you walk."
Prince Harry discussed the walk with royal biographer, Angela Levin for her book ‘Harry: Conversations with the Prince'.
He told her: “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 added: “I don’t think any child should be asked to do that, under any circumstances. I don’t think it would happen today.”
“No child should lose their mother at such a young age and then have his grief observed by thousands of people.”
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In the documentary 'Diana, Our Mother', William and Harry sat down to recall some of their memories of their mother and the days that followed her death.
Prince William said: “I remember just feeling completely numb, disorientated, dizzy.
"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?’”
Elsewhere in the documentary Harry reflected on Diana's funeral which took place in London on September 6.
He said: “My mother had just died and I had to walk a long way behind her coffin, surrounded by thousands watching me while millions more did on television.
William added: “There’s nothing like it in the world. There really isn’t. It’s like an earthquake has just run through the house and through your life and everything. Your mind is completely split. And it took me a while for it to actually sink in.”
Prince Harry was previously very open about the struggles he faced after his mother's death when he co-created the mental health documentary series 'The Me You Can’t See' with Oprah Winfrey for Apple TV.
The series saw Harry tell Winfrey that the trauma of the loss caused him to suffer anxiety and severe panic attacks from ages 28 to 32.
Speaking to the camera, The Duke of Sussex revealed that the pain of his mother’s death led him to use alcohol and drugs to “mask” his emotions and to “feel less like I was feeling”.
He continued: “I was just all over the place mentally, every time I put a suit on and tie on … having to do the role, and go, ‘right, game face’, look in the mirror and say, ‘let’s go’. Before I even left the house I was pouring with sweat. I was in fight or flight mode.”
