Charles III

deeply regrets letting Prince William and Prince Harry walk behind Diana's coffin

Created: 2022-11-13, 6:42 p.m

By: Annemarie Goebbel

Some things cannot be undone.

King Charles had this bitter experience before the eyes of the whole world.

Today, his sons have to bear the burden of his momentous decision.

LONDON – Even a king is not immune from making mistakes that still haunt him decades later.

What is particularly tragic about this case is that it happened in full public view because it made things a whole lot worse.

Also tragic is that there were good reasons for making the decision, as King Charles III.

(73) met her after the terrible accidental death of the mother of his children Prince William (40) and Prince Harry (38) at Princess Diana's (36, † 1997) funeral.

The heartbreaking footage of the children behind the coffin still brings tears to tears

The deeply sad pictures of the two children, who helplessly followed the coffin of their mother Princess Diana (36, † 1997) in an endlessly long way with hanging heads, many still have to swallow hard today.

Prince William had just turned 15, Prince Harry was a boy of 12.

Her father Charles III had decided.

(73) that the sons should be there and say goodbye to their mother.

A sense of duty to the Crown may also have prompted him to do so.

Today he deeply regrets the momentous decision.

Charles has been haunted since learning how traumatic the forced walk was, reports Christopher Andersen in

.

You don't have to be a psychologist to put yourself in the children's shoes: for Diana's sons, the princess was their beloved mother, and the grief at her loss was endless.

Not being able to weep her intimate loss alone with hot tears into crumpled pillows, but having to stoically share it with complete strangers along the way was just too much to ask.

Royal voices with and without remorse at the time of mourning for Lady Diana

Diana's brother Charles, Earl Spencer (58) walked behind Diana's coffin alongside Charles, Prince Philip and the two boys.

He later said that he felt he had been talked into doing it and would regret it.

He said "it was like walking through a tunnel of grief".

Princess Anne (72) told ITV News in April 2021 on the death of Prince Philips (99, † 2021): "I seem to remember that as a grandfather he said to them: 'If you want me to be there, if that's what you want to do, then I'll be there.'” The Princess Royal added that Philip and the late Queen Elizabeth II (96, † 2022) were with William and Harry at Balmoral Castle after Diana's death kept to protect them.

"My mother did exactly the right thing," Anne explained.

"I just don't know how anyone can believe what would have been better for her.

I don't think either of them could have coped had they been anywhere else."

Prince Harry and Prince William were furious at being forced to walk

Today Charles III.

his decision sleepless nights: But at the time of Princess Diana's death he urged his sons to run after her coffin (photomontage).

© iImages/Imago

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"I think it haunts him because it haunts them...they've talked about it," Christopher Andersen

, who interviewed the author on the occasion of his biography, The King: The Life of Charles III had asked.

"I wrote that I believe it's a form of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder)."

Andersen continues, "Both William and Harry were probably thinking, 'Who are these strangers they never met?'

So they were angry about what had happened.

And Charles, I think, understands that to some extent he was responsible for the fact that they had to go through [that].”

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Prince William later said on the HBO documentary Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy in 2017, "You're slowly trying to rebuild your life, you're trying to understand what happened.

I also kept myself busy so you could get over the initial shock phase (William puts it at about seven years old).” Harry thinks of the funeral procession with horror.

In July 2017, he told Newsweek: "I don't think you should ask that of a child, under any circumstances.

I don't think it would happen today.” His memoirs are still pending.