real life

Prince Harry: 'No child should have to do this, under any circumstances.'

Head bowed and fists clenched, a then 12-year-old Harry marched in the funeral procession behind his mother’s coffin for the world to see.

“I don’t think any child should be asked to do that, under any circumstances,” the Prince said of one of the darkest moments in the Royal family’s history.

prince harry losing his mother
Prince Harry was just 12 when his mother passed away. (Image: Getty)

Flanked by older brother, Prince William, father, Prince Charles, grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh, and his uncle, Charles Spencer as they walked through the heart of London on September 6, 1997, Harry was just a child when Princess Diana died in a car crash in Paris. She was just 36.

"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 told Newsweek magazine.

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"I don’t think it would happen today."

"I don’t think any child should be asked to do that, under any circumstances." (Image: Getty)

While Prince Harry admitted he struggled with how to deal with the grief of losing his mother at such a young age, he also spoke of the positive impact Diana had on both his and his brother's lives.

"My mother died when I was very young. I didn't want to be in the position I was in, but I eventually pulled my head out of the sand, started listening to people and decided to use my role for good," he said.

"My mother took a huge part in showing me an ordinary life, including taking me and my brother to see homeless people. Even if I was king, I'd still do my own shopping."

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"I eventually pulled my head out of the sand, started listening to people and decided to use my role for good." (Image: Getty)

Although it is unlikely Harry will ever take the throne, there's no doubt the royal birthright, for all it's grandeur, is weighted with responsibilities Prince Harry and his family didn't ask for, but continue to shoulder in order to keep the 'magic' alive for the British people.

"Is there any one of the royal family who wants to be king or queen?" he said. "I don’t think so, but we will carry out our duties at the right time."

If you had the choice, would you wish to be born into the Royal family?