Lord John Stevens has looked back on the “difficult” conversation he had with Prince William and Prince Harry after the tragic death of their mother, Princess Diana.
The former police chief, who was investigating the fatal car accident in 1997, said he spoke with the two young boys for about an hour.
“Yes, of course, it was a difficult thing [to do]Stevens, 79, told Us Weekly on Tuesday,
“So I went along with two other people who were part of the study [including a] detective inspector, and [when we were] outside the door [at Kensington Palace]they said, ‘No, they just want to see you’, that’s me.”
He continued, “So I went in there and we had… over an hour, probably, I don’t remember exactly how long. I sketched out what the conclusions were for about 10 or 15 minutes and the rest of the time they asked me questions, which you would expect because they didn’t know the circumstances of their mother’s death, where [and] what did she say when she died, and I won’t say what the conversations were.’
Stevens, who will appear on Discovery+’s new documentary series “The Diana Investigations”, said the discussion was “very emotional” for both the Duke of Cambridge, 40, and the Duke of Sussex, 37, who are 15 and 12 years old respectively. goods. time.
“I have to say I was pretty emotional about it myself,” he said.
“What they were upset about, they stated publicly, was the paparazzi who they thought were very much behind what had happened by chasing the car and fixing the car or forcing the car to go at 75 miles per hour. to drive. They weren’t too happy about that. I can tell you.”
William later revealed that it took him “five to seven years” to process the loss.
“Slowly you try to rebuild your life, you try to understand what happened. I also kept myself busy getting you through that initial shock phase. We may have it five to seven years later,” William said during the 2017 HBO documentary, “Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy.”
“You know, there were times when you looked to someone or something for strength and I really felt like she was there for me,” he continued.
William is now the father of George, 9, Charlotte, 7, and Prince Louis, 4, who he shares with the Duchess of Cambridge, 40, and is trying to keep his mother’s legacy alive.
“We’ve got more pictures at her house, and we’re talking about her and stuff. And it’s hard because my wife obviously didn’t know her, so she can’t really give that level of detail,” he said.
“I do regularly [while] Putting George and Charlotte to bed…and just try to remind them that there are two grandmothers – there were two grandmothers in their lives. And it’s important that they know who she was and that she existed.”
He also unveiled a statue dedicated to his late mother in Kensington Palace last year, along with his younger brother.
“Strength and character – qualities that have made her a force for good around the world, changing countless lives for the better,” said William and Harry in a July 2021 joint statement at the unveiling. “Every day we wish she was still with us, and we hope that this image will forever be seen as a symbol of her life and her legacy.”