Princess Diana Death Anniversary: What Prince Harry Regrets About Last Conversation With Mom

Prince William and Prince Harry carried some regret over the last conversation they had with their mother before she died in a car crash 23 years ago on Aug. 31, 1997.

In the 2017 documentary “Our Mother Diana: Her Life and Legacy,” the brothers recalled that they spoke with Princess Diana the night before her fatal car accident, but the call had been a short one. Just 15 and 12 at the time, Prince William and Prince Harry wanted to cut the conversation with Princess Diana short so that they could go back to playing with their cousins.

Prince Harry said he regrets not having spoken to their mother for longer.

“If I’d known that that was the last time I was going to speak to my mother the things that I would – the things I would have said to her,” Prince Harry admitted.

While speaking to the press about the documentary, Prince William revealed that he was more nervous over opening up about something so personal than actually creating the feature. The Duke of Cambridge said at the time that they “won’t speak as openly and as publicly about her again.”

Prince William also hoped that the documentary about Princess Diana would give the other side of the story from the point of view of her friends and family and those who knew her.

The duke said it was also to remind people about the late Princess of Wales’ “warmth, the humor, and what she was like as a mother, which probably hasn’t come across before in many other pieces from other people.”

Princess Diana passed away at the age of 36 in Paris, France in a car crash after the driver was trying to escape the paparazzi. Her boyfriend, the Egyptian-born socialite Dodi Fayed, and the driver of the car, Henri Paul, died of the accident as well.

The late princess' death was described by Prince Harry as a “wound that festers” him in the documentary “Harry & Meghan: An African Journey.”

“I think being part of this family, in this role, in this job, every single time I see a camera, every single time I hear a click, every single time I see a flash, it takes me straight back,” he said.

The Duke of Sussex has also been open about his mental health struggles that stemmed from Princess Diana’s death. Prince Harry admitted that he sought professional help in his 20s to cope with his mom’s demise.

Just days before the 23rd anniversary of the People’s Princess’ death, Princess Diana’s sons came together to announce that a statue of their mother that they had commissioned in 2017 will be installed at Kensington Palace on what would have been her 60th birthday.

Prince William and Prince Harry had the statue made to mark their mother's 20th death anniversary and recognize her positive impact in the U.K. and around the world.

“The statue will be installed in the Sunken Garden of Kensington Palace on 1st July 2021, marking The Princess’s 60th birthday,” their announcement read. “The Princes hope that the statue will help all those who visit Kensington Palace to reflect on their mother’s life and her legacy.”