Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles' Reaction To Princess Diana's Death Revealed

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles were restless when they learned about Princess Diana's accident.

According to Ingrid Seward in her book "The Queen & Di," the Queen was sound asleep at Balmoral Castle and was awoken in urgency by one of her aides during the wee hours of the morning. The monarch immediately wrapped herself in her old-fashioned sleeping gown to meet Prince Charles in the corridor, Reader's Digest reported.

The Prince of Wales informed the monarch that Princess Diana and her boyfriend Dodi Fayed got into a horrific car accident. Fayed was reported dead, but Prince William and Prince Harry's mom survived. The future king was up taking more calls to get updates about Princess Diana's condition. The Queen ordered to make a pot of tea, but everyone in the castle was too anxious to drink.

Prince Charles and Queen Elizabeth II were told that Princess Diana survived unscathed. Unfortunately, the good news quickly turned sour when another call came in.

"Sir, I am very sorry to have to tell you that I’ve just had the Ambassador on the phone. The Princess died a short time ago," Prince Charles was told.

Queen Elizabeth II watched Prince Charles broke into tears. The monarch was equally stunned and shocked. According to Seward, the monarch's sympathy and affection to Princess Diana remained even after her divorce from Prince Charles. In fact, the Queen deemed her death as a "terrible waste."

Queen Elizabeth II honored Princess Diana following her death. Her Majesty walked among the mourners and collected well-wisher's flowers. On the morning of the funeral, the Queen led the family out when the cortege passed the palace, which was a "completely unscripted" gesture.

The firefighter who was among the first members of the emergency services who responded to the accident also thought that Princess Diana would survive. According to Xavier Gourmelon, the car was in a mess, but the People's Princess "didn't look badly affected." There was no blood on her.

"I gave her some oxygen and my team and I stayed by her side as she was taken out of the car," Gourmelon added. "It was very quick because we didn't have to cut any of the wreckage."

"To be honest I thought she would live," the firefighter added. "As far as I knew when she was in the ambulance she was alive and I expected her to live. But I found out later she had died in hospital. It was very upsetting."