What Prince William And Harry Said About Making Diana Proud

Prince William and Prince Harry were ages 15 and 12, respectively, when their mother Diana, Princess of Wales, died in a car accident 20 years ago. At one point in her life, Princess Diana was a patron of over 100 charities. She changed the perception of HIV and AIDS patients, championed against landmines and helped Britain's homeless, among other causes.

In the years since their mother's death, both William and Harry became involved in charitable ventures. Over the years, they have reflected on how they know their mother is watching over them. A few of those memorable quotes are given below.

“Twenty-one years ago, my mother attended the launch of the Child Bereavement charity. Fifteen years later, I was honored to be invited to become Patron of Child Bereavement UK to continue my mother’s commitment to charity which is very dear to me. What my mother recognized back then — and what I understand now — is that grief is the most painful experience that any child or parent can endure. As a father to two young children myself, I now appreciate it all the more.”

-Prince William speaking at the Child Bereavement Charity Gala (October 2015)

“I hope she’s looking down, you know, with tears in her eyes, being incredibly proud of what we’ve established, I suppose. I’m sure she’s longing for me to have kids so she can be a grandmother again. I hope that everything we do privately and officially, that it makes her proud.”

-Prince Harry on Good Morning America (March 2016)

“We will do everything we can to make sure that she’s never forgotten and carry on all the special gifts, as such, that she had and that she portrayed while she was alive. I hope that a lot of my mother’s talents are shown in a lot of the work that I do.”

-Prince Harry on Good Morning America (March 2016)

“I never realized quite how much of an impact she had. I applaud her for all her dedication and drive, and I think the infectious enthusiasm and all the energy she had really rubbed off on me for causes such as [AIDS research in Africa].”

-Prince William in BBC documentary 'Diana' (August 2017)

“It’s never going to be easy for the two of us to talk about our mother, but 20 years seems like a good time to remind people of the difference that she made, not just to the Royal Family, but also to the world. If I can be even a fraction of what she was, I will be proud and hopefully make her proud.”

-Prince Harry in BBC documentary 'Diana' (August 2017)

“When you have something so traumatic as the death of the mother when you’re 15—as very sadly many people have experienced—and no one wants to experience, it’ll either make or break you. I wouldn’t let it break me, I wanted it to make me. I wanted her to be proud of the person I would become. I didn’t want her worried or her legacy to be that William and/or Harry were completely and utterly devastated by it and that all the hard work and all the love and all the energy that she put into us when we were younger would go to waste.”

-Prince Harry in BBC documentary 'Diana' (August 2017)