Speaking to one woman, Prince William said: "I mean the walk yesterday was challenging, it brought back a few memories..."
Queen Elizabeth II made her final journey from Buckingham Palace on Wednesday, September 14, 2022, and her immediate family member joined the procession. However, this brought back a lot of unpleasant memories for Prince William, because this reminded him of the time he walked behind his mother, Princess Diana's coffin, 25 years ago.
William, now the Prince of Wales, said the moment had been "very difficult".
When he and the Princess of Wales viewed floral tributes left outside Sandringham House, they interacted with a few of the scores of people who had gathered outside the gates at Sandringham. Speaking to one woman, Prince William said: "I mean the walk yesterday was challenging, it brought back a few memories...," according to the BBC.
Among those he spoke to was receptionist Jane Wells, from Long Sutton in Lincolnshire, who said she had told the prince that his mom would have been proud of him if she could see her now. "He said how hard it was yesterday because it brought back memories of his mother's funeral," she said.
Caroline Barwick-Walters, of Neath in Wales, said she told Prince William "thank you for sharing your grief with the nation", and that he replied, "she was everybody's grandmother".
"Prince William told a woman sympathizing with him at Sandringham that the procession yesterday had been 'very difficult' and had reminded him of walking behind his mother’s coffin. He told another woman: 'Don’t cry now, you’ll start me'," Daily Express royal correspondent Richard Palmer tweeted.
Roya Nikkhah, Sunday Times royal editor, also tweeted: "The Prince of Wales has said walking in the #Queen’s cortège yesterday brought back memories of walking behind his mother’s coffin for Diana’s funeral procession in 1997 when William was 15, while viewing tributes to #QueenElizabethII in Sandringham with the Princess of Wales."
Prince William and Prince Harry marched together behind their father, King Charles III, as the Queen's coffin left Buckingham Palace prior to her laying in state to demonstrate their harmony during this difficult time.
The royal family traveled on foot with their grandmother to Westminster Hall, where hundreds of thousands of mourners are anticipated to pay their respects until her funeral on September 19.
Just like how Harry and William walked beside Diana's coffin back in 1997, when they were just 15 and 12, the two brothers also walked beside the Queen's coffin, too.
Losing a mother at such a young age was previously described by Prince William as a "pain like no other pain". This definitely must be a hard time for William and Harry, but hopefully, they lean on each other and their loved ones for support.
References:
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-62914640
Cover image source: Getty Images | (L) Christopher Furlong; (R) WPA Pool
