18 January 2024 , 03:50
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In a rare moment of solidarity, Prince Harry and Prince William exchanged a glance as they walked behind their grandmother's coffin, and in that moment, two painful shared memories surfaced in fleeting moments of déjà vu.
This wasn't the first time either of them had been in the exact position they were in at the moment — just two decades earlier, they had trailed behind the coffins of two of their other relatives not once but twice, including their own mother, Princess Diana.
A new groundbreaking book about King Charles III, which details his first year as King following the death of his mother and Prince Harry's and Prince William's grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, has a section dedicated to the late Queen's funeral, and it details the "wry", knowing remark exchanged by the Princes, the moment of shared memories that, for a split second, brought them together amid their feuding.
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For a short stint, Princes Harry and William put aside their differences to mourn their grandmother, the Queen (Getty Images)
Hardman has revealed a revealing biography (Macmillan)In his book, titled Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story, author Robert Hardman, an expert on the Royal Family, wrote: "As members of the Royal Family lined up to follow the coffin in bright sunshine, Princes William and Harry swapped a knowing glance and, according to one royal source, a wry remark about having been here before."
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The first time the brothers found themselves in such a situation was following the death of their mother, Princess Diana, who was killed in a car crash in 1997 while escaping from the paparazzi in Paris. Her car crashed in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel on August 31, 1997, as her driver, Henri Paul, attempted to flee the paparazzi with her and her partner at the time, Dodi Fayed, in the back. All three died, the BBC reported at the time.
The funeral was held shortly thereafter and garnered an immense viewership, with well over 21million people tuning in, the BBC stated. Princes Harry and William were just 12 (nearing 13) and 15, respectively, at the time. Then, five years later, they attended another funeral together when their great-grandmother, the Queen Mother, died in 2002.
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That funeral, held in April that year just a week or so after her death, attracted about 10 million viewers, the BBC reported. Once again, this time at the ages of 17 and 19, respectively, Princes Harry and William trailed behind the coffin, fulfilling the same role in the proceedings.
It was the same story in mid-September 2022, but this time, the brothers had gone through a nasty history of feuding over two decades, including rifts that were torn between them amid the Duke of Sussex's departure from the Royal Family in early 2020. But, the brothers were respectful during the ceremony, putting aside their differences while in the public eye for a short stint during the mourning period. For a fleeting moment, they were just two brothers, side by side once more, united over their grief.
You can purchase Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story