King Charles’ biggest regret in life, according to Christopher Andersen’s new book, The King: The Life of Charles III, was making Prince William and Prince Harry walk behind their late mother Princess Diana’s coffin during her funeral procession in 1997. The princes were just 15 and 12 years old respectively when their mother died, and according to Andersen, the moment is something that “haunts” both the Kingand his sons to this day. Royal Author Reveals King Charles’ Biggest Regret In New Book Andersen went into more detail about the new monarch’s feelings when talking with Us Weekly while promoting his new book, saying: “I think it haunts him because it haunts them, and they’ve spoken about it.” “I’ve written that I believe it’s a form of PTSD,” Andersen continued, before revealing that Prince Harry, now 38, has found it “triggering” to fly into London, as it brings back memories from the funeral.
“He said it reminds him of that day when he had to walk behind the coffin, and they were more or less bullied into doing it by the palace – by the men in grey who really run the palace, the people that Diana used to complain about,” he continued. “I think both William and Harry thought, ‘Who are these strangers who never met her?’ So, they were angry about what had happened. And Charles, I think, understands that to some extent he was responsible for them having to suffer through that.” “Diana’s brother has also said that he felt that he was tricked into doing it and regrets it,” Andersen added. “He said it was like walking through a tunnel of grief.” Princess Diana’s brother previously told People in 2017’s The Story of Diana that he was concerned about what it would do to the young princes Harry in particular – saying: “I was just so worried — what a trauma for a little chap to walk behind his mum’s body. It’s just awful. And, actually, I tried to stop that happening, to be honest.”
