Prince William and Prince Harry have carried on Princess Diana’s legacy since she died on August 31, 1997.
William and Harry were 15 and 12, respectively, when the Princess of Wales died at age 36 after sustaining injuries in a car crash in Paris. Since then, they’ve fondly looked back at the time they shared with her through the years.
The royal family members stewarded the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund and have given back to humanitarian charities like their famous mom once did. In 2017, the brothers commissioned a statue to commemorate what would have been the 20th anniversary of Diana’s death. It wasn’t for another four years, however, that the statue was officially unveiled.
Both princes have made it their mission to preserve their mother’s legacy, even through the next generation of royals. In May 2015, William and wife Princess Kate Middleton welcomed their second child, Charlotte Elizabeth Diana, and six years later, Harry paid tribute to their mother with the arrival of his own daughter, Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor. Though their mother isn’t around to meet her grandchildren, both William and Harry have ensured that their kids know how special Diana was.
Keep scrolling to read William and Harry’s quotes about their mother through the years:
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May 2025
Harry honored his mother days after speaking candidly about the royal family in a bombshell BBC News interview after losing his appeal for government-funded security. On May 7, Harry took part in a panel discussion to launch of The Diana Award’s “Pledge to Invest” initiative in Las Vegas.
“Through The Diana Award, I’ve had the privilege of meeting young people who have turned adversity into action. That’s not just inspiring — it’s the kind of untapped potential we can’t afford to overlook,” Harry said, in part. “Far too many young people are locked out of leadership pipelines because we’ve failed to build truly inclusive and accessible pathways.”
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February 2025
William spoke candidly about losing his mother at a young age during an appearance at the Child Bereavement U.K. center.
“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,” he said.
December 2024
Harry brought up his mother during the The New York Times’ DealBook Summit, discussing misinformation in the media.
“What happened to my mom and the fact that I was a kid and felt helpless, there comes the inner turmoil. I felt helpless,” he explained. “One of my biggest weaknesses is feeling helpless.”
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November 2024
William discussed his mother’s charity work in the Disney+ documentary, Prince William: We Can End Homelessness, noting that she had a “really big impact” on his life.
“I have taken some guidance from what my mother did,” he said.
September 2024
Harry spoke at an event supporting The HALO Trust about his charity work in Angola, which is how he keeps Diana’s legacy alive.
“While you don’t need children to have a stake in the future of our planet, I do know that my mother would have been horrified that anyone’s children or grandchildren would live in a world still infested with mines,” he said at the time. “As you know, The HALO Trust work in Angola meant a great deal to my mother carrying on her legacy is a responsibility that I take incredibly seriously and I think we all know how much she’d want us to finish this particular job.”