Prince William and Harry say 'we feel like we let our mother down' in candid documentary

Princes speak out as part of BBC programme to mark 20-year anniversary of princess's death

Princess Diana with Princes William and Harry in 1994 (Getty Images)

Prince William and Prince Harry have spoken of their regret at not doing more to “protect” their mother, Princess Diana, when they were younger, saying they felt they had “let her down”.

The princes were speaking during a new BBC documentary to mark the 20-year anniversary of their mother’s death in a car accident in Paris on 31 August 1997.

In the programme, they talk of the days immediately after the crash and how they now want to speak publicly about their mother in order to remind people of “the character and person that she was”.

Prince William, who was 15 at the time of the accident, said the brothers had agreed to take part in the documentary about their mother “because we feel we owe it to her”.

“I think an element of it is feeling like we let her down when we were younger,” he added.

“We couldn’t protect her. We feel we at least owe her, 20 years on, to stand up for her name and remind everybody of the character and person that she was - do our duties as sons in protecting her."

Speaking about the outpouring of public emotion in the wake of Princess Diana’s death, Prince Harry admitted he had been shocked by the level of grief for his mother.

“When she died there was such an outpour of emotion and love which was quite shocking”, he said.

“It was beautiful at the same time, and it was amazing now looking back on it. It was amazing that our mother had such a huge effect on so many people.

“When you’re that young and something like that happens to you I think it’s lodged in here, there, wherever – in your heart, in your head and it stays there for a very, very long time.

“I think it’s never going to be easy for the two of us to talk about our mother, but 20 years on 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.”

The documentary, which will be aired this summer, also includes interviews with close friends of Princess Diana, plus political figures and journalists.

The BBC will also screen a one-off drama called “Diana and I” about the impact of the princess’s death on the public.