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| Princess Diana's brother 'still has nightmares' about her funeral | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The brother of Diana, Princess of Wales, has said he still has nightmares about the “harrowing” experience of her funeral. | The brother of Diana, Princess of Wales, has said he still has nightmares about the “harrowing” experience of her funeral. |
| Earl Spencer also recalled how the 1997 event must have been a “million times worse” for the princess’s two sons William and Harry. | |
| William, now the Duke of Cambridge, was 15 and Harry 12 when their mother was killed in a car crash in Paris on 31 August 1997. | William, now the Duke of Cambridge, was 15 and Harry 12 when their mother was killed in a car crash in Paris on 31 August 1997. |
| A huge outpouring of grief followed her death, which shocked the world. | A huge outpouring of grief followed her death, which shocked the world. |
| Spencer, speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, said: “The feeling, the sort of absolute crashing tidal wave of grief coming at you as you went down this sort tunnel of deep emotion, it was really harrowing and I still have nightmares about it now. | Spencer, speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, said: “The feeling, the sort of absolute crashing tidal wave of grief coming at you as you went down this sort tunnel of deep emotion, it was really harrowing and I still have nightmares about it now. |
| “So there was the inner turmoil of thinking, ‘My God, this is ghastly’ but then the point of thinking these two boys are doing this and it must be a million times worse for them. | “So there was the inner turmoil of thinking, ‘My God, this is ghastly’ but then the point of thinking these two boys are doing this and it must be a million times worse for them. |
| “It was truly horrifying, actually.” | “It was truly horrifying, actually.” |
| Spencer said he saw the eulogy for his sister as a chance to “speak for somebody who had no longer got a voice”, adding: “All I was trying to do was, as a brother, speak for my sister who was no longer there.” | Spencer said he saw the eulogy for his sister as a chance to “speak for somebody who had no longer got a voice”, adding: “All I was trying to do was, as a brother, speak for my sister who was no longer there.” |
| Told he had said some “pretty pointed things” during the speech while standing opposite the royal family, Spencer said: “I don’t feel I said many pointed things. I believe that every word I said was true and it was important for me to be honest. | Told he had said some “pretty pointed things” during the speech while standing opposite the royal family, Spencer said: “I don’t feel I said many pointed things. I believe that every word I said was true and it was important for me to be honest. |
| “I wasn’t looking to make any jabs at anyone actually, I was trying to celebrate Diana – and if by doing that it showed up particularly the press, I think, in a bad way, well, they had that coming.” | “I wasn’t looking to make any jabs at anyone actually, I was trying to celebrate Diana – and if by doing that it showed up particularly the press, I think, in a bad way, well, they had that coming.” |
| He added: “In her final years in particular, Diana was really brought low by elements of the paparazzi and the tabloids. I remember she told me about one man who promised to hound her until the day she died and he would urinate on her grave. | He added: “In her final years in particular, Diana was really brought low by elements of the paparazzi and the tabloids. I remember she told me about one man who promised to hound her until the day she died and he would urinate on her grave. |
| “So she was dealing with a very dark side of the media and even at her funeral I thought it was appropriate to touch on that.” | “So she was dealing with a very dark side of the media and even at her funeral I thought it was appropriate to touch on that.” |