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Prince William opens up about 'the shock' of Princess Diana's death: 'You never get over it'

Prince William speech
Chloe Best
Lifestyle Features Editor
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Prince William has said he still feels "shock" about his mother's death, almost 20 years after she was killed in a car crash in Paris. The Prince, who was 15 when Diana, Princess of Wales, passed away, opened up about the loss in a new interview for the BBC One documentary Mind Over Marathon.

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"I still have shock within me - people say it can't last that long but it does," Prince William said in the documentary, which airs on Thursday. "The shock is the biggest thing [which] I still feel 20 years later, about my mother. You never get over it, it's such an unbelievably big moment in your life that it never leaves you. You just learn to deal with it."

Prince William speech© Photo: Getty Images

Prince William admitted he still feels "shock" about his mother's death

William's confession comes just days after his younger brother Prince Harry revealed that he spent nearly 20 years not processing his mother's death. Harry, 32, said he shut down his emotions to the extent that it affected his personal life, as well as his work. It was only until William said his behaviour was "not normal" that he decided to see a therapist.

Speaking candidly in an interview with the Daily Telegraph, Harry said: "It was 20 years of not thinking about it and two years of total chaos." When asked whether he had ever been to see a therapist, he replied: "I've done that a couple of times, more than a couple of times, but it's great."

Prince Harry William Diana© Photo: Rex

Prince William was 15 when his mother died

Harry admitted that he didn't process his grief until his late twenties, saying: "My way of dealing with it was sticking my head in the sand, refusing to ever think about my mum, because why would that help? (I thought) it's only going to make you sad, it's not going to bring her back. So from an emotional side, I was like 'right, don't ever let your emotions be part of anything.'"

Princes William and Harry are spearheading the Heads Together mental health campaign alongside the Duchess of Cambridge. Heads Together is the London Marathon's charity of the year, and the trio are hoping to make the race the "mental health marathon".

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