Why Prince Harry Spent So Much Time Researching Princess Diana's Death

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, was only 12 years old when he lost his mother, Diana Princess of Wales (via People). And while all the world mourned the loss of "The People's Princess," it is likely few felt the loss the way her youngest child did. In his Apple+ docuseries "The Me You Can't See," Prince Harry recalls marching in his mother's funeral procession this way: "It was like I was outside of my body," he said (via People). "I'm just walking along and doing what was expected of me, showing the one-tenth of the emotion that everybody else was showing." He added that at the time, he was thinking, "This was my mum, you never even met her."

Princess Diana was killed in a tragic car accident in Paris, when Paparazzi chased her car into a tunnel. Prince Harry said of his feelings about the crash, "I was so angry with what happened to her and the fact that there was no justice at all." He explained, "Nothing came from that. The same people who chased her into the tunnel, photographed her dying on the backseat of that car."  

Recently, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, has been delving deeply into researching the exact events that transpired around the tragic passing of his mother (via The Daily Beast). The purpose of his research, aside from what we imagine to be a son's natural curiosity and desire for justice, has been to ensure he has as much information as possible so that he can discuss the events accurately and clearly in his forthcoming memoir, which is expected to be released sometime near the end of the year.

Unnamed "official judicial sources in Paris" say that researchers employed by Prince Harry have been in touch with them, reports The Sun. Another unnamed source, who was involved in the original investigation into the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, told The Sun that "There have been approaches which suggest Prince Harry is intensely focused on getting more information about his mother's death. There are plenty of people in France who recall the night of the accident." This source added, "It's only normal that Diana's son should want to learn more about it for his book."

While Prince Harry's memoir was originally scheduled to be released earlier than this, we finally know when eager readers can expect it to hit the stands: Christmastime, 2022 (via Marie Claire). The manuscript has been completed, according to The Sun, which reports that the ghostwriter for the project, J.R. Moehringer, submitted the full draft to the publisher (Penguin Random House) earlier this summer. 

An unnamed "publishing source" told The Sun that "The manuscript has been finished and gone through all of the legal processes," and added that, "It's done and out of Harry's hands." The same source confirmed a holiday season release date for the long-awaited book, saying, "The publishing date has been pushed back once but it is on track for the end of the year."

Harry has himself called his memoir "heartfelt and intimate" but admits he worries it could stir up more drama or cause more rifts in the royal family (via The Sun).